John Hofsess: Difference between revisions

John Hofsess
John Hofsess
Born	May 27, 1938
Died	February 29, 2016 (aged 77); Switzerland
Nationality	Canadian
Education	McMaster University
Occupations	Writer; filmmaker; activist;

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John Hofsess (May 27, 1938^[1] – February 29, 2016^[2]) was a Canadian writer, filmmaker and right-to-die activist.

Early life and education

John Hofsess was born May 27, 1938, to Jack and Gladys Hofsess. He began working as a busboy at 15 at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and, due to his parents' ill health, became the family's breadwinner at age 23.

At age 25 Hofsess enrolled in McMaster University and, while continuing to work as a busboy there, began to study English. Three years later, in 1966, Hofsess founded the McMaster Film Board, alongside Ivan Reitman, who would later direct National Lampoon's Animal House, and the first Ghostbusters film, and produce the sequel. During this time, Hofsess produced 1967's Palace of Pleasure (which had a brief David Cronenberg cameo) and Columbus of Sex, which were praised by avant-garde critics.

Columbus of Sex, which Hofsess made for US$3,000 while attending McMaster, was re-edited with new footage and retitled as My Secret Life for U.S. release in the early 1970s.^[3] It was later seized by Hamilton police, and Hofsess and Reitman were charged with obscenity. They were both found innocent, but the film was destroyed.^{[citation needed]}

Later work

After being charged with obscenity, Hofsess never worked on another film. He did however found the Filmmakers Co-operative of Canada alongside Peter Rowe and later became a film critic. Hofsess would also publish Inner Views in 1975, a collection of interviews with numerous Canadian filmmakers.

Right-to-die activism

Hofsess had long been a supporter of assisted suicide, but the suicide of Canadian filmmaker Claude Jutra in 1986, following a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, was noted by him and others to be the tipping point for Hofsess progression into activism. In 1991, Hofsess created the Right to Die Society of Canada which targeted laws that made assisting suicide a crime. Hofsess would also create the magazine Last Rights, which dealt with similar subjects.

Death

At 77, Hofsess was diagnosed with terminal pulmonary fibrosis and prostate cancer; he also suffered from an unstable heart. In his final weeks, he said "my quality of life has disintegrated".^[4] After assisting in the suicide of others in at least eight instances, Hofsess took his own life at a clinic of the Eternal Spirit Foundation, near Basel, Switzerland.

References

^ John Hofsess, 77, devoted his life to death Globe and Mail obituary by Martin Levin, March 18, 2016
^ Weld, Madeline. "Inside the Swiss death room where John Hofsess ended his life". Toronto Life. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
^ Canby, Vincent (1971-05-02). "Sure, Hollywood Is Collapsing, But...". The New York Times. p. D1. Retrieved 2023-05-19 – via ProQuest.
^ Hofsess, John. "By the time you read this, I'll be dead". Toronto Life. Retrieved 6 March 2016.

[1] John Hofsess, 77, devoted his life to death Globe and Mail obituary by Martin Levin, March 18, 2016

[death_in_switzerland-2] Weld, Madeline. "Inside the Swiss death room where John Hofsess ended his life". Toronto Life. Retrieved 6 March 2016.

[3] Canby, Vincent (1971-05-02). "Sure, Hollywood Is Collapsing, But...". The New York Times. p. D1. Retrieved 2023-05-19 – via ProQuest.

