Nick Auf der Maur
Encyclopedia
Nick Auf der Maur was a journalist, politician and "man about town" boulevardier in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. He was also the father of rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur
, through his marriage to Linda Gaboriau
.
The youngest of four children of German Swiss immigrants J. Severn and Theresa Auf der Maur, he was a regular at various downtown Montreal bars, and often transacted official and unofficial business there, entertaining visitors to the city, telling stories, and meeting with a wide range of Montrealers from all walks of life.
. A frequent subject was his daughter Melissa Auf der Maur
, about whom he often wrote in his newspaper columns as she was growing up. She once observed that she had been known her whole life as Nick Auf der Maur's daughter, until she became the bassist for Hole
, whereupon he became known as Melissa Auf der Maur's father.
He was also a television
personality, serving as co-host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
's Quelque-Show with Les Nirenberg during the early 1970s.
Mordecai Richler
claimed that Auf der Maur once went bar-hopping with Conrad Black
and when they accidentally wandered into a gay bar and were asked to leave, Black indignantly insisted it was his democratic right to stay, so they did.
. While working as a story editor at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
, Auf der Maur and his producer were arrested under the War Measures Act
during the October Crisis
. His cell was across from that of future Parti Québécois
cabinet minister Gérald Godin
. He was not charged with an offence.
As a politician, he was a long-time city councillor
in Montreal. He was also a candidate at various times in provincial and federal elections in Quebec, never successfully, with frequent changes of political affiliation. He accurately predicted the massive cost overruns and deficits of the 1976 Summer Olympics
held in Montreal, and was a sharp critic of longtime mayor Jean Drapeau
. In 1987 Auf der Maur controversially supported the Overdale development which saw nearly 100 of his constituents evicted from their homes, which were then demolished in 1989.
In 1974, he was elected as a city councillor for Montreal for the Rassemblement des citoyens de Montréal
(Montreal Citizens' Movement). In 1976, he formed the Alliance démocratique
(Democratic Alliance) party and ran as a candidate in the 1976 provincial election
; the party soon disbanded. In 1978 and 1982, he was again elected city councillor under the "Municipal Action Group" banner, and in 1986 was re-elected as an independent candidate. In the 1984 federal election
, he ran as a Progressive Conservative
candidate in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
, and although the Conservatives won that election in a landslide including many Quebec seats, Auf der Maur failed to win a seat.
He remained a city councillor, and in 1988, he even briefly joined the Civic Party of retired former mayor Jean Drapeau
, which he once bitterly opposed. He left that party a year later, eventually joining the Montreal Municipal Party, an evolution of the Municipal Action Group. However, upon merger of the Montreal Municipal Party and the old Civic Party in 1992, he became part of the new Civic Party, but left a year later. In 1994, he ran as an independent and was defeated in what would prove to be his final election. Columnist Allan Fotheringham
wrote that half the voters in Montreal thought Auf der Maur was a joke and the other half thought he was a legend. It was also said of Auf Der Maur: "half his (downtown) constituents share his lifestyle -- and the other half wish they did."
in December 1996 and died in 1998. His funeral at St. Patrick's Basilica was attended by nearly 3,000 people. He was interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.
He was strongly opposed to the practice of renaming streets after illustrious individuals; therefore, after his death when it was desired to honour him with a street name, it was necessary to find a street with no name. A small alley off of Rue Crescent, whose bars he was famous for frequenting, was therefore renamed Ruelle Nick-Auf der Maur.
's life from boyhood to national leadership.
He is the subject of the book Nick: A Montreal Life (ISBN 1-55065-114-5). It is a collection of his columns published posthumously by the Montreal Gazette. The introduction was written by his long-time friend Mordecai Richler
, and contains over 20 caricatures of Auf der Maur drawn by political cartoonist Aislin
.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was also the father of rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
, through his marriage to Linda Gaboriau
Linda Gaboriau
Linda Gaboriau is a Canadian dramaturg and literary translator who has translated some 100 plays and novels by Quebec writers, including many of the Quebec plays best known to English-speaking Canadian audiences....
.
The youngest of four children of German Swiss immigrants J. Severn and Theresa Auf der Maur, he was a regular at various downtown Montreal bars, and often transacted official and unofficial business there, entertaining visitors to the city, telling stories, and meeting with a wide range of Montrealers from all walks of life.
