James DeFelice

{{Short description|American-Canadian playwright and screenwriter}}

James DeFelice (January 6, 1937 - October 5, 2024) was an American-Canadian actor, playwright and screenwriter based in Edmonton, Alberta,Anne Nothof, [https://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=DeFelice%2C%20James "DeFelice, James"]. Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, October 21, 2024. most noted as writer of the theatrical films Why Shoot the Teacher?Robert Martin, "Why Shoot the Teacher: a loving look at hard times on the Prairies". The Globe and Mail, July 2, 1977. and Angel Square.Rick Groen, "Film Review: Angel Square". The Globe and Mail, November 15, 1991.

Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, he was educated at Northeastern University, Tufts University and the University of Indiana,Liz Nicholls, "Theatre icon plays with memory; Like everyone involved with this production, James DeFelice has personal connections with Alzheimer's". Edmonton Journal, April 19, 2007. and was a sportswriter for the Boston Globe before moving to Edmonton in 1969 to become a theatre professor at the University of Alberta.Liane Faulder, [https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/edmonton-theatre-jim-defelice-fringe-brother-rat "Stage notes: Edmonton theatre community mourns Jim DeFelice"]. Edmonton Journal, November 15, 2024. In Edmonton he regularly acted on stage and directed theatre productions, as well as writing stage plays. His plays included The Bird Prince, The Elixir, Fools and Masters, Ladder to the Moon, The Merchants of Dazu, Take Me Where the Water's Warm and A Yard of Pucks.

He also had occasional supporting acting roles in film, including in Harry Tracy, Desperado, Draw!, The Gunfighters, Cowboys Don't Cry, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Passchendaele.

He retired from the University of Alberta in 2002, but remained an active participant in the city's theatre community until his death in 2024.