Remembering John Griffin: Montreal Gazette's Elegant and Witty Arts Critic
The Montreal arts community is mourning the loss of John Griffin, the longtime Gazette arts critic whose elegant, hip, and witty prose graced the newspaper's pages for more than three decades. Griffin passed away on March 21 in Knowlton at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy as one of Montreal's most distinctive cultural voices.
A Three-Decade Career in Arts Journalism
John Griffin's journey with the Montreal Gazette began in 1980 when he was hired as a music critic, taking over from the departing Juan Rodriguez. For eight years, from 1980 to 1988, Griffin covered the vibrant music scene, writing about everything from local pop, rock, and folk artists to major touring rock acts that passed through the city.
In 1988, Griffin made a significant transition to film criticism, a beat he would cover for the next 22 years until his resignation in 2010. Even after leaving his staff position, Griffin continued to contribute to the Gazette as a freelancer until late 2013, demonstrating his enduring commitment to arts journalism.
The Heyday of Print Criticism
Griffin worked during what many consider the golden age of print journalism, when local critics held significant sway in shaping cultural conversations and guiding readers' artistic choices. He joined what former arts section editor Brian Kappler described as "an all-star team" of formidable wordsmiths who helped set Montreal's cultural agenda.
This distinguished group included television writer Mike Boone, classical music critics Eric McLean and Arthur Kaptainis, and Griffin's eventual successor, Mark Lepage. "We had an all-star team in that department, and John was one of the big hitters," Kappler recalled, highlighting Griffin's importance within this talented ensemble.
A Distinctive Writing Style
Griffin's reputation rested not only on his wide-ranging knowledge of music and film but particularly on his distinctive writing style—a unique combination of hipness, wit, and poetic sensibility often delivered under tight deadline pressure.
His 1986 review of an Antonio Carlos Jobim concert at the Montreal International Jazz Festival showcased his lyrical approach: "If chiffon has a sound, that sound is salsa." At the opposite end of the musical spectrum, his assessment of heavy metal band Motörhead demonstrated his vivid descriptive powers, noting their shows "regularly jammed the noise meter at 126 decibels, which has the same effect on your head as a slaughterhouse stun gun has on a 4,000-pound steer."
Film Criticism and Cultural Commentary
Griffin's film reviews were equally incandescent, marked by his creation of memorable terms like "Euro-nudity" to describe a certain European cinematic sensibility. He brought his sharp critical eye to everything from Hollywood slapstick comedies like The Naked Gun to the introspective works of Quebec filmmaker Léa Pool.
In his review of the 1999 film The End of Days, which pitted Arnold Schwarzenegger against a lascivious Satan played by Gabriel Byrne, Griffin noted "Byrne's seeming inability to find the girl, even as he torches buildings, has his evil carnal way with whomever he fancies and otherwise behaves like a being whose greatest triumph was to fool mankind into thinking he doesn't exist."
More Than a Critic: A Cultural Presence
Beyond his written work, Griffin was a significant presence in Montreal's cultural scene during the 1980s and early 1990s—a period for which the term "bon vivant" might have been coined. Former colleague Paul Wells remembered him as "stylish in a way you couldn't fake.... It was a gift to know him." Griffin exuded what many described as an intoxicating mix of non-oleaginous charm, gentlemanly manners, and ineffable cool.
Early Life and Education
John Griffin was born in Montreal on February 28, 1950. In 1964, his family moved to England, where he attended Bradfield College in Berkshire. This exposure to Swinging Sixties England, including the music of the Beatles and Rolling Stones, profoundly influenced his cultural sensibilities.
The family returned to Montreal in 1967, a transition that his sister Cathy MacIntyre described as culturally jarring. "John was wearing Nehru jackets and had long hair at the time," she recalled. "It seemed like everyone here was wearing plaid sports jackets and had short hair."
Griffin enrolled at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, where he wrote poetry for the university's literary magazine, The Mitre, and sang lead vocals in a folk-jazz band called Sybilance. After graduating in 1971, he returned to Montreal and began his journalism career compiling listings for a cultural magazine before joining the Gazette in 1980.
Post-Retirement Activities and Legacy
After retiring from the Gazette in 2013 and moving to the Eastern Townships, Griffin remained engaged with the arts community. He co-organized the resurrected Festival du Film de Knowlton starting in 2018 and contributed to Tempo Lac-Brome, a monthly community newspaper, where his writing continued to showcase his unique perspective.
Tempo co-editor Matthew Elder, a former Gazette colleague, noted that Griffin "always had a unique spin on things, and his written words delivered that. When I reconnected with him in Knowlton ... he hadn't changed a bit—the same consistent 'Matt, my man' greeting." Griffin's final article appeared in the March edition of Tempo.
An Outpouring of Tributes
When news of Griffin's death was shared on Facebook on March 22, hundreds of tributes poured in from across Montreal's cultural establishment, including musicians, filmmakers, colleagues, and devoted readers whose artistic tastes he had helped shape.
Legendary blues and rock harmonica player Jim Zeller wrote, "After Juan Rodriguez, he became The Man," while longtime fan Hal Newman remembered Griffin as "Montreal's own Almost Famous music writer" who "helped shape the list of must-attend concerts and the playlists of my younger self."
Personal Life and Survivors
John Griffin is survived by his three sisters: Mary Griffin of Victoria, British Columbia; Jane Dickson of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick; and Cathy MacIntyre of Knowlton, along with numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of Griffin's life will be held in Knowlton in late May or early June, though specific details have not yet been announced.
Lucinda Chodan, a former editor in chief of the Gazette and former editor of the arts section, authored the original tribute to her colleague and friend, capturing the essence of a journalist whose elegant prose and distinctive voice left an indelible mark on Montreal's cultural landscape.
