Morton Shulman
| Morton Shulman | |
|---|---|
| Member of Provincial Parliament | |
| In office 1967–1975 |
|
| Preceded by | Alfred Hozack Cowling |
| Succeeded by | Electoral district abolished |
| Constituency | High Park |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1925 Toronto, Ontario |
| Died | 18 August 2000 (aged 75) Toronto, Ontario |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gloria Shulman (née Bossin) |
| Residence | Toronto |
| Occupation | Medical Doctor, Businessman, Politician, Broadcaster |
| Religion | Judaism |
Morton Shulman, OC (25 April 1925 – 17 August 2000) was a Canadian politician, businessman, broadcaster, columnist, coroner, and physician. He was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1925 to a Jewish family. He first came to fame as Ontario's Chief Coroner in the early 1960s. During this period, he also became a very successful stock market player, and authored a bestselling book about how to make money in the stock-market. In the mid 1960s he embarrassed the provincial government when he found them to be disobeying provincial health and safety laws. He was fired and then ran for elected office in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, avenging himself by beating a government Member of Parliament (MPP). He completed two terms as the High Park electoral district's MPP, and did not run in the 1975 Ontario general election. His fame grew in the late 1970s and 1980s when he hosted a nationally distributed television talk show called the Shulman Files. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in the late 1980s and became a pharmaceutical entrepreneur specializing in treatments for that disease. Near the end of his life, he received recognition for all his work when he appointed to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award. He died in Toronto in the year 2000.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Shulman received his M.D from the University of Toronto in 1948. Shulman practiced throughout his professional life with a general practice on Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto.[1] He became wealthy through investing in the stock market and wrote a bestselling book, Anyone Can Make a Million in 1966.[1] He was married to Gloria Shulman (née Bossin) and they had two children, environmental lawyer Dianne Saxe and Dr. Geoff Shulman.[1] Shulman is also the grandfather of noted neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe.[citation needed]
[edit] Coroner
In exchange for his involvement in the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, he was appointed Ontario's chief coroner in 1961.[1] In 1963, he was named Chief Coroner of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.[2] Shulman was outspoken and used the coroner position to crusade on a number of issues such as enacting tougher regulations on lifejackets for small boats, having government regulate car safety, the introduction of breathalysers into Ontario, and against then-restrictive abortion laws after he investigated the deaths of women who had died while trying to terminate their pregnancies.[1] In other crusades, he helped to force surgeons to count instruments before and after surgery, and construction companies to provide better bracing in trenches.[1] His years as a coroner became the inspiration for the Canadian television drama Wojeck.
[edit] Political career
After embarrassing the provincial government by revealing its inaction in enforcing the fire code in a recently built hospital, he was fired, in 1967, as Metro's Chief Coroner.[3] He decided to avenge himself by running for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.[3] Despite ideological differences, he ran for the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) in the High Park electoral district.[3] Despite his strong capitalist beliefs, he decided to run for the democratic socialist party because they gave him a free-hand in choosing where to run, and because their views in support of public safety were compatible with his. He was elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the 1967 provincial election, by defeating High Park's incumbent MPP, Progressive Conservative Alfred Cowling by over 6200 votes.[4]
He used his position in the legislature to become a thorn in the side of the Tory governments led by John Robarts and Bill Davis. He asked provocative questions in the legislature and was known for stunts, such as selling the book The Happy Hooker out of his office after it had been banned by the Toronto Police morality squad — he offered MPPs a 10 percent discount. Once, to make a point about lax security, he carried a pellet gun — dressed up to look like a submachine gun — in a bag through an Ontario nuclear plant, and then pulled it out on the floor of the Legislature. He waved it around happily while cabinet ministers sitting across from him hid under their desks. He wrote the book "MPP" to describe his experiences, one of at least three autobiographies that he wrote. Shulman demanded that he be appointed Attorney General if the NDP ever won government. NDP leader Stephen Lewis refused to commit to making such appointment promise. After clashing with his colleagues in the NDP — particularly Lewis — Shulman decided to leave the legislature and did not run in the 1975 election.
[edit] The Shulman File
After leaving politics, he started a broadcasting career, most notably from 1977 until 1982, he hosted a hard-hitting television talk show on CITY-TV called The Shulman File which featured confrontational interviews, sensationalist and risque topics and outrageous opinions. The show was spoofed by SCTV as Murray's File. At the same time, he began writing a regular column in the Toronto Sun which continued into the 1990s. During this period, he became more involved in the financial community, heading up a mutual fund and pursuing various business interests.
[edit] Deprenyl
Shulman was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1983, and formed a company, Deprenyl Research Ltd., (now known as Draxis) in order to acquire Canadian rights to the anti-Parkinson's drug Deprenyl. His company engaged in a long fight with the federal government for approval of the drug for sale in Canada. He also started a second pharmaceutical company, called DUSA, now run by his son.
[edit] Honours and death
In 1993, Shulman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. After battling Parkinson's disease for more than 15 years, he finally succumbed to the complications arising from that disease at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto on August 18, 2000.[1] He was buried in Pardes Shalom Cemetery on Dufferin Street two days later.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h van Run, Nicholaas (2000-08-19). "Man of many hats, Morton Shulman dies at 75". The Toronto Star (Toronto: Torstar): pp. 1, 14.
- ^ Description of Morton Shulman fonds, Ontario Archives
- ^ a b c "Laborers urged to aid Shulman". The Toronto Daily Star. Allstar Edition (Toronto): p. 29. 1967-09-13.
- ^ Canadian Press (1967-10-18). "Provincial Election results in Metro ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. 3-Star Night Edition (Toronto): p. 66.
[edit] Bibliography
- Shulman, Morton (1975). Coroner. Don Mills: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 9780889020177. OCLC 2913478.
