Film Critic John Harkness Found Dead in Home

(andPOP) - Local Toronto celebrity and well known film critic John Harkness was found dead in his Toronto home on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Harkness had been employed as the film critic for Toronto's NOW magazine since it's launched in 1981. Fellow colleagues, Canadian film buffs, and loyal readers alike were shocked to hear of his passing. Harkness, who was 53, had been suffering from high cholesterol, however no conclusions have been made regarding the reason for his death.

Co-founder and Co-owner of NOW, Michael Hollet, has sent someone to Harkness' home early Tuesday afternoon after their always punctual critic didn't show up for work.

"He had never missed a deadline in 26 years," Hollet said, "so we sent somebody to his house when his copy didn't arrive." After discovering the body, the police were promptly notified.

The definition of home grown talent, Harkness was born in Montreal and was raised in Halifax and Sarnia. He attended Carlton University in Ottawa where he received a degree in English literature. Following his degree in English, Harkness did some graduate work at Columbia University in New York in Cinema Studies.

Harkness' work was not only limited to Toronto's treasured NOW magazine, but he also worked with Cinematheque, Take One, and Sight and Sound, and spent a number of years reporting for Screen International and Cinema Canada.