Douglas Leiterman (1927 – 19 December 2012) was a Canadian television producer.

Early life

Douglas Stone Leiterman was born in 1927 in

South Porcupine, Ontario The city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada contains many named neighbourhoods. Some former municipalities that were merged into Timmins continue to be treated as distinct postal and telephone exchanges from the city core. According to Barnes, "With the ...

. In 1945, before his 18th birthday, he joined the

Canadian Merchant Navy Canada, like several other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations, created the Canadian Merchant Navy () in a large-scale effort during World War II. A total of 12,000 men and women served in Canada's Merchant Navy. By war's end, 1,500 Can ...

and became Second Mate on his ship; his career ended when poor working conditions led him to become involved in a mutiny. He and his wife settled in

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...

and he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

while working nights as a '' Vancouver Province'' reporter. In 1954, he moved to the U.S. to study Economics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

on a

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Fellowship is a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. It awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman ...

. He then became a correspondent on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

for the Southam News Service.

Career

In the early 1960s, Leiterman joined the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, where he became well known for the show '' This Hour Has Seven Days'' which he co-produced with Patrick Watson from 1964 to 1966. After that series was cancelled, Leiterman joined

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

to provide advice for the development of ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'', and he produced the CBC special "Sixteen in Webster Grove". Leiterman produced other series such as '' The Fabulous Sixties'' and '' Here Come the Seventies'' ( CTV, 1969–1972). He produced documentaries for the United Nations and a nature film documentary series. In 1970, with producer Philip Hobel, he founded Hobel-Leiterman Productions, aka Document Associates. In 1971, he was part of a group that founded Wired City Communications, as a division of

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; ; )''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Industry (). is a Ministry (government ...

. In 1982, he founded Motion Picture Guarantors Ltd., and The Motion Picture Bond Company Ltd., which became the second-largest completion bond company in the world. He operated both companies internationally and bonded such films as "Peter The Great" and TV series such as "Baywatch". He sold his companies to

American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...

when he retired in 1998.

Personal life and death

Leiterman's brother was the cinematographer

Richard Leiterman Richard Leiterman (March 7, 1935 – July 14, 2005) was a Canadian cinematographer, best known for documentary and feature film work in the 1960s and 1970s. His cinéma vérité, or direct camera, style helped define Canadian cinema at the time. ...

. His sister Elaine Campbell was married to producer Norman Campbell; another sister, Phyllis, was married to film director

Allan King Allan Winton King, (February 6, 1930 – June 15, 2009), was a Canadian film director. Life Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the Great Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School, in Kitsilano.Beryl Fox Beryl Fox (born December 10, 1931) is a Canadian documentary film director and producer. Biography Beryl Fox was born in 1931 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She dropped out of high school a year before graduating and worked a series of selling and cleri ...

; they had one daughter. Leiterman, who was a

Christian Scientist Activists, politicians, and military figures Activists *Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone (1882-1985) – Native American singer and activist * Bonnie Carroll – President and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) *Henry ...

, died at his winter residence in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

on 19 December 2012. He was survived by his wife

Beryl Fox Beryl Fox (born December 10, 1931) is a Canadian documentary film director and producer. Biography Beryl Fox was born in 1931 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She dropped out of high school a year before graduating and worked a series of selling and cleri ...

, their daughter and three of his daughters from his first marriage.

References

External links

* 1927 births 2012 deaths Canadian television producers People from Timmins Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Producers of Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners {{Canada-tv-bio-stub