View source for Timothy Findley

{{Short description|Canadian novelist and playwright}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
| name             = Timothy Findley
| image            = Timothy findley.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = 
| pseudonym        = 
| birth_name       = Timothy Irving Frederick Findley
| birth_date       = {{Birth_date|1930|10|30}}
| birth_place      = [[Toronto]], Ontario
| death_date       = {{Death_date_and_age|2002|6|20|1930|10|30}}
| death_place      = [[Brignoles]], France
| resting_place    = 
| occupation       = novelist, short story writer, playwright, actor
| language         = English
| nationality      = Canadian
| ethnicity        = 
| citizenship      = 
| education        = 
| alma_mater       = 
| period           = 1960s–2000s
| genre            = 
| subject          = 
| movement         = [[Southern Ontario Gothic]]
| notableworks     = ''[[The Wars]]'', ''[[Headhunter (novel)|Headhunter]]'', ''[[Pilgrim (Timothy Findley novel)|Pilgrim]]'', ''[[Elizabeth Rex]]''
| spouse           = 
| partner          = [[William Whitehead (Canadian writer)|Bill Whitehead]]
| children         = 
| relatives        = 
| influences       = 
| influenced       = 
| awards           = [[Governor General's Award]], [[Trillium Book Award]]
| signature        = 
| signature_alt    = 
| website          = 
| portaldisp       = 
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|OOnt}}
}}
'''Timothy Irving Frederick Findley,''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC}} (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright.<ref name=tiffiness>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/obit/findley/ "Timothy Findley: 'The world of Tiffiness'"]. [[CBC News]], June 21, 2002.</ref> He was also informally known by the nickname '''Tiff''' or '''Tiffy''', an acronym of his initials.<ref name=tiffiness />

==Biography==
===Early life===
One of three sons, Findley was born in [[Toronto]], Ontario, to Allan Gilmour Findley, a stockbroker, and his wife, the former Margaret Maude Bull. His paternal grandfather was president of [[Massey-Harris]], the farm-machinery company. He was raised in the upper class [[Rosedale, Toronto|Rosedale]] district of the city,<ref name=tiffiness /> attending boarding school at [[St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ontario)|St. Andrew's College]] (although leaving during grade 10 for health reasons). He pursued a career in the arts, studying dance and acting, and had significant success as an actor before turning to writing. He was part of the original [[Stratford Festival]] company in the 1950s,<ref name=canenc /> acting alongside [[Alec Guinness]], and appeared in the first production of [[Thornton Wilder]]'s ''[[The Matchmaker (play)|The Matchmaker]]'' at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Festival]].<ref name="canenc">[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/timothy-findley/ Timothy Findley's] entry in [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]].</ref> He also played Peter Pupkin in ''[[Sunshine Sketches (TV series)|Sunshine Sketches]]'', the [[CBC Television]] adaptation of [[Stephen Leacock]]'s ''[[Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town]]''.

===Career===
Though Findley had declared his homosexuality as a teenager, he married actress/photographer Janet Reid in 1959. The union lasted only three months and was dissolved by divorce or annulment two years later.<ref name=tiffiness /> He eventually became the domestic partner of writer [[William Whitehead (Canadian writer)|Bill Whitehead]], whom he met in 1962. Findley and Whitehead also collaborated on several documentary projects in the 1970s, including the television miniseries ''[[The National Dream (miniseries)|The National Dream]]'' and ''[[Dieppe 1942]]''.<ref name=tiffiness /> Whitehead and Findley won the [[ACTRA Award]] for Best Writing in a Television Documentary at the [[4th ACTRA Awards]] in 1975 for ''The National Dream''.<ref name=hutt>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105705850/ "William Hutt wins ACTRA best acting award"]. ''[[Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]]'', April 24, 1975.</ref>

Through Wilder, Findley became a close friend of actress [[Ruth Gordon]], whose work as a screenwriter and playwright inspired Findley to consider writing as well.<ref name=tiffiness /> After Findley published his first short story in the ''[[Tamarack Review]]'', Gordon encouraged him to pursue writing more actively, and he eventually left acting in the 1960s.<ref name=tiffiness />

Findley's first two novels, ''The Last of the Crazy People'' (1967) and ''The Butterfly Plague'' (1969), were originally published in Britain and the United States after having been rejected by Canadian publishers.<ref name=tiffiness /> Findley's third novel, ''[[The Wars]]'', was published to great acclaim in 1977 and went on to win the [[Governor General's Award for English-language fiction]].<ref name=tiffiness /> Director [[Robin Phillips]] subsequently adapted the novel into the 1983 theatrical film ''[[The Wars (film)|The Wars]]''.<ref name=tiffiness />

Findley received a Governor General's Award, the [[Canadian Authors Association]] Award, an [[ACTRA Award]], the [[Order of Ontario]], the [[Trillium Book Award]], and in 1985 he was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]].<ref name=canenc /> He was a founding member and chair of the [[Writers' Union of Canada]], and a president of the Canadian chapter of [[PEN International]].<ref name=canenc />

His writing was typical of the [[Southern Ontario Gothic]] style – Findley, in fact, first invented its name<ref>Gibson, Graeme. ''Eleven Canadian Novelists''. 1973. Toronto:  The House of Anansi Press. 138.</ref> — and was heavily influenced by [[Carl Jung|Jungian]] psychology. [[Mental illness]], [[gender identity|gender]] and [[sexuality]] were frequent recurring themes in his work. Many of his novels centred on a protagonist who was struggling to find the moral and ethical and rational course of action in a situation that had spun wildly out of control. His characters often carried dark personal secrets, and were often conflicted – sometimes to the point of [[psychosis]] — by these burdens.

