Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the college. The president of the University of Toronto and the dean of graduate studies are ex officio members of the elected governing corporation, headed by the master of the college.

The college is well-connected with prominent figures of the national establishment, and is the sponsor and host of the annual Massey Lectures. It hosted the Man Booker International Prize of 2007.

History[link]

Robertson Davies, the founding master of Massey College

Massey College was conceived by Vincent Massey, the 18th Governor General of Canada who attended University College as an undergraduate. Of the establishment of a new graduate college, Massey wrote, "It is of great importance that it should, in its form, reflect the life which will go on inside it and should possess certain qualities—dignity, grace, beauty, and warmth."^[1] The Massey Foundation, for which Vincent Massey served as a trustee, provided the financial endowment.

Opened in 1963, the college was designed by Canadian architect Ron Thom, who subsequently designed the master plan for Trent University. Alan Beddoe designed the Massey College coats of arms.^[2]

The founding Master of Massey College (1963–1981) was the celebrated Canadian journalist and author Robertson Davies, CC. Professor J. N. Patterson Hume, CM, was the second Master (1981–1988) and Professor Ann Saddlemyer, OC, the third (1988–1995). The fourth and current Master (1995– ) is the distinguished journalist John Fraser, CM.

During the 2006-2007 academic year, the College hosted the King and Queen of Sweden, held a special tribute in honour of its Founding Master, Robertson Davies, and was the host of the Man Booker International Prize in April 2007.^[3]

Robertson Davies's collection of ghost stories High Spirits was written over 18 years, beginning when he became master in 1963. Each story, set in Massey College, was performed at the college's annual Christmas Gaudy.^[4] The first story was "Revelation from a Smoky Fire," and is now the first in this collection. A tradition quickly became established and, year after year, Davies regaled the Gaudy Night guests with his tales of the supernatural. The tradition lives on as one of Davies' stories is retold every year by a hired actor. The current master pens a new story every year, also read aloud to the fellowship by the current master around the holiday season.^{[citation needed]}

Grounds and architecture[link]

View from the college's quadrangle

Ron Thom's design for Massey College was inspired by the Medieval Oxbridge style college. The buildings all centre around one quad which is accessible through only two gates. The main gate is at the foot of the tower, along with the porter's lodge. The quad contains a large pond with fish and fountains as well as the bell and clock tower attached to the porch. The bells are rung three times a day during the school term to mark meal times. Around the quad are a total of five residence houses on the east, north, and west sides. The ground floors of these houses contain some administration offices. The largest building containing the majority of the public space available to members of the fellowship, is on the south side along with the master's house. Public space at Massey College includes the large dining hall, a small private dining room, a junior fellows common room, an upper library, the lower library, the "puffy couch room" (an informal common room with pool table, fuss-ball, big screen TV...), the Colin Friesen room (an alternative study space), the St.Catherine's Chapel, a computer room, and a bar.

Massey is home to an ecumenical worship space, St. Catherine's Chapel, the interior of which was originally designed by stage designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch. The Chapel features an 18th-century Russian iconostasis and a baroque-style pipe organ. The chapel was extensively redesigned in 2006 by the College architects, Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe and rededicated in June 2007.^{[citation needed]}

The college buildings are frequently studied by architecture students.^[5]

The Robertson Davies Library, also known as the lower library, houses the college's librarian as well as offices for the University of Toronto's Book History and Print Culture Program. ^[6] This library contains display cases which showcase recent graduate research on topics pertaining to books, book history, and print culture.

Off of the library is a working 19th century print shop. The Massey Print shop has the largest collection of wood type in North America (some 250+ pieces). Several working hand presses are housed here. The most frequently used presses in the shop are two Albion presses, an Imperial Press, and a Washington Press. Some students work here as apprentices under the master printer. It is also open to public visits (with appointment) as a small museum about the history of printing. Printed keepsakes for college events are often made here. ^[7]

Fellowships[link]

Ondaatje Hall, the main dining hall of the college used for daily meals and High Table dinners

Junior Fellows are postgraduate students of the University of Toronto, either in the study of art and sciences subjects or a professional discipline such as law or medicine. Resident Junior Fellows generally live in the college for up to three years before becoming non-resident Junior Fellows for another two years. Typically, about sixty Junior Fellows are resident and another sixty are non-resident. Each year, new prospective Junior Fellows apply to the college to be elected by the governing corporation.

