Without fanfare, one of the pioneers of television, political communication and public relations has just left us. Maurice Leroux died at the age of 99 years, 9 months and 9 days. For those who had a sense of strong images and great scenarios, some will see this as a nice wink from the character.
Over the course of his long professional career, his career will place him at the heart of several pivotal moments in our history, including the advent of our television. After studying law in Montreal, cinema in Paris and television in New York, he returned to his hometown at the very time when television was in its very early stages.
In 1954, he was hired at Radio-Canada as director of dramatic programs. We owe him the soap operas The occurring (which earned him, in the first year, the Frigon trophy for best director), Cap-aux-Sorciers and many televised theaters. Between 1957 and 1959, he held the position of director of dramatic broadcasts. He will then script the series there CF-RCK, D’Iberville And Joy of life.
After this notable stint at Radio-Canada, we found him as an independent director on behalf of Télé-Métropole (television series My wife and I), the Service for the Propagation of the Faith (radio series), the National Film Board, as well as various film production firms (Niagara Films, DeTonnancour Films, Onyx Films).
With this rare and sought-after experience as a director, he will then be a television communications advisor to several advertising and public relations agencies, as well as to several organizations and political parties.
Television advisor to Jean Lesage
At the turn of the 1960s, Maurice Leroux was called upon to advise Prime Minister Jean Lesage, who did not have all the ease that he would later be recognized as having in front of television cameras. History will also remember his exceptional performance, against Daniel Johnson, during the famous televised debate of the 1962 electoral campaign. It was a first in the country.
To properly prepare his boss, Leroux will go to the United States to meet the advisers of the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, who stood out in his debate against Richard Nixon. He will retain some valuable lessons from this meeting: “I learned from this stay that we had to avoid too direct a face-to-face encounter between Lesage and Johnson. The two leaders were to respond to each other, but not speak directly to each other. The desired effect was to reinforce the impression of a prime minister and head of state above partisan squabbles. »
In 1965, Maurice Leroux left Jean Lesage’s Liberal Party with a bang. It must be remembered that his film Youth year zero, intended to “connect” with young voters, had been rejected by the party. And his communications plan for the 1966 election suffered the same fate. In an interview, he justified his resignation by saying “that he does not want to be complicit in the step backwards that the government is making, which he accuses of having suddenly shifted to the right.”
From then on, he became an activist in the National Rally for Independence (RIN). In 1970, we found him in the Parti Québécois, which was in its first electoral presence. He will head the advertising committee there, along with Pierre Renaud, the campaign’s general secretary.
Relationist
During the 1970s, Maurice Leroux’s career was more associated with an emerging profession: that of public relations specialist. He will sometimes advise the Bar of Montreal, Québec-Téléphone, Desjardins Life Insurance, Hydro-Québec and the Corporation of Teachers of Quebec.
From the early to mid-1980s, as a lecturer, he participated in the birth of a new public relations program at Laval University. Several hundred students will thus be able to benefit from his teaching talents and the wealth of his professional experience.
It was at this time that I had the privilege of following the courses of this master of television, political communication and public relations. What incredible luck!
Maurice Leroux was a true mentor for me. Furthermore, he gave me the gift of his faithful friendship. There is no doubt that his teaching and his journey as a free thinker strongly influenced me. One day when I was discussing with him the importance of television in politics, he told me quite simply that television had not only changed politics: “It changed the world!” »