John Herbert was the pen name of John Herbert Brundage (13 October 1926 – 22 June 2001), a Canadian playwright, drag queen, and theatre director best known for his 1967 play Fortune and Men's Eyes.
John Herbert
Born
John Herbert Brundage (1926-10-13)October 13, 1926 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died
June 22, 2001(2001-06-22) (aged 74) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Herbert was born in Toronto on October 13, 1926.[1] After completing high school, he worked in the advertising department of Eaton's and began competing in drag pageants.[2] In the 1940s, Herbert was the victim of an attempted robbery while he was dressed as a woman.[2][nb 1] His assailants falsely claimed that Herbert had solicited them for sex,[2] and Herbert was accused and convicted of indecency[2] under Canada's same-sex sexual activity law, which was not repealed until 1969.[5] After being convicted, Herbert served time in a youth reformatory in Guelph, Ontario.[3][6][7][nb 2] Herbert later served another sentence for indecency at reformatory in Mimico.[2]
Later, Herbert travelled across North America doing odd jobs to support himself before returning to Toronto in 1955. He studied at the National Ballet School of Canada and at Dora Mavor Moore's New Play Society.[1] Herbert co-founded the Garret Theatre with his sister Nana Brundage in 1960.[4][nb 3]
Herbert wrote Fortune and Men's Eyes in 1964 based on his time behind bars.[7] He included the character of Queenie as an authorial self-insertion.[2] The play was first staged as a Stratford Festival workshop directed by Bruno Gerussi, in 1965, but Herbert was unable to find a theatre company willing to mount a full production in Canada.[3] It ultimately premiered as an off-Broadway play in New York City, produced by David Rothenberg and Mitchell Nestor, on February 14, 1967 at the Broadway Actor's Playhouse.[9] Because of his past conviction, Herbert faced difficulties entering the United States to attend productions of his work.[4]
Fortune and Men's Eyes remains the most widely produced play in the history of Canadian theatre, both in Canada and internationally.[1] It has been translated into more than 40 languages and staged internationally. A motion picture version of the work, based on a screenplay by Herbert, was directed by Harvey Hart in 1971.[9][6] The play had a profound impact on producer David Rothenberg. Rothenberg went on to found the Fortune Society, a nonprofit advocacy organization that supports incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated people reintegrate into society.[4][10][3]
Herbert died in 2001.[4] The manual typewriter on which he composed Fortune and Men's Eyes is in the possession of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.[11] A selection of manuscripts, letters and personal papers were donated to the University of Waterloo Library in 1982.[12]
^One source asserts that the attack occurred in 1947,[2] another is vague on the timing,[3] and The New York Times obituary of Herbert asserts that it occurred during Herbert's teens.[4] The cause of the confusion may be the conflation of this arrest with Herbert's subsequent arrest for gross indecency. He served another sentence for indecency at reformatory in Mimico in 1948.[2]
^One source states that Herbert was imprisoned for six months at Guelph,[3] while another states that he spent four months there.[2]
^The decision to drop Brundage from his professional name was made to avoid brother-sister associations with Nana, who had already established a name for herself using the family name.[8]
^"Rights of LGBTI persons". Government of Canada. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
^ abDickinson, Peter (2002). "Critically Queenie: The Lessons of Fortune and Men's Eyes" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Film Studies. 11 (2): 19–43. doi:10.3138/cjfs.11.2.19. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
^Shirley, Don (28 June 2001). "John Herbert; His Play Exposed Prison Life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
^ abMcLeod, Donald W. (1996). (PDF). Toronto: ECW Press/Homewood Books. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
^"Our Founder David Rothenberg to be honored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation!". The Fortune Society. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
^Richardson, Gordon. "What's in the Archives? John Herbert's Typewriter | CLGA Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives". www.clga.ca. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
^"UW acquires Herbert archives". Waterloo Chronicle. 2 June 1982. p. 17. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
"John Herbert fonds". University of Waterloo Library. Special Collections & Archives. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
January 01, 1970
john, herbert, playwright, this, article, about, playwright, others, john, herbert, disambiguation, john, herbert, name, john, herbert, brundage, october, 1926, june, 2001, canadian, playwright, drag, queen, theatre, director, best, known, 1967, play, fortune,. This article is about the playwright For others see John Herbert disambiguation John Herbert was the pen name of John Herbert Brundage 13 October 1926 22 June 2001 a Canadian playwright drag queen and theatre director best known for his 1967 play Fortune and Men s Eyes John HerbertBornJohn Herbert Brundage 1926 10 13 October 13 1926Toronto Ontario CanadaDiedJune 22 2001 2001 06 22 aged 74 Toronto Ontario CanadaNationalityCanadianNotable worksFortune and Men s Eyes 1967 Websitewww wbr npconsultants wbr com wbr johnherbert wbr johnherbert wbr index wbr html Contents 1 Background 2 Selected works 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksBackground editHerbert was born in Toronto on October 13 1926 1 After completing high school he worked in the advertising department of Eaton s and began competing in drag pageants 2 In the 1940s Herbert was the victim of an attempted robbery while he was dressed as a woman 2 nb 1 His assailants falsely claimed that Herbert had solicited them for sex 2 and Herbert was accused and convicted of indecency 2 under Canada s same sex sexual activity law which was not repealed until 1969 5 After being convicted Herbert served time in a youth reformatory in Guelph Ontario 3 6 7 nb 2 Herbert later served another sentence for indecency at reformatory in Mimico 2 Later Herbert travelled across North America doing odd jobs to support himself before returning to Toronto in 1955 He studied at the National Ballet School of Canada and at Dora Mavor Moore s New Play Society 1 Herbert co founded the Garret Theatre with his sister Nana Brundage in 1960 4 nb 3 Herbert wrote Fortune and Men s Eyes in 1964 based on his time behind bars 7 He included the character of Queenie as an authorial self insertion 2 The play was first staged as a Stratford Festival workshop directed by Bruno Gerussi in 1965 but Herbert was unable to find a theatre company willing to mount a full production in Canada 3 It ultimately premiered as an off Broadway play in New York City produced by David Rothenberg and Mitchell Nestor on February 14 1967 at the Broadway Actor s Playhouse 9 Because of his past conviction Herbert faced difficulties entering the United States to attend productions of his work 4 Fortune and Men s Eyes remains the most widely produced play in the history of Canadian theatre both in Canada and internationally 1 It has been translated into more than 40 languages and staged internationally A motion picture version of the work based on a screenplay by Herbert was directed by Harvey Hart in 1971 9 6 The play had a profound impact on producer David Rothenberg Rothenberg went on to found the Fortune Society a nonprofit advocacy organization that supports incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society 4 10 3 Although none of Herbert s other plays were as successful as Fortune and Men s Eyes 1 Herbert remained active as a dancer a theatre director an acting teacher and a theatre lecturer at Ryerson University Glendon College York University and the University of Toronto 2 Herbert died in 2001 4 The manual typewriter on which he composed Fortune and Men s Eyes is in the possession of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives 11 A selection of manuscripts letters and personal papers were donated to the University of Waterloo Library in 1982 12 Selected works editFelice 1955 Pearl Divers 1956 Beer Room 1957 Close Friends 1958 A Ruby Fell 1959 Time To a Waltz 1959 Private Club 1960 A Household God 1961 World of Woyzeck 1963 Born of Medusa s Blood 1965 Fortune and Men s Eyes 1967 Omphale and the Hero 1971 The Dinosaurs 1973 The Token Star 1976 The Power of Paper Dolls 1979 Magda 1981 The Butterfly and the Nightingale 1984 The Biographers 1985 Blanche and Rose s Dream Song 1986 The Primadonna 1988 Broken Antique Dolls 1991 Merchants of Bay Street 1993 Family of a Monster 1995 Marilyn at Seventy 1995 Marlene Richdiet 1998 One Castle Court 1999 Notes edit One source asserts that the attack occurred in 1947 2 another is vague on the timing 3 and The New York Times obituary of Herbert asserts that it occurred during Herbert s teens 4 The cause of the confusion may be the conflation of this arrest with Herbert s subsequent arrest for gross indecency He served another sentence for indecency at reformatory in Mimico in 1948 2 One source states that Herbert was imprisoned for six months at Guelph 3 while another states that he spent four months there 2 The decision to drop Brundage from his professional name was made to avoid brother sister associations with Nana who had already established a name for herself using the family name 8 References edit a b c d John Herbert Archived 2016 08 26 at the Wayback Machine at The Canadian Encyclopedia a b c d e f g h i j John Herbert at the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia a b c d e That Man s Scope John Herbert Now The Body Politic 10 12 13 25 1973 Retrieved 2 August 2016 a b c d e John Herbert Dies at 75 Wrote of Prison Life The New York Times June 27 2001 Rights of LGBTI persons Government of Canada 2017 10 23 Retrieved 2021 02 11 a b Dickinson Peter 2002 Critically Queenie The Lessons of Fortune and Men s Eyes PDF Canadian Journal of Film Studies 11 2 19 43 doi 10 3138 cjfs 11 2 19 Retrieved 10 August 2016 a b John Herbert at The Literary Encyclopedia Shirley Don 28 June 2001 John Herbert His Play Exposed Prison Life Los Angeles Times Retrieved 10 August 2016 a b McLeod Donald W 1996 Lesbian and gay liberation in Canada a selected annotated chronology 1964 1975 PDF Toronto ECW Press Homewood Books p 29 Archived from the original PDF on 30 August 2012 Retrieved 2 August 2016 Our Founder David Rothenberg to be honored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation The Fortune Society 17 June 2015 Retrieved 10 August 2016 Richardson Gordon What s in the Archives John Herbert s Typewriter CLGA Canadian Lesbian amp Gay Archives www clga ca Retrieved 2 August 2016 UW acquires Herbert archives Waterloo Chronicle 2 June 1982 p 17 Retrieved 10 February 2019 External links editJohn Herbert at IMDb John Herbert at the Internet Off Broadway Database John Herbert fonds University of Waterloo Library Special Collections amp Archives 21 July 2014 Retrieved 4 August 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Herbert playwright amp oldid 1198119013, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