Journalism Fellows are distinguished Canadian and international journalists in mid-career who are selected annually by a special committee that includes the president of the University of Toronto, the master of Massey College, and other members appointed by them. Journalism Fellows stay at the college for one academic year from September to May. The college participates in the Canadian Journalism Fellowship Program (formerly known as the Southam Fellowship) and the Scholar-at-Risk program for international scholars caught in sectarian, political or religious intolerance. Additionally, the college hosts a writer-in-residence chosen each year by the college and the University of Toronto's department of English.

Senior Fellows are elected from members of the University of Toronto faculty and other individuals who represent the academic and professional interests of the university. Senior fellows can serve as members of the governing corporation. The college also hosts visiting academics, generally on sabbatical leave, who are given the title of Senior Residents. In addition, the chancellors of the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford (currently Lord Sainsbury of Turville and Lord Patten of Barnes) both serve as Distinguished Honorary Fellows. After long and meritorious service to the college, Senior Fellows may be elected as Continuing Senior Fellows, which are lifetime appointments.

As of 2012, notable Senior Fellows of the college include John Polanyi, Ursula Franklin, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margaret Atwood, Sir Christopher Ondaatje, James Orbinski, Michael Valpy, Jiang Weiping, Peter H. Russell, Janice Stein, Michael Ignatieff, Adrienne Clarkson, Stephen Clarkson, Hal Jackman, Nadine Gordimer, John Ralston Saul, Michael Bliss, Mark Kingwell, John Fraser, Anthony Pawson, Chantal Hébert, Justice Rosalie Abella and Bob Rae.

Governance[link]

Massey College operates as a charity that is legally registered with the Canada Revenue Agency charities directorate as The Master and Fellows of Massey College. The governing body of Massey College is its corporation, composed of 26 Senior Fellows and chaired by the master of the college, with the president of the University of Toronto and the dean of graduate studies both serving as ex-officio members. Additionally, three other ex-officio members are nominated to the governing corporation by the Massey Foundation. Massey College relies on income derived from its own endowments and endowments held for its purposes by the University of Toronto, supplemented by other income from its catering facilities and summer rental programs.

The Visitor is the ceremonial and constitutional head of the college. Officers of the college, who report to the master, include the bursar, the registrar, the administrator and the librarian. Junior Fellows and Senior Fellows are elected to their positions by the corporation at one of its semi-annual meetings. The Quadrangle Society consists of individuals who are not fellows of the college, and serves as a bridge between Massey College and the non-academic community.

Massey College is one of three exclusively graduate residential colleges in Canada, along with Green College and St. John's College of the University of British Columbia; Massey College is the only one of the three that is self-governing.

During the academic year 2010/2011, the members of corporation are as follows:

• Professor Sylvia Bashevkin, Department of Political Science, Principal of University College, University of Toronto
• Professor Brian Corman, Dean, School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto
• Dr. John Dirks, President, Gairdner Foundation
• Professor Wendy Dobson, Director Institute for International Business, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
• Dr. Colleen Flood, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
• Mr. John Fraser, Master and Chair of Corporation, Chair Canadian Journalism Foundation
• Dr. Jane Freeman, Office of English Language & Writing Support, University of Toronto
• Ms Margaret Hancock, former warden of Hart House
• Professor Elizabeth Harvey, Department of English, University of Toronto
• The Honourable Henry N. R. Jackman, Visitor
• Professor Heather Jackson, Department of English, University of Toronto
• Dr. Katherine Lochnan, R. Fraser Elliott Curator of Prints & Drawings, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Professor Peter Martin, Chair of the Department of Astronomy, University of Toronto
• Professor Elsa Marziali, Department of Social Work, University of Toronto
• Mr. John Massey, Artist, Massey Foundation
• Mr. Raymond Massey, Film producer. Massey Foundation
• Dr. David Naylor, President of the University of Toronto
• Dr. James Orbinski, Research Scientist, St. Michael's Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto
• Professor Mary Ann Parker, Department of Music, University of Toronto
• The Honourable Bob Rae Q.C. of Goodmans
• Professor Sara Shettleworth, Departments of Psychology and Zoology, University of Toronto
• Mr. Peter Tovell, architect, Massey Foundation
• Professor Charles Ward, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto
• Mr. Ian Webb, investment analyst
• Mr. Richard Winter Q.C., College Solicitor and Arthur Child Senior Fellow

Activities[link]

