Leacock was born in England on December 30,
1869. In 1876, the Leacock family decided to migrate
to Canada, where they settled on a farm in Egypt, Ontario.
Hard times led Leacock's father to chronic drinking and self-destruction.
Fed up with his father's fits of brutality and abuse, 17-year-old
Leacock banished him from the family farm, threatening him
with death if he ever returned. Even though Leacock
eventually went on to become a distinguished McGill professor,
his country roots never left him. He was happiest working
as the gentleman farmer (he owned two country homes) or in
his boathouse in the early mornings writing about his latest
observations.
After the death of Mark Twain, Leacock became the world's
best-selling humourist. Part of his reputation as a
funnyman was made as a platform speaker - an early twentieth-century
form of stand-up. Leacock toured his storytelling and
humour all over the world, often using his travel observations
as material for new writing.
Behind the smiling, gentle humourist lay a driven man, burdened
by the early death of his beloved wife. After her death,
51-year-old Leacock was left with a 10-year-old son to raise
alone. Stevie Jr. became a constant worry for Leacock.
Born with a lack of growth hormones, Stevie Jr. was small
and looked years younger than his actual age. Constant
worry about his son's health and an obsessive need to maintain
the lifestyle he had so carefully created drove Leacock to
publish - constantly recycling material for a paycheque.
When a young Yousuf
Karsh arrived in 1941 to photograph Leacock for his first
professional assignment, he was going to stay for just an
afternoon but ended up drinking, fishing and keeping company
with him for three days. His photographs (seen throughout
the documentary) portray the official Leacock sparkle but
they also reveal an old man tired from years of constant worry
about his son and the future.
Original Air Date - February 22, 2000
Links
Stephen
Leacock Dies: CBC Archives
Stephen
Leacock:The National Library of Canada
The
Stephen Leacock Museum
Well-Known
Canadians
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