Weintraub, William, 1926-2017

William Weintraub was born in Montreal on February 19, 1926, and was educated at McGill University. He was a film producer, script writer, novelist, and journalist. He joined the Montreal Gazette as a reporter in the 1950s and later Weekend Magazine. He worked for the National Film Board for over twenty years. His interest in Canadian history is testified by films such as: Turn of the Century, Between Two Wars, Salute to Fight, and Struggle for a Border. In 1955 he was part of the Canadian delegation in the UNESCO Conference on Films and Television in Tangier, Morocco. In 1973 he was a member of the jury at the Cracow Film Festival, Poland. He also served on the pre-selection jury for the Cannes Film Festival and the Quebec Society for the Promotion of English-Language Literature awards jury. From 1976 to1978, he was Director of English Programming at the National Film Board and during that time he visited the film industry in China. He lectured extensively. His satire Why Rock the Boat? became a best-seller and he is also famous for The Underdogs, reflecting his interest in the political situation of Quebec, and his most recent work Crazy about Lily which pictures life in Montreal in the 1940s. In 2004 he was made Officer of the Order of Canada. William Weintraub died in Montreal in 2017.