Don Haldane

Donald Alexander Haldane (December 3, 1914 – September 21, 2008) was a Canadian film and television director, most noted as the director of the films Nikki: Wild Dog of the North and Drylanders.

Background Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in the small town of Olds, he was raised principally by his mother after his father returned from military service in the First World War suffering from severe shell shock. After having acted in school drama productions in high school he trained as a teacher before going to Yale Drama School in the late 1930s to study theatre direction. After returning to Canada he began working as a theatre director in Montreal, where after befriending Bill Trott, a Black Canadian tailor, he helped Trott to establish the Negro Theatre Guild, the city's first Black theatre company.

He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 to serve in World War II, but spent his entire military career posted to CFB Borden without ever being shipped overseas to fight.

In 2003 he was awarded the Directors Guild of Canada's Distinguished Service Award for his lifetime contributions to Canadian filmmaking. The award was later renamed the Don Haldane Distinguished Service Award in his honour.

Filmography

Films

Television