Pierre Berton
Encyclopedia
- For other people with the same name, see Pierre Berton (disambiguation)Pierre Berton (disambiguation)Pierre Berton was a Canadian author of non-fiction and a well-known television personality and journalist.Pierre Berton may also refer to:*Pierre Berton , 19th century playwright, co-author of the play Zaza...
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Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana
Canadiana
Canadiana is a term referring to things related to the country of Canada. It is most often used to refer to a class of books somewhat wider than Canadian Literature because it also includes books about Canada as well as Canadian non-fiction works....
and Canadian history, and was a well-known television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
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An accomplished storyteller, Berton was one of Canada's most prolific and popular author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
s. He wrote 50 books, including ones on popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, Canadian history, critiques of mainstream religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, children's books and historical works for youth. He popularized Canadian history.
Biography
He was born on July 12, 1920, in Whitehorse, YukonWhitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, where his father had moved for the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. His family moved to Dawson City, Yukon
Dawson City, Yukon
The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year...
in 1921, where they lived until moving to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
in 1932. His mother, Laura Beatrice Berton (née Thompson) was a school teacher in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
until she was offered a job as a teacher in Dawson City at the age of 29 in 1907. She met Frank Berton in the nearby mining town of Granville shortly after settling in Dawson and teaching kindergarten. Laura Beatrice Berton's autobiography of life in the Yukon entitled I Married the Klondike was published in her later years and gave her, what her son Pierre describes as 'a modicum of fame, which she thoroughly enjoyed.'
Like his father, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike
Klondike, Yukon
The Klondike is a region of the Yukon in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon from the east at Dawson....
mining camps during his years as a history major at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, where he also worked on the student paper The Ubyssey
The Ubyssey
The Ubyssey is the University of British Columbia's student-run paper and is published every Monday and Thursday. Founded in 1918, The Ubyssey is a member of Canadian University Press , and is the largest student run paper in Western Canada, second largest in Canada...
. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
daily, replacing editorial staff that had been called up during the Second World War.
Berton himself was conscripted into the Canadian Army under the National Resources Mobilization Act
National Resources Mobilization Act
National Resources Mobilization Act is a Canadian government statute which enabled conscription in Canada during World War II. The bill, passed by Parliament on June 21, 1940, permitted conscripts to be used for home defence only and not to be deployed overseas but was modified lolin August 1942 to...
in 1942 and attended basic training in British Columbia, nominally as a reinforcement soldier intended for The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada is a light infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The regiment is subordinate to 39 Canadian Brigade Group, Land Forces Western Area...
. He elected to "go Active" (the euphemism for volunteering for overseas service) and his aptitude was such that he was appointed Lance Corporal and attended NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
school, and became a basic training instructor in the rank of corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
. Due to a background in university COTC and inspired by other citizen-soldiers who had been commissioned, he sought training as an officer.
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
, trained to act as an Intelligence Officer (IO), and after a stint as an instructor at the Royal Military College
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, he finally went overseas in March 1945. In the UK, he was told that he would have to requalify as an IO because the syllabus in the UK was different from that in the intelligence school in Canada. By the time Berton had requalified, the war in Europe had ended. He volunteered for the Canadian Army Pacific Force (CAPF), granted a final "embarkation leave", and found himself no closer to combat employment by the time the Japanese surrendered in September 1945.
Berton moved to Toronto in 1947. At the age of 31 he was named managing editor of Macleans. In 1957, he became a key member of the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's public affairs flagship program, Close-Up, and a permanent panelist on the popular television show Front Page Challenge
Front Page Challenge
Front Page Challenge was a long-running Canadian panel game about current events and history. Created by comedy writer/performer John Aylesworth and produced and aired by CBC Television, the series ran from 1957 to 1995.-Synopsis:The series featured notable journalists attempting to guess the...
. That same year, he also narrated the Academy Award-nominated National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary City of Gold
City of Gold (documentary)
City of Gold is a 1957 Canadian documentary film by Colin Low and Wolf Koenig, chronicling Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush. The film is narrated by Pierre Berton and produced by the National Film Board of Canada.-Technique:...
, exploring life in his hometown of Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. He then released an album in conjunction with Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
, entitled The Story of the Klondike: Stampede for Gold - The Golden Trail.
