Condolence From: Mary Young
Condolence: Jack Gray was the first person to explain Haiku (a form of short Japanese verse) to me, which I might use except it takes more than three lines to describe such a wonderful man! To all his family, I send my sincere condolences.
For thirty-six years, I worked initially on staff in The Writer Department of ACTRA and subsequently for The Writers Guild of Canada. I was hired by Margaret Collier, the original Executive Director, who, if it were not for her illness, would undoubtedly have written a warm appreciation of Jack, as they worked together for over twenty years. I feel very privileged to have known Jack and will remember him as the consummate gentleman: kind, gracious, courteous, friendly - always interested in what you had to say and happy to advise on any matter. He had that lovely lazy way of speaking which belied his sharp intellect and was possessed of a delightful, quiet sense of humour.- I can see his eyes sparkling now! - Fortunately for me, Jack was President of ACTRA when I started work in the summer of 1980 and he was often in the Carlton Street office. Being then the sole Steward (Agreement Administrator), when Margaret was away, he was the only person from whom I could ask advice about the collective agreements and he was very generous with his time. At that time, I had recently emigrated from the UK and had much to learn about Canada, the Canadian writing community and unions and Jack was only too happy to educate me. He also always went out of his way to get to know the Writer Department’s staff and even once, cooked us all dinner at his son Nick’s apartment! - We kept in touch over the years and when I left the WGC, he wrote me a lovely email that I shall always treasure. Joy, was what he signed at the end of his letters which for me sums up the warmth of his personality. So in his memory, here is my attempt at Haiku:
Jack Gray
Smile with your silver mane
We remember and wish you Joy
Wednesday April 12, 2017
Condolence From: Pete White
Condolence: I first got to know Jack in the early 1980’s when he was Chair of the ACTRA Writers Guild and I was elected to the national council. Jack was a mentor and example to a group of young writers active at the time: Rob Forsyth, Jim Henshaw, Michael Mercer, John Hunter, Roger Abbott, and myself. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of communications policy, was an able and articulate spokesman, could chair a meeting like nobody else, and was relentless about going after what he believed in. The day Jack negotiated a production fee for writers under the Independent Producer Agreement was the day I could make a decent living in this country as a free-lance writer. He inspired me to get involved with the guild. As the longest serving Chair of the ACTRA Writers Guild and the first President of the Writers Guild of Canada, he led the movement for a strong and autonomous screenwriters guild in Canada. He was fierce fighter on behalf of Canadian content and writers’ rights. Because of him, the WGC is the only screenwriter guild in the world whose collective agreements allow the writer to retain copyright in their script. He was also the foremost architect of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds and deserves much of the credit for the organization it is today. No writer ever devoted more hours to the cause of Canadian screenwriters than Jack Gray. My heartfelt condolences to Sandra.
Tuesday March 07, 2017
Condolence From: David Balcon
Condolence: Jack committed much of his life and energies championing the work of Canadian writers and film/television/stage creators. He wanted Canadians to discover their country, its peoples and their stories, through their works, and to have these works exposed to readers and audiences around the world. (Ironic that an American born Canadian should take up this cause at a time when most Canadians were demanding access to more American TV channels.) It was the mid-70s when I met Jack and spent much time with him (often with others like Vincent Tovell, John Hobday, Kirwan Cox, Sandra Gathercole) over the subsequent years discussing these matters as formulate cultural policies were being written and debated in Ottawa and the provinces. Our paths diverged in later decades so I've not seen him since, but knew things were good for him when he partnered with another friend of that period. We meet many many people throughout our lives, but only a few leave a major influence on us. For me, Jack was one of them through the ideas we discussed and the people he introduced me to. Thank you Sandra for being his partner through this part of his life.
Wednesday March 01, 2017
