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Les Stroud

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Les Stroud
Born (1961-10-20) October 20, 1961 (age 63)[1][2][3]
Mimico, Ontario, Canada
OccupationMusician/Survivalist
SpouseSusan Stroud (née Jamison)
ChildrenRaylan Stroud, Logan Stroud

Les Stroud (Born October 20, 1961 in Mimico, Ontario[1][2][3]) is a Canadian musician, film maker, and survival expert best known as the host of the television program Survivorman. After a short career behind the scenes in the music industry, Stroud became a full-time wilderness guide, survival instructor and musician based in Huntsville, Ontario. Stroud has produced survival-themed programming for The Outdoor Life Network, The Discovery Channel, and The Science Channel. The survival skills imparted from watching Stroud's television programs have been cited by several people as the reason they lived through harrowing wilderness ordeals.[4]

Biography

After graduating from Mimico High School in 1980,[5] Stroud went on to complete the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.[6] Stroud worked for several years at the Toronto-based music video channel MuchMusic, and as a songwriter for his band New Regime before a Temagami canoe trip sparked a career change.[1] During this time he also worked as garbage collector for the City of Toronto.[3] In 1990 Stroud became a guide for Black Feather Wilderness Adventures leading canoe excursions into the Northern Ontario wilds.[3] It was also during this time while on a survival course he met his future wife, photographer Sue Jamison.[2] They married in 1994 and together left for a year-long honeymoon in the remote Wabakimi area of Ontario which was to become the basis of the documentary Snowshoes and Solitude. Afterwards, the couple moved to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories where Stroud was employed as an outdoor instructor to special needs individuals of aboriginal descent.[7] Stroud and Jamison then settled in Huntsville, Ontario, and started the outdoor instructional outfit Wilderness Voice and the media company Wilderness Spirit Productions.[6] Inspired by the popularity of the television show Survivor, Stroud pitched a more authentic version of the show to The Discovery Channel Canada. Stroud produced two programs titled One Week in the Wilderness and Winter in the Wilderness for @discovery.ca in 2001.[8] The success of these specials led to the development of his current show Survivorman which follows a similar format, leaving Stroud on his own, with minimal equipment, in the wilderness to film his survival experience.

Stroud has extensive experience with survival and primitive living skills, initially training with experts Gino Ferri and David Arama.[9][10] He went on to study with many others including John "Prairie Wolf" McPherson.[11]

Stroud has been an active participant in adventure racing and has competed at the Canadian championships.[9]

Film and television

File:Snowshoes-and-Solitudes.jpg
Les Stroud's documentary on primitive living

After his marriage to Sue Jamison in 1994, the two of them spent one year in the Canadian wilderness living a paleolithic existence. They traveled to Goldsborough Lake (50°41′55″N 89°20′46″W / 50.69861°N 89.34611°W / 50.69861; -89.34611) deep in the Wabakimi and built a cabin with no metal, plastic, or otherwise manufactured tools. They took a store of traditional foods and attempted to supplement it by hunting and trapping. Family and medical emergencies brought them out of the bush on two occasions. Their primitive living experience was filmed by Stroud and released as the 50 minute documentary, Snowshoes and Solitude, which was named Best Documentary at the Muskoka Film Festival and Best Film at the Waterwalker Film Festival.[12]

In 2001 Stroud produced two one-hour specials for the science news show @discovery.ca. These segments follow the same format as Survivorman with Stroud filming his own survival in the wilderness. They were originally broadcast as daily segments over the course of one week but were repackaged as two one-hour specials titled Stranded.[2] The popularity of these pilots spawned the show Survivorman. Stroud teamed up with producer Dave Brady to produce 10 episodes of the show which began airing in 2004.[2]

From 2004 to 2008 Stroud produced 13 more episodes of Survivorman which aired over two additional seasons. In late 2008, Stroud announced publicly that he was wrapping up production of Survivorman due to the significant physical toll of filming each episode.[13]. However, in January 2009, Stroud categorically said he's not quitting Survivorman after season 3, refuting earlier retirement rumors as a misquote.[14]

In 2006, Stroud produced a 90-minute special documenting his family's journey to building an off-the-grid home. The show, Off the Grid with Les Stroud, chronicled the process of buying property and refitting an old farm house with solar and wind power, a raincatcher and well, as well as the adjustments the Stroud family had to make to adapt to this style of living.[1] Les Stroud has made multiple television appearances including on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Larry King Live.[15]

In addition Les Stroud has also hosted an episode of the Discovery channel show I Shouldn't Be Alive entitled Lost In The Snow, which aired during its first season and the TV program Surviving Urban Disasters, which aired on the Science Channel and the 20th annual Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.[16]

