View source for Kit Hood

{{Short description|Canadian filmmaker and co-creator of Degrassi (1943–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Kit Hood
| image              = Kit Hood 1988.jpg
| caption            = Hood at the [[3rd Gemini Awards]] in December 1988
| birth_name         = Christopher Hood
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1943|03|24|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[London]], England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2020|1|20|1943|3|24|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[West Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia]], Canada
| notable_works      = ''[[The Kids Of Degrassi Street]]'', ''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'', ''[[Degrassi High]]''
| years_active       = 1978-1998
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by the Degrassi franchise|awards list]]
}}
'''Christopher "Kit" Hood'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=2020-01-28 |title='Degrassi' Co-Creator Christopher "Kit" Hood Dies at 76 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/christopher-kit-hood-dead-degrassi-creator-was-76-1274005/ |access-date=2021-06-24 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> (24 March 1943 – 20 January 2020) was an English-born Canadian filmmaker who co-created the ''[[Degrassi]]'' television franchise and its first three entries: ''[[The Kids of Degrassi Street]]'' (1979–86), ''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'' (1987–89), and ''[[Degrassi High]]'' (1989-91), as well serving as the writer and/or director of the majority of their episodes. As a director, Hood won a [[Gemini Awards|Gemini Award]] in 1987 for the ''Degrassi Junior High'' episode "[[It's Late (Degrassi Junior High)|It's Late]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 1988 |title=Night Heat tops Gemini Awards |url=http://cinemacanada.athabascau.ca/index.php/cinema/article/viewFile/3848/3885 |work=[[Cinema Canada]]}}</ref>
Born in London, he emigrated to Canada in 1969 and worked as a freelance editor before meeting ex-schoolteacher Linda Schuyler, with whom he founded the company [[Playing With Time, Inc.|Playing With Time]] in 1976. Outside of ''Degrassi'', the company produced educational films and documentaries. He split from Schuyler in the early 1990s and was not involved with ''[[Degrassi: The Next Generation]]'' or ''[[Degrassi: Next Class]]'', having retired in 1998.
{{Degrassi series}}
== Career ==
Christopher "Kit" Hood was born in [[London]], England in 1943, the son of Robert Hood and Eve Jennings, a writer of children's books. Hood worked as a child actor, then as a [[Film editing|film editor]] with [[Walt Disney Productions]] in London. In 1969, he emigrated to Canada. In Toronto, he was a freelance editor of television commercials when he met [[Linda Schuyler]], a grade 8 teacher-turned-filmmaker who was looking for an editor with advanced technical skills.<ref>{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Linda |title=InTRODUCinG ... KitHood and Linda Schuyler |url=https://cinemacanada.athabascau.ca/index.php/cinema/article/viewFile/2292/2342 |website=Cinema Canada Magazine/Athabasca University |accessdate=28 December 2022}}</ref>
In 1976, they founded [[Playing With Time, Inc.|Playing With Time]], a company which specialized in educational films and documentaries. Their first film together was ''Jimmy: Playing With Time'', a documentary about a marathon pianist. That was followed by ''[[Ida Makes a Movie]]'', a film about an inner-city girl who wanted to make a film about cleaning up her neighbourhood. The concept for more kids-related episodes was accepted by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]], additional funding was procured and the result was ''[[The Kids of Degrassi Street]]''. By 1986, they had produced 26 episodes of the show.
Playing With Time produced a number of short films and documentaries, but the majority of the company's output was the first three ''[[Degrassi]]'' series, which included ''The Kids Of Degrassi Street'' (1979–86), ''Degrassi Junior High'' (1987-89), and ''Degrassi High'' (1989-91). The series followed the lives of Toronto children, from elementary school to high school. The shows’ content focused on challenges such as teenage pregnancy, drug use, alcoholism, child abuse, bullying, deaths of parents, and peer pressure. Each series aired to considerable critical and commercial success in Canada and elsewhere, and won numerous [[List of awards and nominations received by the Degrassi franchise|awards]].
