Milton Shulman
Encyclopedia
Milton Shulman was a Canadian author, film and theatre critic.
and were driven out of the Russian Empire
by poverty and the pogroms against the Jews. His father was only 26 when he died of the ‘flu epidemic but had already acquired three millinery shops as well as a men’s haberdashery.
Shulman was educated at Harbord Collegiate, then spent four years at the University of Toronto
. Although he wished to pursue a writing career, he was articled to a law firm, attending lectures at Osgoode Hall Law School
for a further three years before being called to the Ontario bar just before war broke out in 1939.
’s formations.
He joined Canadian Army HQ three month’s before D-Day
as a major and by the war's end he was an intelligence officer with the First Canadian Army. While still in uniform, he interviewed many of the captured German generals in the following months and years including Gerd von Rundstedt
and Kurt Meyer. As a result of these interviews he wrote the classic Second World War military history Defeat in the West, published in London by Secker & Warburg in April 1947, and by Dutton in New York in January 1948. The book remains in print in paperback.
in 1947 and for five decades wrote about theatre, film, television and politics with sharp humour and irreverence. He also became film critic for the Sunday Express and Vogue
, and for 18 years he was a regular participant in BBC Radio 4
’s witty talk show Stop The Week
.
During this time he also wrote two novels, The Victors (Dell 1963) and Kill Three (Collins 1967); the Preep series of children’s books; and two serious books on the impact of television, The Ravenous Eye (Cassel 1973) and The Least Worst Television in the World (Barrie and Jenkins 1973), as well as a 90-minute play for BBC 2
.
He and his fellow critic Herbert Kretzmer
co-wrote the screenplay for the film comedy Every Home Should Have One
(1970) and a paperback, successfully published by Hodder & Stoughton, to coincide with the film’s release.
Shulman received the IPA
Award as Critic of the Year 1966. In 1956, he wrote a scathing review of a musical Wild Grows the Heather based on a J. M. Barrie
play, The Little Minister. Directed by Ralph Reader
who also wrote the lyrics, it received an ovation on its first night but Shulman and other critics knew that this was because Reader had given out first night tickets to the boys taking part in one of his Boy Scout productions and told them to go along and give the piece a good reception. Among other things, Shulman said that the plot "moved at the pace of cold porridge going uphill."
In 1994, three years after Milton Shulman had retired from theatre reviewing, The Observer critic Michael Coveney
published The Aisle is Full of Noises, a spirited 'vivisection of the live theatre' which he arranged in the form of a diary, including some witty if not entirely flattering references to Shulman, while bracketing him with 'the kosher butchers — Herbert Kretzmer
, Bernard Levin
and David Nathan
.'
Shulman took great offence, as reported in The Times newspaper diary of 21 September 1994: "Solicitors are trying to hammer out a deal to prevent court action against Nick Hern
, the small publisher of the offending work. "I thought the comments were in the spirit of the book,' pleads Coveney. 'I rather regret that Milton, of whom I am actually rather fond, didn't take them in that spirit.' Shulman is tight-lipped, 'There are negotiations going on at the moment. I have not issued a writ for libel.'" The final outcome was that the book was withdrawn from circulation but, according to Coveney speaking in October 2007, by then most of the copies had been sold.
He first met journalist Drusilla Beyfus in 1951: “I had for months been meeting Drusilla in cocktail bars and restaurants. She was the most decorative aspect of the Daily Express, where her elegant figure, piquant face and ever-smiling personality were in constant demand by feature writers and columnists.” After a long courtship, interrupted by her sojourn in America as an author and freelance writer, they married at Caxton Hall
on 6 June 1956. There are three children of the marriage: Alexandra Shulman
, Nicola Shulman
and Jason Shulman. He described his family as less a journalistic dynasty than "an epidemic".
He died in London, aged 90.
Early life
He was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of a successful shopkeeper. His parents were born in UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and were driven out of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
by poverty and the pogroms against the Jews. His father was only 26 when he died of the ‘flu epidemic but had already acquired three millinery shops as well as a men’s haberdashery.
Shulman was educated at Harbord Collegiate, then spent four years at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Although he wished to pursue a writing career, he was articled to a law firm, attending lectures at Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
for a further three years before being called to the Ontario bar just before war broke out in 1939.
War service
After the ‘phoney war’ period Shulman signed up for the Canadian army, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Canadian Armoured Corps and posted to England in June 1943. Stationed in London as a captain he was assigned to the secret operational intelligence unit MI 14b, dealing with the order of battle of the WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
’s formations.
He joined Canadian Army HQ three month’s before D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
as a major and by the war's end he was an intelligence officer with the First Canadian Army. While still in uniform, he interviewed many of the captured German generals in the following months and years including Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
and Kurt Meyer. As a result of these interviews he wrote the classic Second World War military history Defeat in the West, published in London by Secker & Warburg in April 1947, and by Dutton in New York in January 1948. The book remains in print in paperback.
