Eric Patrick Nicol (December 28, 1919 – February 2, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer, best known as a longtime humour columnist for the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

newspaper ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...

''. He also published over 40 books, both original works and compilations of his humour columns, and won the

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

three times. , accessed 14 July 2006.

Early life

Nicol was born on December 28, 1919, in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1921 his family relocated to

. Nicol attended

Lord Byng Secondary School Lord Byng Secondary School is a Public education, public secondary school located in the West Point Grey neighbourhood on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It opened in 1925 and was named in honour of the then Governor Gener ...

and 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 ...

, where he studied French. At UBC, Nicol met future journalist and author

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian historian, writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular cultur ...

, then editor of the popular student paper

The Ubyssey ''The Ubyssey'' is the University of British Columbia, University of British Columbia's official, independent student-run paper and is published bi-weekly on Tuesday. Founded on October 18, 1918, ''The Ubyssey'' is an independent publication fund ...

, who encouraged Nicol to write a humour column in the paper. The shy Nicol submitted his columns under the pseudonym Jabez. In 1941, he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the university. Following military service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nicol returned to the University of British Columbia and earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. He then studied at the Sorbonne in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for a few years writing comedy for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. In 1951 he returned to Vancouver, where for several decades he served as a regular columnist for city's newspaper ''

''. He also wrote numerous

radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elemen ...

plays for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. Nicol lived in Vancouver until his death on February 2, 2011. He was married to writer Mary Razzell, and had three children with his first wife, Myrl Nicol.

Awards and recognition

* 1951: winner,

''The Roving I'' * 1956: winner,

''Shall We Join the Ladies?'' * 1958: winner,

''Girdle Me a Globe'' * 1999: finalist,

Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize The Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, established in 1985, is awarded annually as the BC Book Prize for the best non-fiction book by a resident of British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories ...

, ''Anything for a Laugh: Memoirs'' * 2000: appointed Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Order of Canada citation: Eric Nicol
, accessed 14 July 2006.

Bibliography

* 1947: ''Sense and Nonsense'' (Ryerson) * 1950: ''The Roving I'' (Ryerson) * 1953: ''Twice Over Lightly'', illustrator James Simpkins (Ryerson) * 1955: ''Shall We Join the Ladies?'', illustrator James Simpkins (Ryerson) * 1957: ''Girdle Me a Globe'', illustrator James Simpkins (Ryerson) * 1959: ''In Darkest Domestica'', illustrator James Simpkins (Ryerson) * 1961: with Peter Whalley, ''Say, Uncle: A Completely Uncalled-for History of the U.S.'' (Harper) * 1962: compilation, ''A Herd of Yaks: The Best of Eric Nicol'' (Ryerson) * 1963: with Peter Whalley, ''Russia, Anyone?: A Completely Uncalled-for History of the USSR'' (Harper and Row) * 1963: ''Twice Over Lightly'' (Ryerson) * 1964: ''Space Age Go Home!'' (Ryerson) * 1965: ''(An Uninhibited) History of Canada'', illustrator Peter Whalley (Musson) ** 1968 reissue (Musson) * 1966: with Peter Whalley, ''100 Years of What?'' (Ryerson) * 1968: ''A Scar is Born'' (Ryerson) * 1970: ''Vancouver'' (

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

) ** 1978 reissue: ''Vancouver'' (

) * 1971: ''Don't Move: Renovate Your House and Make Social Contacts'' (McClelland) * 1972: ''The Clam Made a Face'' (Firebrand) * 1972: compilation edited by Alan Walker, ''Still a Nicol: the Best of Eric Nicol'' (

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

Ryerson) * 1973: ''Beware the Quickly Who'' (Playwrights Co-op) * 1973: ''One Man's Media and How to Write for Them'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston) * 1974: ''Letters to my Son'', illustrator

Roy Peterson Roy Eric Peterson, OC (14 September 1936 – 30 September 2013) was a Canadian editorial cartoonist who drew for ''The Vancouver Sun'' from 1962 to 2009. Biography Peterson was born in Winnipeg and studied in Vancouver at the Kitsilano Sec ...

(Macmillan) * 1975: with Peter Whalley, ''There's a Lot of it Going Around'' (

) * 1975: ''Three Plays'': ''Like Father Like Fun'', ''Pillar of Sand'', ''The Fourth Monkey'' (Talonbooks) * 1977: with Peter Whalley, ''Canada, Cancelled Because of Lack of Interest'' (Hurtig) * 1978: with Dave More, ''The Joy of Hockey'' (Hurtig) * 1980: with Dave More, ''The Joy of Football'' (Hurtig) * 1982: with Dave More, ''Golf, the Agony and the Ecstasy'' (Hurtig) * 1983: ''Canadide: A Patriotic Satire'' (Macmillan) * 1984: with Dave More, ''Tennis It Serves You Right'' (Hurtig) * 1985: ''How to-- ! : How to be Smarter, Slimmer, Happier, Richer, Sexier—and so Successful that You'll Never Need Another How-To Book'' (Macmillan) * 1986: with Dave More, ''The U.S. or Us: What's the Difference, eh?'' (Hurtig) * 1989: ''Dickens of the Mounted: The Astounding Lost-Long Letters of Inspector F. Dickens, NWMP, 1874–1886'' (

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

) * 1992: ''Back Talk: A Book for Bad Back Sufferers and Those Who Love (Put Up With) Them'', illustrator Graham Pilsworth (McClelland and Stewart) * 1996: ''Skiing is Believing'' (Johnson Gorman) * 1998: ''Anything for a Laugh: Memoirs'', autobiography (Harbour) * 1999: ''When Nature Calls: Life at a Gulf Island Cottage'' (Harbour) * 2001: ''The Casanova Sexicon: A Manual for Liberated Men'' (Ronsdale) * 2003: with Peter Whalley, ''Canadian Politics Unplugged'' (

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Hum ...

) * 2004: ''Old Is In: A Guide for Aging Boomers'' (

) * 2010: ''Script Tease - A Wordsmith's Waxings on Life and Writing'' (

)

References

External links

Harbour Publishing: Eric Nicol

BC Book World: Eric Nicol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Eric 1919 births 2011 deaths University of Paris alumni 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Members of the Order of Canada University of British Columbia alumni Writers from Kingston, Ontario Writers from Vancouver Stephen Leacock Award winners Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian humour columnists