Hood wrote and/or directed and/or produced most of the episodes and made a guest appearance in one, playing an angry parent in the 1988 episode "[[Degrassi Junior High (season 2)|Censored]]". At the end of the last season of ''Degrassi High'', Hood and Schuyler produced a documentary about the series called ''[[Degrassi Talks]]'', and the 1992 TV movie ''[[School's Out (1992 film)|School's Out!]]''. The two split shortly after, with Schuyler founding [[Epitome Pictures]] with [[Stephen Stohn]], leaving Hood in sole control of Playing With Time. He began operating instead under Timeless Productions,<ref name=":53">{{Cite web |last=Earl |first=Natalie |date=2007-10-15 |title=Kit Hood Interview Part 2 |url=http://www.degrassi.ca/Interviews/KitHood-Interview-part2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015074103/http://www.degrassi.ca/Interviews/KitHood-Interview-part2.htm |archive-date=October 15, 2007 |access-date=2022-02-23 }}</ref> but as of July 1998, still owned the Playing With Time building and sat on the board of the non-profit PWT Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Earl |first=Natalie |date=2007-10-15 |title=Kit Hood Interview By Natalie Earl |url=http://www.degrassi.ca/Interviews/Kit%20Hood%20Interview%20for%20MARK.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015073443/http://www.degrassi.ca/Interviews/Kit%20Hood%20Interview%20for%20MARK.htm |archive-date=October 15, 2007 |access-date=2022-02-23 |website=degrassi.ca}}</ref> which had been founded originally to support the cast of ''Degrassi'' in their future endeavors.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Godden |first=Tim |date=1988-07-16 |title=The Producer |pages=37 |work=The Expositor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97374891/the-expositor/ |access-date=2022-03-11}}</ref> Hood rented the building as a shelter for [[Battered women's shelter|abused women and children]], families experiencing housing crises, and refugees.<ref name=":2" />
Hood did not participate in ''[[Degrassi: The Next Generation]]''; he produced and directed a few more projects before retiring to Nova Scotia in 1998. His final public appearance was ''Degrassi Palooza'', a reunion of the ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' cast, which took place in Toronto in June 2019; actress [[Stacie Mistysyn]] later remarked: "I think he felt that people didn’t necessarily associate him with the legacy of ‘Degrassi’ anymore, because he sold the rights to Linda Schuyler, so I think it was really good for him to have fans tell him how much they appreciated him being a part of it since he founded the original show".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahearn |first=Victoria |date=2020-01-25 |title=Degrassi co-creator Kit Hood dies |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/degrassi-co-creator-kit-hood-dies/article_4066b271-1680-584f-bffc-8179990fa6ec.html |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Toronto Star |language=en |agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref>
== Personal life and death ==
Hood was married to Agnes Malouf, a teacher, and had two daughters and one step-daughter. On January 20, 2020, he died of a [[Intracranial aneurysm|brain aneurysm]]<ref name=":12">{{harvnb|Schuyler|2022|pp=208|year=2022}}</ref> in his home in [[West Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia]], at age 76.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Summers |first=Brett |date=2020-01-22 |title=Degrassi co-creator Kit Hood passes away |url=https://cultfaction.com/2020/01/22/degrassi-co-creator-kit-hood-passes-away/ |access-date=2021-06-24 |website=CULT FACTION |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Christopher "Kit" Hood {{!}} Obituary {{!}} Sharing Memories |url=https://www.arbormemorial.ca/coleharbour/obituaries/christopher-kit-hood/44588 |access-date=2021-06-24 |website=www.arbormemorial.ca |language=en}}</ref> In a statement, Linda Schuyler said of Hood's "trademark impish charm", his "kid’s-eye view, never letting the camera look down on our young protagonists", and his "intimate and respectful style of directing, small of scale and richly layered", and remarked that "to this day, his style is deeply imbedded in ''Degrassi’''s DNA".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=2020-01-28 |title='Degrassi' Co-Creator Christopher "Kit" Hood Dies at 76 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/christopher-kit-hood-dead-degrassi-creator-was-76-1274005/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Actor [[Pat Mastroianni]], who played [[Joey Jeremiah]], praised him as "fundamental in laying the foundation of the Degrassi franchise".<ref name=":1" />