Massey College sponsors the annual Massey Lectures broadcast across the country on CBC as well as the Walter Gordon Symposium on Public Policy. In conjunction with the University of Toronto's School of Graduate Studies, Massey fellows organise an annual symposium of interest to the broader community. There is an annual newsletter to all its constituent members: Senior and Junior Fellows, alumni (which include former Senior Residents like Preston Manning), and members of its Quadrangle Society (non-academic community members).^{[citation needed]} Since 2009 Massey College has been home to the Health Strategy Innovation Cell, run by Massey College Senior Resident Neil Seeman. The Innovation Cell is dedicated to creating new business models for the delivery of healthcare using Internet technologies. ^{[8] [9]}

Massey Grand Rounds is a monthly dinner or breakfast meeting of medical and health related disciplines. Meals are arranged by Dr Aubie Angel and bring in a variety different mentors to speak with the students. The meetings are also used to plan an annual Medical Grand Rounds Symposium^[10] on a topic of interest to the community.

The college has a strong connection to the Canadian establishments and Canadian journalism. The college also strives to preserve an Oxbridge-type atmosphere by mandating the wearing of gowns at dinner, and incorporating regular High Tables — complete with after-dinner snuff — into its schedule; and balances this with very active outreach programs^{[citation needed]}. The mandated goal of the college is to demonstrate through its corporate life the interconnectness between all learning.

Massey College also hosts its own Junior Fellow Lecture Series, sometimes called WIDEN-Massey, where graduate student members of the community are invited to talk about their research in a general way to their non-specialist peers.

Local and national arts organisations are affiliated with the college. Many college events feature singers from the Canadian Opera Company or musicians from the Taliskar Players as well as many talented Junior Fellows who share their music after supper or at events.

Further reading[link]

• Judith Skelton Grant (1994). "Robertson Davies: Man of Myth". Viking.
• Val Ross (2009). Robertson Davies: A Portrait in Mosaic. Random House of Canada.
• John Robert Colombo (1984). Canadian Literary Landmarks, p. 193. Dundurn Press Ltd.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Massey College
• Massey College Alumni Association
• Massey Grand Rounds
• Innovation Cell at Massey College

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Anna Massey
Massey in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Born	Anna Raymond Massey (1937-08-11)11 August 1937 Thakeham, West Sussex, England, UK
Died	3 July 2011(2011-07-03) (aged 73) London, England, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1958–2010
Spouse	Jeremy Brett (m. 1958–1962, divorced); 1 son Uri Andres (m. 1988–2011, her death)
Parents	Raymond Massey Adrianne Allen

Anna Raymond Massey CBE (11 August 1937 – 3 July 2011)^[1][2] was an English actress.^[3] She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner’s novel Hotel du Lac ^[4] in a role which one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, has said 'could have been written for her.'^[5]

Early life[link]

Massey was born in Thakeham, West Sussex, England, the daughter of British actress Adrianne Allen and Canadian-born Hollywood actor Raymond Massey.^[6] Her brother, Daniel Massey, was also an actor. She was the niece of Vincent Massey, a Governor General of Canada, and her godfather was film director John Ford.^[7]

Career[link]

Although she had no formal training at either drama school or in repertory, in May 1955 at the age of 17 Anna Massey made her first appearance on stage at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, as Jane in The Reluctant Debutante, subsequently making her first London appearance in the same play at the Cambridge Theatre in May 1955 "and was suddenly famous".^[8] She then left the cast in London to repeat her performance in New York in October 1956.^[9]

She made her cinema debut in the Scotland Yard film Gideon's Day (1958), as Sally, daughter of Jack Hawkins's detective inspector. The director was her godfather John Ford.^[8] She played a potential murder victim in Michael Powell's thriller Peeping Tom (1960); appeared in Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) with Laurence Olivier and later played the role of the cockney barmaid Babs in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972). In the documentary on the film's DVD release, Massey asserts that she originally auditioned for the part of the secretary Monica, a part for which Jean Marsh was cast. Massey appeared with her brother Daniel playing deadly siblings in the horror film The Vault of Horror (1973).