He publicly mentioned his homosexuality, passingly and perhaps for the first time, on a broadcast of the programme ''The Shulman File'' in the 1970s, taking host [[Morton Shulman]] completely by surprise.

Findley and Whitehead resided at Stone Orchard, a farm near [[Cannington, Ontario]], and in the south of France.<ref name=tiffiness /> In 1996, Findley was honoured by the French government, who declared him a Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres.<ref name=tiffiness />

Findley was also the author of several dramas for television and stage. ''[[Elizabeth Rex]]'', his most successful play, premiered at the [[Stratford Festival]] to rave reviews and won a Governor General's award. His 1993 play ''[[The Stillborn Lover]]'' was adapted by [[Shaftesbury Films]] into the television film ''External Affairs'', which aired on [[CBC Television]] in 1999. ''Shadows'', first performed in 2001, was his last completed work.<ref name=canenc /> Findley was also an active mentor to a number of young Canadian writers, including [[Marnie Woodrow]] and [[Elizabeth Ruth]].

In the final years of Findley's life, declining health led him to move his Canadian residence to Stratford, Ontario, and Stone Orchard was purchased by Canadian dancer [[Rex Harrington]].<ref>[http://archives.xtra.ca/Story.aspx?s=2294692 "Behind the tutu: Rex Harrington's elusive retirement"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202050804/http://archives.xtra.ca/Story.aspx?s=2294692 |date=December 2, 2008 }}. ''[[Xtra!]]'', November 25, 2004.</ref>

In 2002, he was inducted into [[Canada's Walk of Fame]].

===Death===
Findley died on June 20, 2002, in [[Brignoles]], France, not far from his house in [[Cotignac]].<ref name=canenc /> ''Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley'', a biography by Sherrill Grace, was published in 2020.<ref>[[Robert J. Wiersema]], [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2020/08/27/timothy-findley-biography-an-enthralling-exploration-of-a-complicated-man.html "Timothy Findley biography 'an enthralling exploration of a complicated man'"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', August 27, 2020.</ref>

Findley and the development of his theatrical play ''[[The Stillborn Lover]]'' were profiled by [[Terence Macartney-Filgate]] in the 1992 documentary film ''[[Timothy Findley: Anatomy of a Writer]]''.<ref name=shaw>Ted Shaw, "Will the real Findley stand up?". ''[[Windsor Star]]'', January 30, 1992.</ref>

==Quotations==
* "When we have stopped killing animals as though they were so much refuse, we will stop killing one another. But the highways show our indifference to death, so long as it is someone else's. It is an attitude of the human mind I do not grasp. I have no point of connection with it. People drive in such a way that you think they do not believe in death. Their own lives are their business, but my life is not their business. I cannot refrain from terrific anger when I am threatened so casually by strangers on a public road." – from 1965 journal, at p.&nbsp;16 of ''[[Journeyman: Travels of a Writer]]''.<ref name=Journeyman/>
* "A myth is not a lie, as such, but only the truth in size twelve shoes. Its gestures are wider—its voice is projected farther—its face has bolder features than reality would dare contrive." – from 1992 speech, reproduced at p.&nbsp;75 of ''Journeyman: Travels of a Writer''.<ref name=Journeyman/>

==Bibliography==

===Novels===
* ''[[The Last of the Crazy People]]'' (1967)
* ''[[The Butterfly Plague]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Wars]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Famous Last Words (novel)|Famous Last Words]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Not Wanted on the Voyage]]'' (1984)
* ''[[The Telling of Lies]]'' (1986) (1989)
* ''[[Headhunter (novel)|Headhunter]]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Piano Man's Daughter]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Pilgrim (Timothy Findley novel)|Pilgrim]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Spadework]]'' (2001)

===Novella===
* ''You Went Away'' (1996)

===Short story collections===
* ''[[Dinner Along the Amazon]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Stones (short story collection)|Stones]]'' (1988)
* ''Dust to Dust'' (1997)

===Drama===
* ''[[The Paper People]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Don't Let the Angels Fall]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Whiteoaks of Jalna]]'' (1972)
* ''[[The Newcomers (miniseries)|The Newcomers]]'' (1977)
* ''Can You See Me Yet?'' (1977)
* ''[[Catsplay (1978 film)|Catsplay]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Stillborn Lover]]'' (1993)
* ''The Trials of Ezra Pound'' (2000)
* ''[[Elizabeth Rex]]'' (2001)
* ''Shadows'' (2001)

===Docudrama===
* ''[[The National Dream (miniseries)|The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Dieppe 1942]]'' (1979)

===Memoirs===
* ''Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer's Workbook'' (1990)
* ''[[From Stone Orchard]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Journeyman: Travels of a Writer]]'' (2003)

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=Journeyman>
Timothy Findley, ''Journeyman: Travels of a Writer'' (2003, Pebble Publications), {{ISBN|0-00-200673-1}}.</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20070311073410/http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=532 Order of Canada Citation]
* {{IMDb name | id=0277581| name=Timothy Findley}}
* [http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=99958&lang=eng Timothy Findley and William Whitehead fonds (R4441)] at [[Library and Archives Canada]]
* *{{FamilySearch|id=GW7N-ZVW|title=Timothy Irving Frederick Findley OC, O.Ont, DLitt}}

{{Governor General's English drama|state=collapsed}}
{{Governor General's English fiction|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Findley, Timothy}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers]]
[[Category:Canadian gay actors]]
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[[Category:Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights]]
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[[Category:Harbourfront Festival Prize winners]]
[[Category:Male actors from Toronto]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Ontario]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:People from Brock, Ontario]]
[[Category:Postmodern writers]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Toronto]]
[[Category:St. Andrew's College (Aurora) alumni]]
[[Category:Novelists from Toronto]]