In August 2021, Hood's daughter Georgia created an online petition to have the City of Toronto name a laneway, located in the [[Leslieville]] neighbourhood behind the former Playing With Time production office, after him.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=People want to name a Toronto laneway after Degrassi's co-creator |url=https://www.blogto.com/city/2021/08/toronto-laneway-degrassi-co-creator/ |access-date=2021-08-08 |website=blogto.com |language=en}}</ref> In September 2023, actor [[Pat Mastroianni]] announced on his Facebook page, ''Degrassi Tour'', that the campaign was successful, with the laneway renamed to "Kit Hood Lane".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Today was a very special day. It took us 2 years to achieve our goal but the Kit Hood Lane was officially unveiled in the community of Leslieville in... {{!}} By DeGrassi Tour {{!}} Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/Degrassitour/videos/today-was-a-very-special-day-it-took-us-2-years-to-achieve-our-goal-but-the-kit-/3608535932757156/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Filmography==
'''Director and/or Producer and/or Writer'''
*''Our Cultural Fabric'' - short film, 1978
*''Jimmy: Playing With Time'' - documentary, 1979
*''[[Ida Makes a Movie]]'' - short film, 1979
*''[[The Kids of Degrassi Street]]'' - TV series, 26 episodes, 1979-1986
*''Growing Up with Sandy Offenheim'' - documentary, 1980<ref>{{Cite news |date=1980-10-28 |title=Growing up Canadian, from a family's point of view |pages=19 |work=Calgary Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96622452/calgary-herald/ |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref>
*''Pearls in the Alphabet Soup'' - short film, 1980
*''Don’t Call Me Stupid'' - short film, 1980<ref>{{cite web |title=Don't Call Me Stupid |url=http://screenculture.org/cesif/film/dont-call-me-stupid |website=screenculture.org |publisher=CESIF |access-date=29 December 2022}}</ref>
*''Advice on Lice'' - short film, 1985
*''[[OWL/TV]]'' - TV series, ''Real Kids'' segments, 1985-1986
*''Danger Keep Out!'' - documentary short, 1987<ref>{{cite book |title=Danger keep out : [a safety film about construction side hazards] |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/841629011 |via=worldcat.org |publisher=WorldCat |oclc=841629011 |access-date=29 December 2022}}</ref>
*''[[The Kids of Degrassi Street]]'' - TV series, 59 episodes, 1987-1991
*''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'' - TV series, 1987-1989 (co-creator)
*''[[Degrassi High]]'' - TV series, 1989-1991 (co-creator)
*''[[Degrassi Talks]]'' - documentary series, 6 episodes, 1992
*''[[School's Out (1992 film)|School's Out!]]'' - TV movie, 1992
*''X-Rated'' - TV movie, 1994
*''[[Road to Avonlea]]'' - TV series, director, 1 episode (''A Fox Tale''), 1995
*''Strauss: The King of 3/4 Time'' - TV movie, 1995
*''Just a Little Red Dot'' - short film, 1997<ref>{{cite web |title=Just a Little Red Dot |url=https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM3415393&R=3415393 |website=torontopubliclibrary.ca |publisher=Toronto Public Library |access-date=29 December 2022}}</ref>
*''Dancing on the Moon'' - drama, 1997<ref>{{Cite news |last=Griffin |first=John |date=1998-02-27 |title=Dancing On The Moon a sweet, simple fable |pages=32 |work=The Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96622371/the-gazette/ |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
=== Works cited ===
* {{Cite book |last=Schuyler |first=Linda |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1309065167 |title=The mother of all Degrassi : a memoir |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-77041-683-3 |location=Toronto |oclc=1309065167}}
{{Authority control}}{{Playing With Time, Inc. and Epitome Pictures}}{{Degrassi}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Kit}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:English child actors]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:English film editors]]
[[Category:Canadian film editors]]
[[Category:Canadian television directors]]
[[Category:Canadian male television writers]]
[[Category:Canadian television writers]]
[[Category:Canadian television producers]]
[[Category:Canadian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Television show creators]]
[[Category:Degrassi]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]