Massey continued to make occasional film and stage appearances, but worked more frequently in television, making her first small screen appearance as Jacqueline in Green of the Year in October 1955^[9] and in dramas such as The Pallisers (1974), the 1978 adaptation of Rebecca (in which she starred with her ex-husband, Jeremy Brett), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978), The Cherry Orchard (1980), and Anna Karenina (1985). She had roles in the British comedy series The Darling Buds of May (1991) and The Robinsons (2005). She also appeared in a number of mysteries and thrillers on television, including episodes of Inspector Morse, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Midsomer Murders, Strange, Lewis, and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

With Imelda Staunton, she co-devised and starred as Josephine Daunt in Daunt and Dervish on BBC radio. She was the narrator of This Sceptred Isle on BBC Radio 4, a history of Britain from Roman times which ran for more than 300 fifteen-minute episodes. In 2009 she also appeared in a new radio version of The Killing of Sister George.^[8]

In 1986, Massey was awarded the British Academy TV Award for Best Actress for her role in Hotel du Lac after acquiring the TV rights two years earlier, only a few weeks before the novel won the Booker Prize.^[5] She also appeared as Mrs. D'Urberville in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, an older version of May and as Rosie in An Angel For May, and in the 2004 BBC version of Our Mutual Friend.^[7]

Acting style[link]

One of Massey's assets as an actress was her 'extraordinary voice... it was so listenable.'^[5] Although Massey's parts were varied, her 'cut-glass English accent, conveyed a cold and repressed character on screen'.^[10] On the stage, a number of her performances were said to be characterised by 'stillness', such as the National Theatre's production of Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska.^[11]

She was known for a high level of preparation and effort, with one producer saying that she had a practice of using five different coloured pens on scripts to mark out 'breaths and pauses' and the development of a scene, for example 'if a phrase early in a paragraph was going to be picked up again later, she would highlight those two bits in the same colour, so that it would remind her that that first phrase was referring to something later.'^[5]

Personal life[link]

In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004 she was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama.^[12]

She published an autobiography in 2006, Telling Some Tales, which revealed a difficult early life and her failed marriage to actor Jeremy Brett (who struggled with bipolar disorder), their son, writer David Raymond William Huggins (b. 1959), her successful second marriage in 1988 to Russian scientist Uri Andres^[11] and of being a grandmother. Massey was quoted as saying, "Theatre eats up too much of your family life. I have a grandson and a husband and I'd rather I was able to be a granny and a wife."^[13]

Death[link]

Massey died from cancer on 3 July 2011, aged 73. She is survived by her son, grandson and second husband.^[7]

Filmography[link]

Books[link]

• Massey, Anna (2006). Telling Some Tales. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179645-8. 

See also[link]

• Massey family

References[link]

External links[link]

• Anna Massey at the Internet Movie Database
• Anna Massey at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Stage performances in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
• Anna Massey at AllRovi
• Obituary in The Independent
• Obituary in The Telegraph
• Anna Massey at Find a Grave

John William Michael Bliss, CM, FRSC (born January 18, 1941) is a Canadian historian and award-winning author. Though his early works focused on business and political history, he has written several important medical biographies, including of Sir William Osler. Bliss is also a frequent commentator on political events and issues. He is a member of the Order of Canada.

Early life[link]

Bliss was born in Leamington, Ontario. His father was a physician who encouraged him to enter the medical field. In an autobiographical essay, Bliss explained that his aspirations were shattered when watching his father suture a drunk's face.^[1]:

[T]here was a Sunday afternoon when Dad’s and my Scrabble game was interrupted by the appearance at the office door of a policeman with a drunk in tow, the drunk having been in a fight and suffering a badly slashed face. Dad had to sew him up, suturing both inside and outside the cheek, and invited me to watch what would be a demonstration of his surgical skill […] with blood and alcohol fumes everywhere, reflecting on my own complete disinterest in and lack of manual skills, I decided that this was not what I wanted to do in life. And that was the end of my ambition to be a doctor.

Academic pursuits[link]

Bliss entered the University of Toronto in 1958, and received his BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees there. He was appointed to the faculty in 1968 and by the time of his retirement in 2006 had attained the elite rank of University Professor.

His doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by Ramsay Cook, was a social history of Canadian business, an analysis of the "thoughts and dreams" of businessmen in Canada during the National Policy years. It was published under the title A Living Profit. In 1978 he published a major biography of Sir Joseph Flavelle, "A Canadian Millionaire", and in 1987 the first history of business in Canada, "Northern Enterprise."

In 1982 he began a mid-career transition to medical history with his book "The Discovery of Insulin". He has published biographies of two Canadians, the discoverer of insulin Sir Frederick Banting and the famous physician Sir William Osler. In 2005 he published a biography of the American neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing, himself also a biographer of Osler.

Like J.L. Granatstein, his criticism of excessively specialized social history has made him a controversial figure in Canadian historiography.

Bliss has been a frequent commentator on Canadian politics for newspapers, magazines, and television, and has lectured widely in North America and Europe.

