Alan Herman (January 26, 1916 – June 29, 1995), known professionally as Ted Allan, was a Canadian screenwriter, author, and poet, several of whose books were made into motion pictures. In 1975, he received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

and won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film for the film ''

Lies My Father Told Me ''Lies My Father Told Me'' is a 1975 Canadian drama film made in Montreal, Quebec. It was directed by Ján Kadár and stars Jeffrey Lynas as an orthodox Jewish boy growing up in 1920s Montreal. The film received the Golden Globe Award for Best Fo ...

''.

Biography

Ted Allan was born in Montreal as Alan Herman. In 1934 he met and became friends with

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=白求恩) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party of Canada. Bethune came to international prominence fi ...

. In February 1937 Allan joined

Lincoln Battalion The Lincoln Battalion (), the major component of what came to be known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of the XV International Brigade that fought in the Spanish Civil War. Named after United States Presid ...

of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

to fight against fascism in

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. At the direction of the Brigade, Ted worked as a reporter—he broadcast to America from Madrid—and worked again with Bethune. In 1939 he published his first novel, ''This Time a Better Earth'', drawing on his experiences in the War. In 1952, Allan and Sydney Gordon published Bethune's biography, ''The Scalpel, The Sword''. Allan battled for nearly 40 years to make a movie about the Canadian surgeon who became a larger-than-life hero of the Chinese revolution. The film, '' Bethune: The Making of a Hero'', for which Allan wrote the screenplay, was the first official Chinese co-production, shooting in China, Montreal and Spain was released in 1990. It starred

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

and

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

. Allan co-wrote the script for

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

's celebrated movie '' Love Streams'' (released in 1984), which won the

Golden Bear Award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. The film was based on one of Allan's plays, ''I've Seen You Cut Lemons'', which was directed by

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

in London in 1969. Allan won 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 ...

in 1985 for his novel ''Love Is a Long Shot''. He died of respiratory failure on June 29, 1995 at the age of 79. He is the subject of the 2002

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary ''Ted Allan: Minstrel Boy of the Twentieth Century''.

Work

Ted Allan's credits include:

Plays

* ''The Ghost Writers'' (Toronto 1952) retitled ''The Money Makers'' (London 1955) * ''Double Image'' with Roger MacDougal (London 1955 ) reworked, with Gabriel Arout, as ''Gog et Magog'' (Paris 1959/62) * ''Double Image'' (1957) * ''Legend of Pepito'' (London 1955) * ''The Secret of the World'' (London 1958) * ''I've Seen You Cut Lemons'' (London 1969) * ''My Sister's Keeper'' (1974) * ''Love Streams'' (Los Angeles 1981) * ''The Third Day Comes'' (Los Angeles 1981) * ''Willie the Squowse'' (Toronto 1987/8) * ''Chu Chem'' (New York 1988)

Films

* ''

'' (1975) * '' Love Streams'' (1984) * '' Bethune: The Making of a Hero'' (1990)

Books

* ''This Time a Better Earth'' (1939) * ''The Scalpel, the Sword: The Story of Doctor Norman Bethune'' (1952) with Sydney Gorden * ''Willie the Squowse'' (1977) * ''Love is a Long Shot'' (1984) * ''Don't You Know Anybody Else'' (1885) * ''Dr. Ah Chu & Jonah's Egg'' (Robert Davies Publishing) He also published short stories in ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', and other magazines.

Notes

References

External links

Ted Allan, a biography

Ted Allan fonds (R2931)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Ted 1916 births 1995 deaths Canadian male biographers Jewish Canadian screenwriters Stephen Leacock Award winners 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian children's writers Canadian male short story writers 20th-century Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male screenwriters 20th-century Canadian short story writers Anglophone Quebec people 20th-century Canadian military personnel Canadian people of the Spanish Civil War Canadian socialists Canadian anti-fascists Jewish anti-fascists Canadian expatriates in Spain Abraham Lincoln Brigade members Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Screenwriters from Quebec Novelists from Montreal