Scott Young (writer)
Scott Young | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | June 12, 2005 | (aged 87)
Occupation(s) | Journalist, sportswriter, author, broadcaster |
Children | Neil Young Astrid Young |
Scott Alexander Young (April 14, 1918 – June 12, 2005) was a Canadian journalist, sportswriter, and novelist. He was the father of musicians Neil Young and Astrid Young.[1] Over his career, Young wrote 45 books, including novels and non-fiction for adult and youth audiences.
Early life
Born in
Young began writing while in his teens, submitting stories to various publications, most of which were rejected. At the age of 18, in 1936, he was hired as a copyboy at the Winnipeg Free Press and was soon made sports reporter. He met Edna Blow "Rassy" Ragland in 1937 and the two were married in 1940.[3]
Moves to Toronto
Unable to get a raise at the Free Press, Young moved to
Young began to sell fiction to publications in Canada and the United States including the
In 1949, Young bought a house in Omemee, Ontario, near Peterborough. The family's finances would vary with Young's success in selling his stories and he began taking assignments from Sports Illustrated. His first novel The Flood was published in 1956. Young moved to Pickering, Ontario and spent a year working in public relations for a jet engine company before joining The Globe and Mail as a daily columnist in 1957 and moving back to Toronto. In 1959, Young met Astrid Mead while on assignment in British Columbia. Soon after, he and Edna separated. Following Young's divorce in 1961, he married Mead. They had a daughter, Astrid Young, in 1962.[citation needed]
He was also a host on Hockey Night in Canada until getting on the wrong side of Toronto Maple Leafs co-owner John Bassett. The Leafs threatened HNIC's sponsor and advertising agency until they agreed to fire Young.[citation needed]
Life on the farm
In 1967, Young bought a 100-acre (0.40 km2)
In 1980s, he wrote a series of detective stories that featured Inuit detective Matthew "Matteesie" Kitologitak, including "The Shaman's Knife" and "Murder in A Cold Climate".[citation needed]
In 1988, Young received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.[4] He was later inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.[5]
Young and his wife sold the farm in the late 1980s and moved to
He wrote a book on his life with his son Neil, Neil and Me, in 1984.[6]
He and Margaret moved to Kingston, Ontario, in 2004, where he died the following year at age 87.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ "Archives of Ontario : Scott Young fonds".
- ^ "Young, Scott fonds". trentu.ca.
- ^ "Featured Articles about Ragland - Page 3 - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel". orlandosentinel.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013.
- ^ Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winners
- ^ Scott Young’s biography at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
- ISBN 0952954028
References
- Scott Young, A Writer's Life, Doubleday Canada, 1994
- Scott Young, Neil And Me, McClelland and Stewart, 1984
- Michael Power, "Scott Young recalled as a 'gentleman'", Peterborough This Week, June 15, 2005
- "Writer Scott Young dies at 87; Covered all major sporting events; Wrote 45 books during career", Toronto Star, June 14, 2005. pg. E03