In a 2005 profile for the National Post, former student John Turley-Ewart writes: "In the 1990s, when I worked as his teaching assistant, it was not unusual to see 300 people from all walks of life – full-time students, business people, civil servants, journalists – packed into his evening lectures."^[2]

Awards and distinctions[link]

In 1998, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. His books have won various prizes, including the Welch Medal of the American Association for the History of Medicine, the Tyrrell Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, three Jason Hannah Medals of the Royal Society of Canada, the Garneau, Macdonald, and Ferguson prizes of the Canadian Historical Association, and the National Business Book Award. His book on Osler was shorted for the Governor General's Award. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and holds honorary degrees from McMaster University, McGill, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Toronto. In 2008 his students published a festschrift, "Essays in Honour of Michael Bliss: Figuring the Social".

Political commentary[link]

Bliss frequently comments on current events, contributing essays to various magazine and newspapers, including The Globe and Mail. He opposed the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord and the 1999 NATO bombing of Kosovo and continues to advocate the abolition of the Canadian monarchy. He also strongly criticized Stephen Harper's 2006 move to recognize the Québécois as a nation.

Quotations[link]

“This equation of health care with the Canadian identity is unhistorical and untrue. We can’t begin to have a serious, adult debate about the future of health care until we abandon the mantra that our national identity is somehow tied up in a state monopoly of health insurance.... The country was 117 years old in 1984 when the Canada Health Act created the current system by effectively outlawing private medical and hospital services.” - "The great myths of medicare", by Michael Bliss in the National Post, September 7, 2004.

“Recently, for example, the calls for a reconsideration of Canada's health care problems welled up...Some day, some how, the efforts of the brave souls trying to revive Canadian Conservatism have to be rewarded. Their cause simply can't be abandoned.” - "Seeking renewal for a one-party state", by Michael Bliss, May 29, 2001, The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS).

References[link]

• Essays in Honour of Michael Bliss: Figuring the Social. Edited by E.A. Heaman, Alison Li, and Shelley McKellar. University of Toronto Press, 2008
• Camp, Dalton (September 21, 1997). "Conservatives still in denial of their history". Toronto Star: p. F3. 
• Turley-Ewart, John (November 9, 2005). "Preaching the gospel of Canadian history". National Post: p. A22. 
• Valpy, Michael (March 11, 2006). "Is the national dream over? About to retire, distinguished historian Michael Bliss revealed this week he now feels Canada's traditional sense of itself is in large measure a failure". The Globe and Mail: p. F7. 
• Bliss, Michael, Writing History: A Professor's Life (2011, Dundurn) [1]

External links[link]

• Michael Bliss entry in Canadian Who's Who

Works[link]

• A Living Profit: studies in the social history of Canadian business 1883-1911 - 1974.
• Confederation, 1867: The Creation of the Dominion of Canada - 1975
• A Canadian Millionaire: The Life and Business Times for Sir Joseph Flavelle - 1978
• The Discovery of Insulin - 1982
• Frederick Banting: A Biography]] - 1984
• Northern Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business - 1987
• Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal - 1991 (nominated for Governor General's Award)
•   (1994). Right Honourable Men: the descent of Canadian politics from Macdonald to Mulroney (1st ed.). Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-255071-0. OCLC 30073069. 
• William Osler: a Life in Medicine]] - 1999 (nominated for Governor General's Award)
• Harvey Cushing: a Life in Surgery - 2005
• The Making of Modern Medicine: Turning Points in the Treatment of Disease - 2010
• Writing History: A Professor's Life - 2011 (a first-person memoir)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

The Basics
The Basics at the Oxford Art Factory, 2010
Background information
Origin	Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Independent, Albert Records
Associated acts	Gotye, Down Hills Home, Dog With Wheels, Blood Red Bird
Website	The Basics Official Website
Members
Wally De Backer Kris Schroeder Tim Heath
Past members
Michael Hubbard
Notable instruments
Lead guitar, drums, bass guitar.

The Basics ( /ˈbæzɪtʃ/ BAZZ-ich) are a three-piece band from Melbourne, Australia, formed by Wally De Backer and Kris Schroeder in 2002. Their style has been described as anything from 'indie-pop' to 'rock'n'roll' to 'pop-rock', though their records show they span a wide range of genres, including reggae, ska, country, and electro-pop. They are "recognised as one of Australia's hardest-working bands".^[1]

With close to 1000 shows in their ten-year career, their live performances are well-known for their sense of humour and energy.^[2]

Formation[link]

The Basics were formed after Kris met Wally at a party in Melbourne.^[3] The event was to see off the young aspiring producer, who was about to depart for Los Angeles, and together with a number of musician friends, the two jammed on some blues-rock standards. Later that night, they bonded over a mutual love of The Beatles, 70s and 80s cartoon theme songs and old Sierra adventure games.

