Glay Sperling on DTNicholson's Wednesday-Night.com History

Photographer Glay Sperling poses for the camera in this 1951 photo from his days on staff at the Montreal Standard.

CREDIT: THE GAZETTE

Glay Sperling, a long-time Montreal educator and former photojournalist who took pictures of world leaders at the historic Quebec Conference in 1943, is dead.

Sperling, 83, died Dec. 20 of a lung embolism. His funeral was held Monday at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Montreal.

The son of German immigrants, Sperling began his career in the 1940s at the Montreal Standard newspaper photographing celebrities who visited the city including Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

His break in journalism came at a time "when Germans were not very popular in Canada," his brother Christian said in an interview yesterday.

Max Ackerman, his friend and colleague at Dawson College, said Sperling's most famous political photo came from the Second World War summit conference in Quebec City that brought together U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

"He has a picture of Roosevelt and Churchill shaking hands with (former Canadian prime minister) Mackenzie King looking on," said Ackerman, who teaches in the cinema/communications department at Dawson.

Sperling also worked at Expo 67 as production head of special attractions at the fair.

Ackerman said Sperling was also "a meeter and greeter of the stars that came in. So he would chaperon Marlena Dietrich around or Ed Sullivan . . . . so he was a kind of man about the Canadian entertainment scene."

One of Sperling's close friends was actor Christopher Plummer, Ackerman said. They became friends at the Stratford Festival the first year it opened.

"And they stayed friends all these years," he said.

Simon J. Davies

Sperling landed in The Gazette's news pages again in 1971 when his quick thinking may have helped save two policemen who were gunned down on Cedar Ave.

Sperling stumbled upon the scene as he drove along the street. He sprinted to the police car and radioed for help.

In 1970, he founded the cinema department at Dawson College where he taught for 33 years.

"He started the department when he was 50. So think of that. It is an amazing achievement," said Simon Davies, the chairperson of the cinema / communications department.

Sperling's major contribution was teaching photography, Davies said. He also set up a foundation years ago that awarded scholarships for Dawson students.

"His passion was the teaching and the energy that comes from it. I think he liked to perform," Davies said.

He kept teaching into his early 80s. Divorced with no children, Sperling defied his age - both in his appearance and energy level.

"He never looked like an 83-year-old," said Davies. "He wasn't an old geezer. He was very proud. He stood tall. He was well-dressed, extremely well-mannered."

Ironically, his last teaching assignment this fall was called "media and youth." But he took a leave in September because he felt unwell.

"He was all excited about doing it," said Ackerman.

"He was dignified. He was debonair, suave - always an air of sophistication and worldliness and I would say a very kind person. He really liked to get students enthusiastic about photography. That's why he stayed in it so long. He just couldn't leave those enthusiastic faces."

His work meant everything to him, said Christian Sperling.

"He told me it isn't even the money from teaching that I can well use. He said that it is the fact that he feels that he is still needed."

Obituary of Glay Sperling

The Curtlands Bursary Value $250
Established by Glay Sperling, this bursary is awarded to a Creative Arts student who has completed the first year of the program. Based on potential for success in at least one of the following disciplines: Art History, Cinema, Drama, Fine Arts, Music, as well as overall academic achievement. At Dawson College

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: ETHICS
Glay Sperling (4D. 7, Ext. 1453)
The objective of this course is to recognize, situate and analyse the ethical issues arising in the day-to-day operation of print and broadcast media. Students will interpret and evaluate the content of news and public discourse, assess the relevance of news and public events presentations, and articulate their individual points of view. Evaluation will be based upon a written quiz, a class test, an in-class presentation, a term paper, and attendance and participation.

The Curtlands Bursary
Value $250
Established by Glay Sperling, this bursary is awarded to a Creative Arts student who has completed the first year of the program. Based on potential for success in at least one of the following disciplines: Art History, Cinema, Drama, Fine Arts, Music, as well as overall academic achievement. Application deadline: September 30.
Dawson College recognizes and promotes excellence through its scholarship and awards program. Scholarships are available to students entering the college, continuing in their programs or graduating.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: ETHICS
Glay Sperling (4D. 7, Ext. 1453) or David Michel (3A. 8, Ext. 1021)
The objective of this course is to recognize, situate and analyse the ethical issues arising in the day-to-day operation of print and broadcast media. Students will interpret and evaluate the content of news and public discourse, assess the relevance of news and public events presentations, and articulate their individual points of view. Evaluation will be based upon a written quiz, a class test, an in-class presentation, a term paper, and attendance and participation.

Ethical Issues in Journalism
This course will examine traditional ethical theories and ideas and relate these to ethical issues confronting journalists as their work has impact on their readers and listeners. The course will be divided into three sections of approximately 5 weeks each. The first section will introduce two or three of the major Western ethical traditions which will serve as a reference for the rest of the course. The next section will look a the specific ethical concerns of journalism: rights, privacy, fairness, balance, and accuracy. The third part of the course will examine specific issues in the light of the ideas acquired so far. Our intuition about these issues will also serve to test the adequacy of the theories, principles, and guidelines discussed.