Moving to Canada in 1969 as a draft evader, he settled in Calgary and began writing film reviews for the Calgary Albertan a few years later.[1] He won a National Newspaper Award in 1975 for a review of Theatre Passe Muraille's stage production The Alberta Cowboy Show,[4] and moved to Toronto when he was hired by The Globe and Mail in 1977.[1] With The Globe and Mail, he wrote an entertainment gossip column for his first year, before transferring to become a film reviewer.[4]
With the Globe and Mail, Scott became Canada's most influential film critic,[1][2] winning two more National Newspaper Awards for his writing,[1] and is still widely remembered as one of the best and most influential film critics in the history of Canadian journalism.[5] He has also been credited as the catalyst for a major shift in the newspaper's own arts reporting style in his era, from a staid, strictly repertorial style toward more distinctive, colourful writing.[4]
He was also the host of Jay Scott's Film International, a film series on TVOntario,[3] and published three non-fiction books on both film and art: Midnight Matinees, Changing Woman: The Life and Art of Helen Hardin, and The Prints of Christopher Pratt.[3]
From 1967 to 1980, he was in a relationship with Mary Bloom, whom he had met while studying in Sarasota.[3] After his divorce from Bloom, he came out as gay and began a relationship with Gene Corboy.[3] He was diagnosed HIV+ in 1986.[4]
Death
He died of AIDS-related causes in 1993.[6] He wrote for the Globe and Mail until his death, and had been working on a book about Norman Jewison.[1] On the night of his death, TVOntario pulled a scheduled rerun of Film International to broadcast a tribute to Scott, including a screening of one of his all-time favorite films, Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless.[1]
A collection of his reviews, Great Scott! The Best of Jay Scott's Movie Reviews, was published posthumously in 1994; proceeds from the book sales were donated to the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research.[9]
He is the subject of an essay, written by current Globe and Mail film critic Barry Hertz, in the 2024 book A Nation’s Paper: The Globe and Mail in the Life of Canada.[4]
^ abcde"Globe's Jay Scott dies suddenly at 43: A rare film critic respected by all". The Globe and Mail, July 31, 1993.
^ abcdefBarry Hertz, "Great Scott: In The Globe’s arts pages, film critic Jay Scott changed how Canadians consumed and talked about culture. In his personal life, the twists and tragedies were worthy of Hollywood". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2024.
^"Critic Scott eulogized as `secular saint'". Edmonton Journal, August 5, 1993.
^"Eastwood donates to hospice in film critic's memory". Ottawa Citizen, August 20, 1993.
^"Critic Jay Scott is not forgotten as Canadian and foreign film-makers pick up their awards at the Festival of Festivals". Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 1993.
^"Critic's great voice lives on in collection". Ottawa Citizen, October 9, 1994.
