Daniel Richler

Daniel Richler
Born	Daniel Mann 1957 London,England
Nationality	British-Canadian
Occupation(s)	broadcaster, writer
Years active	1980s-present
Known for	The NewMusic,The Journal,Kicking Tomorrow
Relatives	Mordecai Richler,adoptive stepfather Jacob Richler,brother Noah Richler,brother Emma Richler,sister Martha Richler,sister

Daniel Richler(born 1957) is a Canadian arts andpop culturebroadcaster and writer.

Biography

Richler was born in London, England.His biological father is screenwriterStanley Mann.His mother, Florence Wood, divorced Mann when Daniel was two years old, and marriedMordecai Richlerin 1960.The family moved back toMontreal,Quebec— the hometown of both Florence and Mordecai — in 1972 when Daniel was 15.

He became apunk rockeras a teenager and was lead singer of the punk rock band Alpha Jerks.He also joined theOntariobiker gang The New Hegelians as an honorary member, despite not actually owning a motorcycle.

Career

From 1977 through the early 1980s, Richler was adeejay,presenter and critic on a variety of major market radio stations includingCHOM-FMin Montreal,andCJCLandCFNY-FMin Toronto.In his early radio career, he used his birth name, Daniel Mann, to avoid trading on his stepfather's fame.He also joined theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation,where he was a cultural commentator onCBC Radio'sMorningsidewithPeter Gzowski.

He moved toCITY-TVin 1985, becoming co-host and eventually producer ofThe NewMusic,the internationally syndicated, pioneering weekly rockumentary show that pre-datedMTVand later gave rise toMuchMusic.The show fused international field journalism and in-depth interviews with rock videos to create an occasionally tough rockumentary newsmagazine geared at 15- to 30-year-olds. Items and documentaries included those onBand-Aid,post-revolutionary music inZimbabwe,the Japanese pop industry,Andy Warhol's art video work,William Burroughs,Frank Zappaat theParents Music Resource Centerhearings inWashington,the death and legacy ofBob Marley,Yoko Onopost-John,andMalcolm McLaren's manufacture and manipulation of theSex Pistols.

In 1987 and 1988 Richler was chief arts correspondent onThe Journal,CBC's national news program.His international profiles and docs included those onAnthony Burgess,Keith Richards,Art Spiegelman,Pat Nixonand numerous others. He subsequently moved toTVOntariowhere he became creative head of arts programming, and launched the long-running literary programImprint,which he later served as host and executive producer. At that time Richler also oversaw the schedule, acquisitions, commissioning and original programming of the channel's arts sector. He developed and launchedPrisoners of Gravitywith Mark Askwith and host/comedianRick Green,and commissionedPeter Vronsky's 1991 feature documentary filmMondo Moscow.

He published a novel,Kicking Tomorrow,in 1991.The book was named one ofNew York Times Book Review's Best Books of 1992.

In the mid-to-late 1990s he was producer, director and presenter of the counterculture showBig LifeonCBC Newsworld.Subjects includedtrepanation,anti-genetically modified foodactivism, digital downloading,auto-erotic asphyxiation,theFurries,anti-G8anarchism,Burning Man,Genesis P-Orridge,the true nature and history of ecstasy, turntablism, etc. In 1998, he won theGemini Awardfor Best Host in a Lifestyle, Variety, or Performing Arts Program or Series for his work onBig Life.

In 2001 he moved back toChumCityas editor-in-chief and executive producer of its new literary specialty channelBookTelevision,which launched on September 1, 2001 as a digital service across Canada. There he conceived and developed the channel format, oversaw development of its schedule, budget of original in-house programming, acquisition selection and overall design.He served as executive producer and/or director forThe Word News,The Word This Week,Richler, Ink.,Writers on the Road,Authors at Harbourfront,Lust,The Electric Archiveand a variety of full-length documentaries.

He left BookTelevision in 2004 to move to London, after his wife Jill Offman accepted a senior position withDiscovery Channel UK.In the United Kingdom, he has been a writer and director of television documentaries, includingHow Do They Do It?andReal Vampires,and has continued as an occasional contributor of feature journalism to Canadian newspapers such as theNational PostandThe Globe and Mail.He returned to Canadian broadcasting in 2015 with a week-long stint as a guest host ofCBC Radio'sQ.