Berton joined the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
as associate editor and columnist in 1958, leaving in 1962 to commence The Pierre Berton Show
The Pierre Berton Show
The Pierre Berton Show was a television show hosted by Pierre Berton. It ran from 1962 to 1973, and Berton regularly interviewed important artists, actors, and other public figures. His iconic interviews included Malcolm X in 1965, Lenny Bruce in 1966, and the only known interview with Bruce Lee in...
, which ran until 1973. It was on this show that in 1971 Berton interviewed Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
in what was to be the famous martial artist's only surviving television interview. Berton's television career included spots as host and writer on My Country
My Country
"My Country" is an iconic patriotic poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar at the age of 19 while homesick in England. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years she started writing the poem in London in 1904 and re-wrote it several times...
, The Great Debate, Heritage Theatre, The Secret of My Success and The National Dream
The National Dream
The National Dream refers to:* The National Dream, the 1970 Canadian book by Pierre Berton* The National Dream, the Canadian TV miniseries based on Pierre Berton's book...
.
Berton served as the Chancellor of Yukon College
Yukon College
Yukon College is a community college in the Canadian territory of Yukon. Its main campus is in Whitehorse, Yukon. The college was founded in 1983, replacing the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre, which had been in operation since the 1960s...
and, along with numerous honorary degrees, received over 30 literary awards such as the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Léger Award for Lifetime Achievement in Heritage Conservation. He is a member of Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
, having been inducted in 1998. In The Greatest Canadian
The Greatest Canadian
Officially launched on April 5, 2004, The Greatest Canadian was a television program series by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, at least among those who watched and participated in the program...
project, he was voted #31 in the list of great Canadians.
In 2004, Berton published his 50th book, Prisoners of the North, after which he announced in an interview with CanWest News Service
CanWest News Service
Postmedia News is a national news agency with correspondents in Canada, Europe, and the United States and is part of the Canadian newspaper chain owned by Postmedia Network Inc.-History:...
that he was retiring from writing. On October 17, 2004, the $12.6 million CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
Pierre Berton Resource Library, named in his honour, was opened in Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
.
He had lived in nearby Kleinburg, Ontario
Kleinburg, Ontario
-External links:* * *...
, for about fifty years.
Berton raised eyebrows in October 2004 by discussing his forty years of recreational use of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
on two CBC Television
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
programs, Play and Rick Mercer Report
Rick Mercer Report
Rick Mercer Report is a Canadian television comedy series which airs on CBC Television...
. On the latter show he gave a "celebrity tip" on how to roll a joint.
Death
Berton died at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, reportedly of heart failureCongestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
, at the age of 84 on November 30, 2004.
His childhood home in Dawson City, now called Berton House, is a writers' retreat. Established writers apply for three-month long subsidized residencies there; while in residence, they give a public reading in both Dawson City and Whitehorse. The Berton House Retreat is sponsored by a charitable foundation set up to support it and by the Klondike Visitors Association; the administrator is Elsa Franklin. Franklin was Berton's long-time editor and agent.
Pierre Berton Award
Established in 1994, the Pierre Berton Award is presented annually by Canada's National History SocietyCanada's National History Society
Canada's National History Society is a Canadian Winnipeg-based charitable organization founded in 1994 by the Hudson's Bay Company for the purpose of promoting greater popular interest in Canadian history principally through its publishing activities and outreach and recognition programs...
for distinguished achievement in presenting Canadian history in an informative and engaging manner. Berton was the first recipient and agreed to lend his name to future awards.
Awards
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee MedalQueen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee MedalThe Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...
2002 - Order of Canada, CompanionOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, 1986. - Canadian Booksellers Award, 1982.
- Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for non-fiction, 1981
- Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee MedalQueen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee MedalThe Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...
1977 - Nellie Award, best public affairs broadcaster in radio, 1978.
- Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
s for: The Last Spike, 1972; Klondike, 1958; The Mysterious North, 1956. - Stephen LeacockStephen LeacockStephen Butler Leacock, FRSC was an English-born Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist...
Medal for Humour, 1959.
External links
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- CBC Archives
- Berton House Writers' Retreat
- Pierre Berton Award
- The Story of the Klondike: Stampede for Gold - The Golden Trail Album Details at Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...