The digitization of this finding aid was made possible - in part or entirely - through the Canadian Culture Online Program of Canadian Heritage, the National Archives of Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives.
| Fonds/Collection Number: | F0195 |
| Title: | John Kastner fonds |
| Dates: | 1968-2008 |
| Extent: | 6.46 m of textual records and other materials |
| Biographical Sketch/ Administrative History: | John Kastner (1946- ) is a documentary filmmaker, producer, writer, actor and director. Born in Toronto, Canada, he began his career as a professional child actor and appeared in many TV and radio programs, including the CBC drama "The Offshore Island". He also produced, directed and wrote for a variety of television programs, including game shows ("Photo Finish"), variety shows ("Street Comedy", "Ask a Silly Question" and "90 Minutes Live") and a children's comedy ("Just Kidding"). Kastner is best known as an award-winning writer, producer and director of television documentaries for the CBC and CTV. These documentary projects predominantly pertain to prisoners, Canada's prison and parole systems as well as the personal struggles of those with life-threatening illnesses. Kastner's documentaries include "Prison Mother/Prison Daughter" (1986), "Romance with a Rapist" (1997), "Hunting Bobby Oatway" (2004), "Rage Against the Darkness" (2004), "Monster in the Family" (2006), "Monster in the Family: The Struggle Continues" (2007), and "Life With Murder" (2010). He received Emmy Awards for three feature-length documentaries, "Four Women" (1978), "Fighting Back" (1982) and "The Lifer and the Lady" (1986). Kastner has also written, produced and directed a number of comic documentaries, including "Ask a Silly Question" (1998), "Somebody's Gotta Do It" (1999), "Chickens are People Too" (2000) and "Sinner in Paradise" (2007). |
| Scope and Content: |
The fonds documents John Kastner's career as a filmmaker and producer. Records in this fonds consist of publicity files, which include biographical information, clippings, flyers and other promotional materials related to his productions; administrative and production files, which include correspondence, budgets, proposals, notes, transcripts and scripts; research materials, which include prison records, articles, books, court transcripts, newspaper clippings and news footage; and audiovisual materials, including video cassettes, DVD-Rs, photographs, and audio recordings. These records pertain to the following programs: "Street Comedy", "Ask a Silly Question", "Somebody's Gotta Do It", "Chickens are People Too", "Monster in the Family", "Monster in the Family: The Struggle Continues", and "Sinner in Paradise". |
| Restrictions on Access and Use: | Access to the records in this fonds is permitted only through a research agreement. |
| Finding Aid: | File lists are available. |
| URL of Finding Aid: | http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000195.pdf |
| Accruals: | The fonds comprises the following accessions: 1999-076, 2001-023, 2009-017. Further accruals may be expected. |
| 1999-076 2001-023 2009-017 |
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| Immediate source of acquisition: | Donated by John Kastner in 1999, 2001 and 2009. |
| Other Notes: | Other records include: 374 videocassettes : VHS and Betacam. -- 35 DVD-Rs. -- 22 photographs : b&w and col. ; 25 x 20 cm and smaller. -- 22 photographs : col. negative ; 35 mm. -- 16 CD-Rs. -- 11 audio reels. -- 2 audio cassettes. -- 1 computer disk ; 9 x 9 cm. |
| Provenance Access Points: | Kastner, John, 1946- |
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Date of creation: 2002/04/04 Date of last revision: 2010/11/02 |
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