Initially, they played around Melbourne as an acoustic guitar/drums combo, starting at The Opposition in Frankston and the House of Fools in Footscray, where in late 2002 they met Michael Hubbard and later invited him to join them on electric guitar.^[4] Though lacking any real experience with the instrument, Kris willingly purchased his first bass guitar, and the trio was born. During this time, the group start performing songs with more complicated three-part harmony.

During late 2002 and early 2003, The Basics recorded and released an album called Get Back through MGM Distribution. They began what was to become regular tours of the East and West coasts of Australia.

2004-2005: Current lineup[link]

Tim Heath joined the group in June 2004, after Michael decided to pursue his solo career, which has included being one half of Down Hills Home.^[4] Tim was reportedly the only person to reply to an advertisement in Melbourne's Beat Magazine looking for a new guitarist. Tim apparently answered the advertisement - which said the applicant "must have a love of 50s and 60s rock'n'roll" - thinking that he would be meeting "a couple of old guys to play with on the weekends over some beers". They soon recorded For Girls Like You.

The Basics in 2005 continued to tour and play small festivals, and after releasing For Girls Like You through MGM Distribution, they departed for a national tour of Australia, which lasted for two months and took them to every Australian state and territory. Stuart Padbury, a young Melbourne sound engineer, joined them on much of this tour. On returning, the band began demonstrating songs for a new album.

2006-2009: Touring and soundtracks[link]

In 2006, The Basics began recording what was to become known as Stand Out/Fit In. Taking several months, it was not completed until the end of the year, despite intentions to have it released in June. Instead, they held a successful 'album preview', where each of the tracks was demonstrated in 'rough form' accompanied by a music video for each (produced by Melbourne photographic artist James Bryans). The band also talked about the origins of the songs. This event brought a lot of attention to the band for the idea's originality. They pre-released a radio single 'Just Hold On' from the album. The band were invited to play the hugely popular Homebake Festival in Sydney, where they received a great response, after being introduced onto the stage by a short stocky Asian guy with big calves ("one of the highlights" wrote The Daily Telegraph).

In 2007, the band departed on a tri-state residency which saw them play Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane every week for the month of April - a bold move which brought further attention to the band for its original idea.^[5] Riding on the wave of this tour, Schroeder, De Backer and Heath departed on their first overseas tour which saw them performing 26 shows around Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom.^[6] They also toured twice more up the East Coast, one of which was with popular Japanese band The Bawdies. Their song 'Rattle My Chain' was used in a series of commercials for Volvo Australia. The song 'Hey There!' featured in the British film The Bank Job - starring Jason Statham - and was used as the backing for a February 2007 short film directed by Tim Longhurst called The Rip. Their song 'Better' was featured in a surfing documentary about the invention of the shortboard in 1967.

In 2008, the band appeared on Australia's Channel 9 for Australia Day celebrations, performing two of their songs - 'Just Hold On' and 'Hey There!' - to an estimated audience of 2 million. Securing an Australian Government grant, they embarked on a two-month tour of Australia, specifically targeting "culturally underprivileged groups" in rural and regional schoolchildren and Indigenous communities. The programme had them holding masterclasses and performing alongside Indigenous groups in the remote Northern Territory and Queensland.^[7][8] Their initiative also had them raising money for the charity Lifeline^{[disambiguation needed ]}, their contribution to which was recognised with a plaque at the end of the tour. Season two of Californication starring David Duchovny featured their cover of the classic 'Have Love, Will Travel', most famously covered by 'The Sonics'.

In 2009, The Basics for the first time enjoyed the support of Australian radio network Triple J, which had reportedly snubbed the band's previous material.^[9] The singles 'With This Ship' and 'Like A Brother' were added to the station's playlist, and momentum carried The Basics overseas for a second tour of the United Kingdom and Norway, and also a series of shows in Dublin, Ireland. They were joined by the longtime front-of-house engineer Stuart Padbury, who had been mixing them since 2005. The band was often seen in the Grafton Street Mall in Dublin, busking to promote their concerts there. Their second show in Oslo, Norway, saw the band perform with Hot Tub, one of the members of the Norwegian boy band "Boyzvoice", in his first performance for several years. Season Eight of Scrubs featured the song 'Lookin' Over My Shoulder'.

