Bernard Slade, 89, on Oct. 30. Born in St. Catharines, ON, Slade moved to England with his family as a child. Upon his return to Canada, he worked as an Air Canada as a steward before pursuing acting. Slade started his career as an actor in repertory theatre in England and at the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, ON. He headed to Hollywood In the mid-1960s, where he found success writing TV sitcoms at Screen Gems, including Bewitched. That led to ABC series Love on a Rooftop and The Flying Nun. Slade would go on to create The Partridge Family and Bridget Loves Bernie. He was also behind the script for 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted, starring Jacqueline Bisset. In 1975, Slade returned to the theatre with his hit play Same Time, Next Year, with Charles Grodin and Ellen Burstyn in the leads. The play earned Slade a Tony Award nomination. That was followed by the less successful Tribute, with Jack Lemmon in the lead, and then Romantic Comedy, starring Anthony Perkins and Mia Farrow. Slade went on to write the screenplays for the film versions of all three plays, and was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of Same Time, Next Year.
Rick Staehling, 73, on Oct. 25. Staehling was a film critic on CBC Radio One in Vancouver for more than three decades. He started at the public broadcaster in 1971 as a graphic designer. Having studied at the Art Center College of Design in L.A,, Staehling had developed a love of film and started contributing reviews to the local afternoon show. His last review for On The Coast was in 2010. In addition to CBC, Staehling worked as art director for Vancouver magazine and Western Living, and served as an editor at Travel, etc. He also lectured at Capilano University, the University of British Columbia and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Among the awards Staehling received were a Lowell Thomas Travel Writing Award, the Western Magazine Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Vancouver Film Critic’s Circle Ian Caddell Achievement Award.
Peter Novak, 62, on Nov. 3. Novak had a passion for radio from a young age, starting his radio career working part-time at a Montreal radio station while going to college. He started as a regular host on CBC Yukon in the 1980s and made the north his home, remaining on-air at the public broadcaster until his retirement in 2005. He then went to work as a host at Northern Native Broadcasting’s CHON-FM Whitehorse, hosting a variety of shows including Cool Country Morning and Cabin Radio.
Dan Kauffman on Oct. 25. After finishing high school in Toronto, Kauffman took broadcasting courses at Los Angeles’ City College. He went on to work as a film editor for CBC Toronto in 1955, in addition to partnering in a film production firm. In 1960, he joined Edmonton CTV affiliate CFRN-TV. Kauffman worked for CFRN for 35 years, predominantly producing documentaries and features. He was very active in the Edmonton Jewish Community, including serving as President of the Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton and Northern Alberta for eight years, starting in 2001. During that time he produced two documentary films for the organization, “Frome Pedlars to Patriarchs: A Legacy Remembered,” and “Bittersweet Memories: The War Years.”
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