Music

In addition to film making and wilderness survival, Les Stroud has also worked in the music industry as a professional musician. After graduation, Stroud worked both as an associate producer for the nascent music channel MuchMusic as well as an assistant director of music videos for artists such as Rush and Corey Hart.[17] During this time Stroud also played in the David Bowie cover band Diamond Dogs and played lead guitar and composed music for his band New Regime[1] which signed with RCA Records shortly after Stroud left the band.[18][7]

File:LesStroudCD.jpg
Cover of Les Stroud's debut CD

As frequently illustrated in his show Survivorman, Stroud is considered an exceptional blues harmonica player.[18] This instrument is featured prominently in his self-titled debut CD which has been described as "a collection of diverse roots/blues and traditional folk, acoustic music that reflects the uniquely northern spirit of freedom and adventure." Several songs off of this album can be downloaded from his official site.[18] Stroud has performed in and around the Muskoka area and at the Orillia Blues Festival and Toronto Beaches International Jazz Festival.

Stroud and The Northern Pikes have struck up a musical collaboration under the name Les Stroud and the Pikes. Throughout 2005 and 2006 they performed together live several times, and an EP born from this collaboration entitled Long Walk Home that was released in the spring of 2007.[18][7]

Awards

Stroud has received several accolades as a musician. He has won "Best Acoustic/Folk Act", "Best Blues Act" and "Best Overall" awards at the Spirit of the North music festival in New Liskeard, Ontario.[6][18][7]

Stroud's documentary Snowshoes and Solitude was named Best Documentary at the Muskoka Film Festival and Best Film at the Waterwalker Film Festival.[12]

In 2008, Stroud was nominated for three Gemini Awards for his work on Survivorman.[19]

The Psychology of Wilderness Survival, Gino F. Ferri
Wilderness Living and Primitive Skills, John and Geri McPherson
Bushcraft, Mors Kochanski
Outdoor Survival Skills, Larry Dean Olsen
The Art of Survival, Cord Christian, Troebst
Any of the Peterson Field Guides (wild edibles, etc.)
[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Gwilt, Alwynne (2006-03-07). "'I am really alone'; Les Stroud, star of OLN's Survivorman, goes to the world's toughest spots, but always gets out alive". Toronto Star. pp. D2.
  2. ^ a b c d e Fralic, Shelly (2005-09-24). "Survivor reality? Les Stroud does it without the net". Vancouver Sun. pp. F3.
  3. ^ a b c d Avery, Roberta (2008-04-19). "Living off the grid natural choice for this 'Survivorman'He will survive off land; Survivorman's quest for off-the-grid life driven by desire for independence". The Toronto Star:New in Homes. The Toronto Star. pp. H10. Retrieved 2008-09-11. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Canada's 'Survivorman' humbled to hear Manitoba man used his tips to survive". Canadian Press. 2008-04-05.
  5. ^ The Peptimist - 1979-1980. Mimico, Ontario: Mimico High School. 1980. p. 44. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Les Stroud website - Bio". Retrieved 2008-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d "Les Stroud - Music". Les Stroud Official Site. Retrieved 2007-09-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Winter in the Wilderness". The Discovery Channel Canada. Retrieved 2007-01-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ a b "Les Stroud FAQ". Les Stroud Official Site. Retrieved 2007-01-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Frenette, Brad (2006-11-11). "Cooler heads prevail in the wild". Financial Post: Weekend. The National Post. pp. FW.3. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Walker, Thayer (July 2007). "Me. By Myself. For A Long Time. (Very Long.)". Outside Magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ a b Deachman, Bruce (2001-03-29). "`The best year of our lives': They survived a year in the bush with nothing but bows and arrows and a makeshift fishing pole. The result is an award-winning documentary coming to Ottawa this weekend, writes Bruce Deachman". Ottawa Citizen. pp. D8. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Goldsmith, Belinda (2008-11-06). "Living in the wild takes toll on TV's "Survivorman"". Reuters News. Retrieved 2009-01-02. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Null, Christopher (2009-1-29). "Survivorman Les Stroud spills secrets of keeping your gadgets alive in the wild". Retrieved 2009-01-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Edwards, Trent (2008-11-26). "A Real Survivor; In an exclusive interview, Les Stroud dishes on his life as Survivorman". Calgary Herald. pp. E6. Retrieved 2009-01-02. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ Huff, Richard (2007-07-29). "Swimming with sharks". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2009-01-02. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ "Survivorman Les Stroud". Paddler Magazine Online. Vol. 26, Issue 5. 2006-01-31. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Survivorman a catch for the Northern Pikes". Entertainment. Parry Sound North Star. 2006-03-22. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  19. ^ "27 Gemini Nominations for Rogers Media Television Properties Citytv and OLN". Canada NewsWire. 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-11. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ http://science.discovery.com/convergence/survivorman/qanda/qanda.html


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