Ray Guy (22 April 1939 – 14 May 2013) was a Canadian journalist and humourist, best known for his satirical newspaper and magazine columns.
[
He was born in Come By Chance, Newfoundland, to George Hynes Guy and Alice Louisa Adams, but was raised and schooled in ]Arnold's Cove
Arnold's Cove ( 2021 Population 916) is a town on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 on Placentia Bay.
The name is found in population returns of 1836, and may have been ...
, the community that was to provide fodder for many of his columns.
Guy studied journalism at Ryerson Institute of Technology (now Toronto Metropolitan University). After graduation, he wrote for the St. John's Evening Telegram
''The Telegram'' is a weekly newspaper in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, published by Postmedia Network. First published in 1879, it was the first and longest-running daily in Newfoundland.
In August 2024, following its sale to Postme ...
1963-1974, and his columns also appeared in magazines such as '' Atlantic Insight'', where he won the Canadian National Magazine Awards
The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) is a Canadian charity whose mission is to recognize excellence in the content and creation of Canadian magazines and Canadian digital publishing through two annual awards programs: the National Magazine ...
Toronto-Dominion Bank Award For Humour in 1980 and 1987, and the '' Newfoundland Quarterly''. His output included political satire and humorous essays on Newfoundland outport life. His columns in the Evening Telegram often criticised the policies and ridiculed the excesses of Premier Joseph Smallwood, during a time where political opposition to Smallwood was ineffectual. In 1977, he received the Stephen Leacock Award
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 ...
for his collection ''That Far Greater Bay'' (1976).
In 1979, Gordon Pinsent
Gordon Edward Pinsent (July 12, 1930 – February 25, 2023) was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift ...
created '' Up at Ours'', a half-hour CBC St. John's television series that starred Mary Walsh as the owner of a boarding house and Ray Guy as the principal boarder. In 1985, Walsh appeared in and directed a stage play written by Guy, ''Young Triffie's Been Made Away With,'' which Walsh directed as a film in 2006, promoted in some markets under the shorter title '' Young Triffie''.
Guy also appeared as a commentator on the CBC St. John's news program Here & Now. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...
in 2001.
Ray Guy died of cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
on 14 May 2013. He was 74 years old.
Publications
* (1975) ''You May Know Them As Sea Urchins, Ma'am''
* (1976) ''That Far Greater Bay''
* (1978) ''Outhouses of the East'' (photography by Sherman Hines)
* (1981) ''Beneficial Vapors'' ic?* (1983) ''A Heroine for Our Time''
* (1985) ''This Dear and Fine Country''
* (1987) ''Ray Guy's Best''
* (2008) ''Ray Guy: The Smallwood Years''
References
External links
*
Ray Guy entry at Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Ray
1939 births
2013 deaths
Stephen Leacock Award winners
People from Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Deaths from cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador
Toronto Metropolitan University alumni
Journalists from Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian male journalists
Canadian humorists
Canadian television hosts