John MacLachlan Gray, OC (born John Howard Gray, 1946) is a Canadian writer-composer-performer for stage, TV, film, radio and print. He is best known for his stage musicals and for his two seasons as a

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

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 ** ...

TV's '' The Journal'', as well as an author, speaker and social critic on cultural-political issues.

Early life and education

John MacLachlan Gray was born in 1946 in

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 ...

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 ...

, and was raised in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He obtained a B.A. degree at

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

, and an M.A. 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 ...

(UBC).

Career

While attending UBC, Gray founded Tamahnous Theatre, and served as its director from 1971 to 1974. He then joined

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Ryerson Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood of Toronto. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theat ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, where he began writing and composing for the stage. His first musical was ''18 Wheels'', about truck drivers.

Plays

In 1978, with

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian television series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (live-action 2004–2009 and fi ...

, he wrote and composed ''

Billy Bishop Goes to War ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson. One of the most widely produced plays in Canadian theatre, the two-man play dramatizes the life of Canadian World ...

'', which appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in New York City in 1980, produced by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

, and in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which ma ...

. It has since been performed in more than 150 independent productions in Canada and the United States. The play appeared on television in a

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 ...

co-production, and in a German version, ''Billy Bishop Steig Auf''. ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' was the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award in 1981, the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Drama, and the 1982 Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award. In 2009, Peterson and Gray returned to their roles at Soulpepper Theater in Toronto, in a re-mounting where Bishop tells his story, wearing pajamas and dressing-gown, near the end of his life. Directed by Ted Dykstra, the production received rave reviews, and continues to be performed at Soulpepper and at other venues across Canada. In 2010, the play was shot for CBC Television in partnership with Strada Productions, directed by Barbara Willis-Sweete.

Musicals

Gray has written and composed six other musicals including ''18 Wheels'', ''Rock and Roll'', ''Don Messer's Jubilee'', ''Health'', and ''Amelia: The Girl Who Wants to Fly'' (2011). ''Rock and Roll'' won a

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

in 1982, and became an award-winning feature video entitled ''King of Friday Night''. Gray's most recent musical is ''TheTree. TheTower. TheFlood'', three Bible stories for the age of information, commissioned by CBC Radio Drama.

Journalism

In the late 1990s, Gray became a newspaper columnist, contributing weekly pieces on cultural politics to the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. In the early 2000s, he contributed a column to ''Western Living Magazine'' called "O For the Love of Dog", in which he wrote about his dog Gus.

Novels

Gray then abandoned the theatre in favour of the novel – in a series of thrillers set in post-modern

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 ...

, mid-19th-century England and the United States before the Civil War. As with ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'', Gray casts an ironic contemporary eye on imagined historical events.

Recognition and awards

Gray is the recipient of a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

, as well as the Governor General's Medal. In 2000, he was made an Officer 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 ...

for "his contribution to Canada's cultural landscape". He holds

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and

. Other awards received by Gray include: * Los Angeles Drama Critics' Dramalogue Award * Gold Award, New York Film and Television Festival * ACTRA Award (Nellie), Best Production, 1983 * Canadian Film and Television Award *

Silver Hugo Award The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the compo ...

, Chicago * Rocky Award, Banff Television Festival, Best Variety Production * National Magazine Award * Dora Mavor Moore Award (2) * Western Magazine Award (6)

Bibliography

* ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' – 1982 (with Eric Peterson) * ''Dazzled!'' – 1984 * ''Local Boy Makes Good'' – 1987 * ''I Love Mom: An Irreverent History of the Tattoo'' – 1994 * ''Lost in North America: The Imaginary Canadian in the American Dream'' – 1994 * ''A Gift for the Little Master'' – 2000 * ''The Fiend in Human'' – 2003 ** in German: ''Der menschliche Dämon.'' Transl. Edith Walter.

Heyne Verlag Heyne Verlag (formerly Wilhelm Heyne Verlag) is a German publisher based in Munich, which was founded in Dresden in 1934 and sold to Axel Springer in 2000. In 2004 it became part of Random House. Heyne was one of the largest publishing houses in ...

2005 * ''White Stone Day'' – 2005 * ''Not Quite Dead'' − 2007 * ''The White Angel'' – 2017 * ''Vile Spirits'' – 2021

References

Gray
entry in ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

External links

Records of Tamahnous Theatre are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, John Maclachlan 1946 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Canadian people of British descent Canadian satirical novelists Canadian satirists Canadian television personalities Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Governor General's Award–winning dramatists Mount Allison University alumni Novelists from Nova Scotia Novelists from Ottawa Officers of the Order of Canada People from Colchester County