Mordecai Richler

Rising to fame with yarns spun around his childhood in Montreal's Jewish community in the 1940s, Canadian curmudgeon Mordecai Richler would go on to become a seminal figure in contemporary literature with such classic works as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Solomon Gursky Was Here. Moving to London, England, in 1954 for 20 years, Richler continued writing until later moving back to his homeland and settling in Quebec in 1972. With such works as Barney's Version, Richler won numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Writer's Prize and two Governor General's literary awards. Richler's contributions to film included his screenplay adaptations of Kravitz and Joshua Then and Now, as well as screenplays for Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Life at the Top (1965), and Room at the Top (1959). Diagnosed with cancer later in life, Richler died of complications resulting from treatment in his hometown of Montreal in July of 2001. He was 70.