Fonds P0138 - Lawrence Sabbath fonds

Lawrence Sabbath was born in Montreal May 25, 1915, and died in Montreal June 29, 1993. He studied arts at Queen's University and law at McGill University. He was a drama and visual arts critic for The Montreal Star 1957-1979, The Montreal Gazette1979- 1987, and for other newspapers and magazines including the Toronto Star, the New York Times, Saturday Night, and Vie des arts. He was the first anglophone theatre critic to develop a consistent pattern of coverage for French-language theatre, to bring its achievements to readers outside Quebec, and to draw to the attention of Quebecers the accomplishments of francophone companies and performers outside Quebec. He was the first critic to recognize the enormous talent of playwright Michel Tremblay, whose first works were criticized for their use of Quebec vernacular. Lawrence Sabbath also gave talks on art and drama on television and radio, and gave courses in university and high schools. He was awarded a médaille d'or by the Université de Montréal in 1960 in recognition of his accomplishments. In 1990 he received the Imperial Oil Award for Excellence in Arts Journalism.