Despite all this promise, the band's album Keep Your Friends Close - produced and part-recorded by Peter Cobbin at London's Abbey Road Studios - though enjoying many favourable reviews,^{[10][11][12][13]} failed to impress Richard Kingsmill, music director of Triple J. This effectively ended the band's apparent upward spiral and the resulting album launch tour was reportedly "trying".

2010: Hiatus and live album[link]

In 2010, following the band's fourth stint at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the recording of a yet-unreleased live album, an indefinite hiatus was announced on the band's websites. This was in part due to the impending release of a new album produced by Wally for his Gotye project, and also to reported tensions within the band following the previous year's disappointments.

However, this hiatus was soon broken with a two-month residency at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, which saw an apparent return to form.^[14] The band's EP "Wait For You" enjoys airplay on Triple J.^[15] The Basics also played a one-off show at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory.^[16]

On 20 August 2010, The Basics released their fourth LP /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/, available free and exclusively from their website for digital download^[17]. The band had reportedly moved to expand their listenership through this free giveaway, though 300 "Deluxe" CD/vinyl versions have been printed. /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/ was recorded at the Northcote Social Club on 6 February, "in front of a live studio audience", and like the previous record, was mixed by Peter Cobbin at Abbey Road Studios. Technically a self-titled album, the phonetics spell out the accurate pronunciation of the band’s name. Kris Schroeder: "For years we’ve worked at bringing our live energy into the studio and thus far it’s been a bit hit-and-miss. Our trick this time was to pull a switcheroo and bring the studio to us instead; the result is the best and closest to us we’ve sounded yet."

Melbourne thespian and Dog With Wheels bassist David Bramble - friends with Heath from university days - has occasionally joined the band on tour, playing keys, often while sporting a large moustache. Other guests have included Jake Mason (saxophone), also of Cookin' on 3 Burners and The Bamboos^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Gideon Brazil (saxophone, flute), Simon Imrei (guitar and vocals) and Monty MacKenzie (saxophone).

Covers have often made an appearance from various sources: to date, some of the bands covered have been Cream, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, New Kids on the Block, Richard Berry, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets, JJ Cale, Harry Nilsson, Bill Scott, Ryan Adams and The Coasters (via The Beatles for their cover of Three Cool Cats).

Members[link]

Current

• Wally De Backer - drums, vocals (2002-present)
• Kris Schroeder - bass, vocals (2002-present)
• Tim Heath - guitar, vocals (2004-present)

Former

• Michael Hubbard - guitar, vocals (2002-2004)

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Get Back (15 January 2004)
• Stand Out/Fit In (5 May 2007)
• Keep Your Friends Close (25 September 2009)
• /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/ (20 August 2010)

EP[link]

• For Girls Like You (11 July 2005)
• Lookin' Over My Shoulder (10 February 2007)
• Like A Brother (5 June 2009)
• Wait For You (21 May 2010)

Singles[link]

• Call It Rhythm & Blues (20 August 2004)
• Just Hold On
• With This Ship (22 February 2009)

Upcoming projects[link]

The band is taking a three year hiatus, with an announced return to the stage together in early 2014. Wally De Backer launched Making Mirrors under his Gotye act in August 2011, Tim Heath will be touring and recording with Blood Red Bird, and Kris Schroeder recorded a solo EP titled, Patience in the Face of Control, before leaving Australia to work with the Red Cross in Kenya for a two year sabbatical.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Myspace Website

Raymond Massey
Massey photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Born	Raymond Hart Massey (1896-08-30)August 30, 1896 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	July 29, 1983(1983-07-29) (aged 86) (pneumonia) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918—73
Spouse	Margery Fremantle (1921-29; 1 child) Adrianne Allen (1929-39; 2 children) Dorothy Whitney (1939-82; her death)

Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian/American actor.

Early life[link]

Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna (née Vincent), who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company.^[1] Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American Revolutionary War. He attended secondary school briefly at Upper Canada College, before transferring to Appleby College^[2] in Oakville, Ontario, and graduated from university at University of Toronto, where both he and his cousin were active members in The Kappa Alpha Society, and Balliol College, Oxford.

At the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Canadian Army, serving with the artillery on the Western Front. He returned to Canada suffering shell-shock and was engaged as an army instructor for American officers at Yale. In 1918, he was sent to serve in Siberia, where he made his first stage appearance, entertaining American troops on occupation duty. Severely wounded in action in France, he was sent home, where he eventually worked in the family business, selling farm implements.

