- Gary Lautens
Gary Lautens (
November 3 ,1928 -February 1 ,1992 ) was a Canadianhumorist and newspapercolumnist . He wrote for the "Toronto Star " from 1962 until his death.Born in
Fort William, Ontario and raised in Hamilton, Lautens began working for the "Hamilton Spectator " after school and in the summers when he was just 13 years old. He subsequently studied history atMcMaster University , where he was editor of the campus newspaper "The Silhouette " from 1948 to 1950.He subsequently rejoined the "Spectator" in 1950, working as a police reporter, sportswriter and columnist. Fans of the
Hamilton Tigercats once burned Lautens ineffigy after he had written something unflattering about the team in the newspaper. He met his wife, Jackie, in 1957 when she was a contestant and he was a judge in the annual "Miss Tigercat" pageant.In 1962, Lautens was hired by the "Star" to replace
Pierre Berton . At the "Star", Lautens became the most widely-read columnist in Canada. He also hosted occasional television and radio programming onCBC Television .In 1982, Lautens was named
managing editor of the "Star", and successfully increased the paper's circulation and profits even in the midst of an economicrecession . However, he was replaced as managing editor in 1984 and returned to writing his humour column.He died on
February 1 ,1992 of a heart attack. Upon news of Lautens' death, thousands of readers turned up at the "Star" offices, lining up for three days to sign books of condolence.Lautens published four books during his lifetime, and was twice winner of the
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour . Two further books collecting some of his most popular columns were published posthumously.His younger brother Trevor Lautens was a long-time columnist for the "
Vancouver Sun ", and oldest sonStephen Lautens is also a noted Canadian newspaper columnist.Books
* "Laughing with Lautens" (1964)
* "Take My Family...Please!" (1980)
* "No Sex Please...We're Married" (1983)
* "How Pierre and I Saved the Civilized World" (1984)
* "Peace, Mrs. Packard and the Meaning of Life" (1993)
* "The Best of Gary Lautens" (1995)External links
* [http://www.lautens.com/dad.html Gary Lautens]
References
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