George H Robertson (1922-2003)

George H. Robertson
George H. Robertson

Year Born: 1922

Year Died: 2003

George H. Robertson became known for the CBC-TV series Quentin Durgens, M.P., the 1966-71 series which made a star out of Gordon Pinsent who acted the title role. George created the series and wrote all the scripts. 

He was born in Regina and started his career as a radio announcer at CKRM Regina. He moved to CBC Winnipeg as an actor-announcer, and then signed up with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. At the end of the war George moved to Montreal as a freelance writer and broadcaster, then to Toronto in 1949 where in following years he acted in several television series. He also narrated documentaries for the National Film Board and continued to write. He scripted more than 100 dramas for CBC Radio and Television, including the Quentin Durgens scripts.

Quentin Durgens was originally a comedy built around a young, idealistic and naïve country man who becomes an MP almost accidentally on the death of his father, the incumbent MP. In Ottawa he fights political realities and parliamentary intrigues. It was one of the first hour-long Canadian drama series produced by CBC-TV and developed from a 1965 series of six half-hour shows called Mr. Member of Parliament which showed as part of the drama series The Serial.

At the 1993 Gemini Awards, George was the recipient of the Margaret Collier Award, in recognition of his body of writing work. He died in 2003.