Acting career[link]

Drawn to the theatre, in 1922, he appeared on the London stage. His first movie role was High Treason in 1927. In 1929 he directed the London premiere of The Silver Tassie. He played Sherlock Holmes in The Speckled Band in 1931, the first sound film version of the story. In 1934, he starred in The Scarlet Pimpernel and, in 1936, he starred in H. G. Wells's Things to Come. Despite being Canadian, Massey became famous for his quintessential American roles such as abolitionist John Brown in 1940's Santa Fe Trail and again as John Brown in the 1955 low-budget film Seven Angry Men. His second portrayal of Brown was much more sympathetic, presenting him as a well-intentioned, but misguided figure, while in Santa Fe Trail he was presented as a wild-eyed lunatic.

Although there was a great outcry when a Canadian was cast as an American president, he scored a great triumph on Broadway in Robert E. Sherwood's play Abe Lincoln in Illinois, and repeated his role in the 1940 film version (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor). Massey again portrayed Lincoln in the 1956 production of The Day Lincoln Was Shot on Ford Star Jubilee, and (a wordless appearance this time) in 1962's How the West Was Won. (A fellow actor remarked that Massey wouldn't be satisfied with his Lincoln impersonation until someone assassinated him.)

In 1941, Massey starred in George Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma, opposite Katharine Cornell, opening just one week before Pearl Harbor. During the war, he teamed up with Cornell and other leading actors in a revival of Shaw's Candida to benefit the Army Emergency Fund and the Navy Relief Society.^[3]

On stage in the 1953 dramatic reading of Stephen Vincent Benét's John Brown's Body, Massey, in addition to narrating along with Tyrone Power and Judith Anderson, took on both the roles of John Brown and Abe Lincoln in the same work.

Massey portrayed the character of Jonathan Brewster in the film version of Arsenic and Old Lace. The character had been created by Boris Karloff for the stage version and the character was written to resemble Karloff (an ongoing joke in the play and film). Even though the film was released in 1944, it was shot in 1941, at which time Karloff was still contracted to the Broadway play, and could not be released for the filming, unlike his costars Josephine Hull, Jean Adair and John Alexander. Massey and Karloff had appeared together in the 1932 James Whale suspense film The Old Dark House.

He rejoined the Canadian Army for World War II, though he would eventually be released from service and return to acting work.

Following the war, he became an American citizen. His memorable film roles thereafter included portraying the husband of Joan Crawford during her Oscar-nominated role from 1947's Possessed and the doomed publishing tycoon Gail Wynand in 1949's The Fountainhead, opposite Gary Cooper.

Massey became well-known on television in the 1950s and 1960s, especially as Doctor Gillespie in the popular series Dr. Kildare. He and his son, Daniel, were cast as father and son in 1961's The Queen's Guards. Massey played a Canadian on screen only once, in 49th Parallel (1941).

Personal life[link]

Massey was married three times.

1. Margery Fremantle from 1921 to 1929 (divorce); they had one child, architect Geoffrey Massey.
2. Adrianne Allen from 1929 to 1939 (divorce); the noted London and Broadway stage actress. They had two children who followed him into acting: Anna Massey and Daniel Massey.
3. Dorothy Whitney from 1939 until her death.

His high-profile estrangement and then divorce from Adrianne Allen was the inspiration for Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin's script for the film Adam's Rib (1949), starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and indeed Massey ended up marrying the lawyer who represented him in court, Dorothy Whitney, while his then ex-wife Allen married the opposing lawyer, William Dwight Whitney.^[4][5]

His older brother was Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada. He dabbled in politics, appearing in a 1964 television advertisement in support of conservative Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, in which he denounced the burgeoning Vietnam War.^[6]

He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California, a month before his 87th birthday, on July 29, 1983.^[7] That was the same day as the death of David Niven, who had co-starred with him in The Prisoner of Zenda and A Matter of Life and Death. Massey is buried in New Haven, Connecticut's Beaverdale Memorial Park.

Honours[link]

Massey has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 1719 Vine Street and one for television at 6708 Hollywood Blvd. His achievements have also been recognized in a signature cocktail, the Raymond Massey.

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
• Massey family

References[link]

External links[link]

• Raymond Massey at the Internet Movie Database
• Raymond Massey at the Internet Broadway Database
• Raymond Massey at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Raymond Massey at Find a Grave
• Photographs and literature