Leonard Byron Peterson (March 15, 1917 – February 28, 2008) was a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and novelist.[1] He has written more than a thousand different dramatic works for stage, screen, television, and radio.[1]

A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, he attended Luther College and Northwestern University, and served in the Canadian Infantry Corps during World War II.[1] His career started in 1939 when he sold a script to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; one of his earliest successes was the radio play They're All Afraid (1944), which was written for the CBC Radio program Stage '44.[2] The play received much criticism for depicting life in Canada negatively at a time when it was thought that boosting wartime morale was more appropriate. They're All Afraid went on to win the award for best drama in a broadcasting festival in Ohio. It was later adapted by Peterson for the stage.

In addition to his writing, he was a key figure in the establishment of both ACTRA and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.[1] He was the winner of ACTRA's John Drainie Award for distinguished lifetime contributions to Canadian broadcasting at the 3rd ACTRA Awards in 1974.[3]

Plays

• Burlap Bags (1960)
• The Great Hunger (1960)
• Look Ahead! (1962)
• All About Us (1963)
• Almighty Voice (1970)
• Women in the Attic (1971)
• The Workingman (1972)
• Let's Make a World (1973)
• Billy Bishop and the Red Baron (1975)
• Your World on a Plastic Platter (1976)
• Etienne Brule (1977)
• They're All Afraid (1980)
• Eye of the Storm (1985)

Novels

• Chipmunk (1949)

Screenplays

• It's Fun to Sing (1948)
• Passport to Canada (1949)
• Iron from the North (1955)

TV shows

• The Executioners
• Folio
• General Motors Presents
• Camera Canada

Radio Shows

• Stage '44 (1943)
• Nightfall (1981)

References