William is an author, a scriptwriter and a nationally syndicated humour columnist. He has written over 10 books of humour, several of which feature his bucktooth cat. He noted he had developed a love of books and reading early on, crediting a particular High School teacher for this.
He started off his remarks by citing examples of talks he has done for other groups, highlighting examples of humorous things which “did not go too well “ in some of those talks. He had done his homework for our group; he had funny quips to make about the idiosyncrasies of several of our Probus management team. Easily recognizable!
William did a short reading from his most recent book “Why I love living in small towns”. At the end, in encouraging us all to keep active and engaged, he referenced Red Skelton’s dictum “ Keep on doing stuff – you might as well laugh; no one’s getting out of this alive!”
He has been nominated twice for the prestigious Gemini Award for writing movies for television. When it aired, Breaking The Rules – The Story Of Trivial Pursuit drew the largest Canadian TV audience for its time. He is the author of ten books of humour including the story of his buck-toothed cat named Malcolm, Life In The Litterbox. (You don’t have to buy the book. In the end, she got the car and he got the cat.)
His tribute to the great Canadian sport of curling was titled Hey! Is That Guy Dead Or Is He The Skip? William claims 5000 curlers bought that book … and later burned it.
At age 65, William walked across England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea in 15 days. His adventures as a hiker and travel writer were chronicled in Never Hitchhike On The Road Less Travelled. (Which is just a real bad idea. No cars, eh?) He wrote the definitive book on male behaviour Guys – Not Real Bright And Damn Proud Of It! Women bought that book by the six-pack.
The title of the memoir about his wee Irish mother Margaret was All Humour Needs A Victim And Your Mother Should Come First! “But I changed the title,” says the author, “because even at the age of 91, your mother can still get a lawyer!” An endearing and enduring story, Margaret And Me was enthusiastically endorsed by the Canadian Alzheimer’s Society as a ‘must read’ for anyone dealing with aging loved ones. The new edition includes adventures in the nursing home – “Where There’s Humour, There’s Always Hope.”
The Dog Rules – Damn Near Everything!, the story of his unfaithful dog Jake enjoyed 49 straight weeks at number one on every Canadian Bestseller list.
His latest book The Legend of Zippy Chippy: Life Lessons From Horse Racing’s Most Loveable Loser, the story of a crazy-ass horse that went to post 100 times and lost 100 times, is still ranked on Amazon’s Top 100 Bestseller List.
William’s work was included in the Great Canadian Anthology Of Humour with the best 50 comedy writers in Canada, from Stephen Leacock to today.