London career
Shulman joined the staff of the London Evening StandardEvening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
in 1947 and for five decades wrote about theatre, film, television and politics with sharp humour and irreverence. He also became film critic for the Sunday Express and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, and for 18 years he was a regular participant in BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
’s witty talk show Stop The Week
Stop The Week
Stop the Week was a long running BBC Radio 4 discussion programme chaired by Robert Robinson which ran from 1974–1992-Origins:The BBC Radio's Current Affairs Department decided that it wanted a programme that would act as a bookend to Monday morning's Start the Week with Richard Baker, which had...
.
During this time he also wrote two novels, The Victors (Dell 1963) and Kill Three (Collins 1967); the Preep series of children’s books; and two serious books on the impact of television, The Ravenous Eye (Cassel 1973) and The Least Worst Television in the World (Barrie and Jenkins 1973), as well as a 90-minute play for BBC 2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
.
He and his fellow critic Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer OBE is a South African-born English journalist and lyric writer. He is perhaps best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of Les Misérables.-Journalist:...
co-wrote the screenplay for the film comedy Every Home Should Have One
Every Home Should Have One
Every Home Should Have One is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman, Judy Cornwell, Patrick Cargill, Penelope Keith and Julie Ege. An advertising man is tasked by his boss with trying to come up with a sexy new image for porridge...
(1970) and a paperback, successfully published by Hodder & Stoughton, to coincide with the film’s release.
Shulman received the IPA
International Publishers Association
The International Publishers Association is an international publishing industry federation of national Publisher associations representing book and journal publishing. It is a non-profit and non-governmental organization, founded in 1896 to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness...
Award as Critic of the Year 1966. In 1956, he wrote a scathing review of a musical Wild Grows the Heather based on a J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
play, The Little Minister. Directed by Ralph Reader
Ralph Reader
William Henry Ralph Reader CBE , known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, best known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouting Movement.Reader was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, the son of a...
who also wrote the lyrics, it received an ovation on its first night but Shulman and other critics knew that this was because Reader had given out first night tickets to the boys taking part in one of his Boy Scout productions and told them to go along and give the piece a good reception. Among other things, Shulman said that the plot "moved at the pace of cold porridge going uphill."
In 1994, three years after Milton Shulman had retired from theatre reviewing, The Observer critic Michael Coveney
Michael Coveney
Michael Coveney is a British theatre critic. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Stamford Hill and Worcester College, Oxford....
published The Aisle is Full of Noises, a spirited 'vivisection of the live theatre' which he arranged in the form of a diary, including some witty if not entirely flattering references to Shulman, while bracketing him with 'the kosher butchers — Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer OBE is a South African-born English journalist and lyric writer. He is perhaps best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of Les Misérables.-Journalist:...
, Bernard Levin
Bernard Levin
Henry Bernard Levin CBE was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by The Times as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship to the independent school Christ's Hospital and went on to the London School of Economics,...
and David Nathan
David Nathan (journalist)
David Nathan was a British journalist.Born in Manchester, he joined the Daily Herald in 1955. Initially employed as a general reporter, he became a drama critic and entertainment writer on the newspaper...
.'
Shulman took great offence, as reported in The Times newspaper diary of 21 September 1994: "Solicitors are trying to hammer out a deal to prevent court action against Nick Hern
Nick Hern Books
Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nick Hern in 1988.-History:...
, the small publisher of the offending work. "I thought the comments were in the spirit of the book,' pleads Coveney. 'I rather regret that Milton, of whom I am actually rather fond, didn't take them in that spirit.' Shulman is tight-lipped, 'There are negotiations going on at the moment. I have not issued a writ for libel.'" The final outcome was that the book was withdrawn from circulation but, according to Coveney speaking in October 2007, by then most of the copies had been sold.
Family
Shulman married his first wife Joyce in Toronto in 1943, two months before he embarked on a troopship for England, and never saw her again. They were divorced in 1948.He first met journalist Drusilla Beyfus in 1951: “I had for months been meeting Drusilla in cocktail bars and restaurants. She was the most decorative aspect of the Daily Express, where her elegant figure, piquant face and ever-smiling personality were in constant demand by feature writers and columnists.” After a long courtship, interrupted by her sojourn in America as an author and freelance writer, they married at Caxton Hall
Caxton Hall
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily for its historical associations...
on 6 June 1956. There are three children of the marriage: Alexandra Shulman
Alexandra Shulman
Alexandra Shulman, OBE , is the editor of the British edition of Vogue. She is one of the country's most oft-quoted voices on fashion trends. She took the helm of Vogue in 1992, presiding over a circulation increase to 200,000 and a higher profile for the publication...
, Nicola Shulman
Constantine Phipps, 5th Marquess of Normanby
Constantine Edmund Walter Phipps, 5th Marquess of Normanby is the son of Oswald Phipps, 4th Marquess of Normanby and Grania Guinness. He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford....
and Jason Shulman. He described his family as less a journalistic dynasty than "an epidemic".
He died in London, aged 90.
Publications
- Defeat in the West, (1947)
- How to be a celebrity with caractures by VickyVictor WeiszVictor Weisz was a German-British political cartoonist, drawing under the name of Vicky.- Biography :...
, (1950)