Guernica Editions

He was our Northern Star.

A radiant national genius.

Probably Canada’s all-time most versatile classical actor.

The greatest actor in our country, and one of the truly great actors of our time.

Few would dispute that Christopher Plummer is Canada’s most famous classical actor. But when it comes to our most versatile classical actor, few, including Plummer himself, would argue that the honour goes to William Hutt. Of course, younger critics simply have to take the word of us older ones, who were fortunate to see Hutt onstage. He died in 2007, leaving behind a legacy of unparalleled performances, predominantly at the Stratford Festival. Unfortunately, unlike Plummer, Hutt seldom had the opportunity to commit his work to film–although when he did, as in the 1996 version of A Long Day’s Journey into Night, it proved what a magnificent actor he was. Now, with the recent publication of Keith Garebian’s William Hutt: Soldier Actor, he has the major biography that he deserves. Keith, who published two previous books on Hutt when the actor was still alive, has been labouring on this one for years and the result is a rich, highly readable tome, lavishly illustrated with photos (as all books about the theatre should be), that covers the full scope of the man and his achievements.

You cannot contemplate the establishment and the flourishing of Canadian theatre without the name of William Hutt.

William Hutt was one of the greatest actors of our time: a true theatre legend. He was also a deeply private person, an enigma even to those of us who knew him and worked with him. In this absorbing new biography, Keith Garebian not only offers us his personal perspective on Bill’s so potent art but also delves deep into the complexities and conflicts within the master magician himself.