[help_suicide-4] Hofsess, John. "By the time you read this, I'll be dead". Toronto Life. Retrieved 6 March 2016.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Canadian writer, filmmaker and right-to-die activist}}
+{{Infobox person
+| name          = John Hofsess
+| image         =
+| alt           =
+| caption       =
+| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1938|05|27}}
+| birth_place   =
+| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2016|02|29|1938|05|27}}
+| death_place   = Switzerland
+| nationality   = Canadian
+| education     = [[McMaster University]]
+| occupation    = {{hlist|Writer|filmmaker|activist}}
+| years_active  =
+| known_for     =
+}}
 '''John Hofsess''' (May 27, 1938<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/john-hofsess-77-devoted-his-life-to-death/article29302209/ John Hofsess, 77, devoted his life to death] Globe and Mail obituary by Martin Levin, March 18, 2016</ref> – February 29, 2016<ref name="death_in_switzerland">{{cite web|last1=Weld|first1=Madeline|title=Inside the Swiss death room where John Hofsess ended his life|url=http://torontolife.com/city/life/john-hofsess-switzerland-death-room/|website=Toronto Life|accessdate=6 March 2016}}</ref>) was a Canadian writer, filmmaker and [[right-to-die]] activist.
-== Life ==
+== Early life and education==
-John Hofsess was born May 27, 1938 to Jack and Gladys Hofsess. He began working as a busboy at 15 at [[McMaster University]] in Hamilton, Ontario and was conditioned to become the breadwinner of his family with his parents ill health by 23.
+John Hofsess was born May 27, 1938, to Jack and Gladys Hofsess. He began working as a busboy at 15 at [[McMaster University]] in Hamilton, Ontario and, due to his parents' ill health, became the family's breadwinner at age 23.
+At age 25 Hofsess enrolled in [[McMaster University]] and, while continuing to work as a busboy there, began to study English. Three years later, in 1966, Hofsess founded the McMaster Film Board, alongside [[Ivan Reitman]], who would later direct ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House]]'', and the first ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' film, and produce [[Ghostbusters (2016 film)|the sequel]]. During this time, Hofsess produced 1967's ''Palace of Pleasure'' (which had a brief [[David Cronenberg]] cameo) and ''Columbus of Sex'', which were praised by [[avant-garde]] critics.
-==== University activities ====
-At age 25 Hofsess enrolled in McMaster University and began to study English there, alongside working his continuing busboy work. Three years later, in 1966, Hofsess founded the McMaster film board alongside [[Ivan Reitman]], who would later begin to direct ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House]]'', the first ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' film, and produce the [[its sequel|Ghostbusters (2016 film)]]. In this time, Hofsess would produce ''Palace of Pleasure'' in 1967 (which had a brief [[David Cronenberg]] cameo) and ''Columbus of Sex'', which were praised later by [[avant-garde]] critics. The latter film was seized by Hamilton police and Hofsess and Reitman were charged with obscenity. Despite the two being found innocent, the film was destroyed.
+''Columbus of Sex'', which Hofsess made for US$3,000 while attending McMaster, was re-edited with new footage and retitled as ''My Secret Life'' for U.S. release in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |authorlink=Vincent Canby|title=Sure, Hollywood Is Collapsing, But... |url=https://proquest.com/docview/119345771 |access-date=2023-05-19 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1971-05-02 |page=D1 |url-access=registration |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> {{citation needed span|It was later seized by Hamilton police, and Hofsess and Reitman were charged with obscenity. They were both found innocent, but the film was destroyed.|date=May 2023}}
 == Later work ==
-After being charged with obscenity, Hofsess never worked on another film. He did however found the Film makers Co-operative of Canada alongside [[Peter Rowe]] and later became a film critic. Hofsess would also public ''Inner Views'' in 1975, a collection of interviews with numerous Canadian filmmakers.
+After being charged with obscenity, Hofsess never worked on another film. He did however found the Filmmakers Co-operative of Canada alongside [[Peter Rowe (filmmaker)|Peter Rowe]] and later became a film critic. Hofsess would also publish ''Inner Views'' in 1975, a collection of interviews with numerous Canadian filmmakers.
-==== Right-to-die activism ====
+=== Right-to-die activism ===
-Hofsess had long been a supporter of assisted suicide, but the suicide of Canadian filmmaker [[Claude Jutra]] in 1986 after Jutra's diagnosis with early-onset [[Alzheimer's disease]] was noted by him and others to be the tipping point for Hofsess into activism. In 1991, Hofsess created the Right to Die Society of Canada which targeted laws that made assisting suicide a felony. Hofsess would also create a magazine titled Last Rights which dealt with similar subjects.
+Hofsess had long been a supporter of assisted suicide, but the suicide of Canadian filmmaker [[Claude Jutra]] in 1986, following a diagnosis of early-onset [[Alzheimer's disease]], was noted by him and others to be the tipping point for Hofsess progression into activism. In 1991, Hofsess created the Right to Die Society of Canada which targeted laws that made assisting suicide a crime. Hofsess would also create the magazine ''Last Rights'', which dealt with similar subjects.
 == Death ==
-At 78, Hofsess was diagnosed with terminal pulmonary fibrosis and prostate cancer, and he also suffered from an unstable heart.
+At 77, Hofsess was diagnosed with terminal pulmonary fibrosis and prostate cancer; he also suffered from an unstable heart.
-By his own statement, in his final weeks, his "quality of life has disintegrated".<ref name="help_suicide">{{cite web|last1=Hofsess|first1=John|title=By the time you read this, I’ll be dead|url=http://torontolife.com/city/life/john-hofsess-assisted-suicide/|website=Toronto Life|accessdate=6 March 2016}}</ref>
+In his final weeks, he said "my quality of life has disintegrated".<ref name="help_suicide">{{cite web|last1=Hofsess|first1=John|title=By the time you read this, I'll be dead|url=http://torontolife.com/city/life/john-hofsess-assisted-suicide/|website=Toronto Life|accessdate=6 March 2016}}</ref>
-After assisting in the suicide of others in at least eight instances, Hofsess decided to take his own life at a clinic of the Eternal Spirit Foundation, near [[Basel]], [[Switzerland]].
+After assisting in the suicide of others in at least eight instances, Hofsess took his own life at a clinic of the Eternal Spirit Foundation, near [[Basel]], [[Switzerland]].
 == References ==
@@ Line 26: / Line 43: @@
 [[Category:1938 births]]
 [[Category:2016 deaths]]
+[[Category:Deaths by euthanasia]]