Journalist
As a journalist he wrote regular columns for the Montreal Gazette and the now-defunct Montreal StarMontreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
. A frequent subject was his daughter Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
, about whom he often wrote in his newspaper columns as she was growing up. She once observed that she had been known her whole life as Nick Auf der Maur's daughter, until she became the bassist for Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, whereupon he became known as Melissa Auf der Maur's father.
He was also a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality, serving as co-host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's Quelque-Show with Les Nirenberg during the early 1970s.
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
claimed that Auf der Maur once went bar-hopping with Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
and when they accidentally wandered into a gay bar and were asked to leave, Black indignantly insisted it was his democratic right to stay, so they did.
Politician
As a young man, he participated in left-wing politicsLeft-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
. While working as a story editor at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, Auf der Maur and his producer were arrested under the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
during the October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
. His cell was across from that of future Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
cabinet minister Gérald Godin
Gérald Godin
Gérald Godin was a Quebec poet and politician.Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he worked as a journalist at La Presse and other newspapers and magazines...
. He was not charged with an offence.
As a politician, he was a long-time city councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in Montreal. He was also a candidate at various times in provincial and federal elections in Quebec, never successfully, with frequent changes of political affiliation. He accurately predicted the massive cost overruns and deficits of the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
held in Montreal, and was a sharp critic of longtime mayor Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
. In 1987 Auf der Maur controversially supported the Overdale development which saw nearly 100 of his constituents evicted from their homes, which were then demolished in 1989.
In 1974, he was elected as a city councillor for Montreal for the Rassemblement des citoyens de Montréal
Montreal Citizens' Movement
The Montreal Citizens' Movement was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1973 to 2001.-Origins:...
(Montreal Citizens' Movement). In 1976, he formed the Alliance démocratique
Alliance démocratique
Democratic Alliance was a short-lived political party in Quebec, Canada, founded by the Montreal journalist and politician Nick Auf der Maur...
(Democratic Alliance) party and ran as a candidate in the 1976 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
; the party soon disbanded. In 1978 and 1982, he was again elected city councillor under the "Municipal Action Group" banner, and in 1986 was re-elected as an independent candidate. In the 1984 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, he ran as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
candidate in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal located in the city's west-end. It is one of five districts of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce...
, and although the Conservatives won that election in a landslide including many Quebec seats, Auf der Maur failed to win a seat.
He remained a city councillor, and in 1988, he even briefly joined the Civic Party of retired former mayor Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
, which he once bitterly opposed. He left that party a year later, eventually joining the Montreal Municipal Party, an evolution of the Municipal Action Group. However, upon merger of the Montreal Municipal Party and the old Civic Party in 1992, he became part of the new Civic Party, but left a year later. In 1994, he ran as an independent and was defeated in what would prove to be his final election. Columnist Allan Fotheringham
Allan Fotheringham
Allan Fotheringham is a Canadian newspaper and magazine journalist. He is widely known by the nickname Dr. Foth and styles himself as, "Always controversial... never at a loss for words" and also as "the Great Gatheringfroth".-Life:Fotheringham attended Chilliwack Secondary School, where he was...
wrote that half the voters in Montreal thought Auf der Maur was a joke and the other half thought he was a legend. It was also said of Auf Der Maur: "half his (downtown) constituents share his lifestyle -- and the other half wish they did."
Death and legacy
Known for his smoke in mouth drinking attitude, he was diagnosed with throat cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in December 1996 and died in 1998. His funeral at St. Patrick's Basilica was attended by nearly 3,000 people. He was interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.
He was strongly opposed to the practice of renaming streets after illustrious individuals; therefore, after his death when it was desired to honour him with a street name, it was necessary to find a street with no name. A small alley off of Rue Crescent, whose bars he was famous for frequenting, was therefore renamed Ruelle Nick-Auf der Maur.
Books
He wrote the book The Billion-Dollar Game: Jean Drapeau and the 1976 Olympics (ISBN 0-88862-106-X). He was a co-author, along with Robert Chodos and Rae Murphy, of the 1984 book Brian Mulroney: The Boy from Baie Comeau, which traced the new Canadian prime minister Brian MulroneyBrian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's life from boyhood to national leadership.
He is the subject of the book Nick: A Montreal Life (ISBN 1-55065-114-5). It is a collection of his columns published posthumously by the Montreal Gazette. The introduction was written by his long-time friend Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
, and contains over 20 caricatures of Auf der Maur drawn by political cartoonist Aislin
Terry Mosher
Christopher Terry Mosher, OC is a Canadian political cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette. He draws under the name "Aislin", a rendition of the name of his eldest daughter Aislinn ....
.
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