Chris Doty (September 8, 1966-February 2, 2006) was a Canadian journalist, historian, award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and playwright, noted for his many contributions to the cultural life of his hometown of London, Ontario. September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A historian is a person who studies history. ... Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional. ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Nickname: The Forest City City of London, Ontario, Canadas Location. ...

A graduate of Tecumseh Public School, South Secondary School and the journalism school at the University of Western Ontario, Doty grew up on Lyndhurst Place in south London. The University of Western Ontario is a public, non-denominational university located in London, Ontario, Canada. ...

History, documentary films and plays

His writing included numerous articles in local publications such as The London Free Press and a book on hangings in London and Ontario. His documentary films covered such subjects as Slippery the Seal and Storybook Gardens in London (Slippery, 1995), London's great flood of 1937 (Lost April: The Flood of '37, 1997), the history of London (Vagabonds and Visionaries: The London Story, 1998), CBC Televisions's Guy Lombardo: When We Danced, 1998), a Guelph, Ontario promotional video (Guelph: City of Opportunity, 2000), the British Royal visit of 1939 (A Great Day for London: The Royal Visit of 1939, 2000), the history of the Grand Theatre, (Let's Go to the Grand, 2001), the history of local television station (originally called CFPL-TV, Channel 10) and the first 40 years of the London Knights hockey team (Green and Gold; 40 Seasons of the London Knights, 2005). The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Guelph (pronounced gwělf) (2004 population 125,872, metropolitan population 155,635) is a city located in southwestern Ontario, Canada, roughly 100 kilometres north-west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Ontario provincial highway 6 and Ontario provincial highway 7. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Grand Theatre is a professional theatre located in London, Ontario, Canada. ... CFPL is a television station owned by CHUM Limited which serves the London and Sarnia regions of Ontario, Canada. ... Conference: Western Division: Midwest Founded: 1965 Home Ice: John Labatt Centre Capacity: 9,100 Ice Size: 200 x 85 City: London, Ontario, Canada Colours: Green, Gold, Black, and White Head Coach: Dale Hunter General Manager: Mark Hunter The London Knights are an ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing...

Doty's historical documentary films have earned Doty Docs a total of six provincial and national awards.

He's also written the commemmorative book, Fifty Years of Music: The Story of EMI Music Canada, 1999, and been active in film restoration, bringing forgotten Canadian films and documentaries back to the public's attention. These have included Here Will I Nest, 1942, The Turkey Point Witch Project, 1962, and Guy Lombardo: A Royal Canadian, 1977.

Doty has restored the only know print of Canada's first feature-length colour movie and has produced a series of historical minutes for both The New PL TV-station (now the A-Channel, originally CFPL-TV), Rogers Television and the City of London. Other recent projects include The Jack Chambers Film Project.

Doty also became involved in local theatre as a playwright and a producer. This included a dramatized recreation of The Donnelly Trial -- the 1880 trial of James Carroll in the mob killing of the notorious Black Donnellys of Biddulph Township north of London near Lucan, Ontario on February 4, 1880 -- in the same courtroom in London's old historic courthouse (now the Middlesex County building) where the trial occurred 126 years ago. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Black Donnellys was the common nickname of the Donnelly family, a family that immigrated from County Tipperary, Ireland, to Canada about 1845-1846, and who participated in a notorious feud in Biddulph Township, Ontario. ... Lucan, Ontario is a town part of Lucan-Biddulph Twp. ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court. ...

Additionally, the second play he co-wrote and produced was about political-marijuana activist, Marc Emery, called Citizen Marc, The Adventures of Marc Emery -- a play based on Doty's 1992 documentary film on Marc Emery called Messing Up the System. In addition, Doty founded the Brickenden Awards for excellence in theatre in London, which Doty recently hosted on Monday, January 30, 2006. Marc Emery wearing his 420 jersey. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mysterious suicide

At the height of his career at the age of 39, on Thursday, February 2, 2006, Doty tragically committed suicide by hanging himself while still wearing his coat and a hat in his home on Trevithen Street in south London -- two days before the final performance of Citizen Marc, which was playing downtown at the London Arts Project on Dundas Street. It has been suggested that Suicide and culture be merged into this article or section. ...

He was found at his home by actor/playwright/colleague Jason Rip and Doty's former girlfriend, Patsy Morgan, on the evening of Friday, February 3, 2006 -- nearly 126 years to the day after the Donnelly massacre -- after he failed to keep appointments/ media interviews scheduled for the previous day. February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The suicide mystified Londoners because as recently as January 31, 2006, Doty had talked about taking his play about Marc Emery on the road to Vancouver, British Columbia. Plans were also in the works to re-stage The Donnelly Trial, which first ran in the spring-summer of 2005 and was both an artistic and box-office success. January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article refers to the city in British Columbia, Canada. ... Look up spring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Summer is a season, defined by convention in meteorology as the whole months of June, July, and August, in the Northern hemisphere, and the whole months of December, January, and February, in the Southern hemisphere. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Doty's funeral at Metropolitan United Church in London on February 7, 2006, was attended by several hundred people, including leading members of London's media and the arts-and-heritage communities. February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

External links

• Chris Doty's Web site
• Free Press article on Doty and his suicide
• Another Doty post-mortem in Free Press