Ted Kotcheff at the DGC Awards dinner, 2011
in conversation with… by MARC GLASSMAN Ted Kotcheff is a force of nature. The winner of the 2011 DGC Lifetime Achievement Award has the energy of someone half his age. He speaks with style and exuberance about his nearly 60-year film career, punctuating his tales with infectious laughter. A born storyteller, Ted Kotcheff re-creates scenes from his life, complete with dialogue, drama and humour. Kotcheff’s air of frankness reminds one of Canadians from his pre-WWII generation: he’s a straight talker, neither falsely modest nor unduly egotistical. Kotcheff is a man who has accomplished a lot and he knows it. But that doesn’t stop him from engaging fully with others—he clearly loves sharing his stories from a life well lived.
Photography by Sean Bourdeau
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MONTAGE
spring 2012
TED
KOTCHEFF
Ted Kotcheff’s creative journey has been long and adventurous. He spent years making fine work in London and Hollywood although his greatest dream was to make films in Canada. He achieved that goal once, with the classic Jewish black comedy The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, written by Kotcheff’s best friend, the brilliant author Mordecai Richler. Though Kotcheff was never able to realise his dream of making films permanently in Canada, there were many successes for him along the way.
spring 2012
MONTAGE
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