Biography
Don Truckey is an eclectic, award-winning Canadian screenwriter, journalist, teacher, and children’s novelist. His writing has been produced in series television, movies made for TV, daily journalism, print novels, and diverse media platforms.
Drawing on a youthful athleticism, he has written three produced television movies about sports. "Net Worth" (CBC 1995; Al Waxman, Aidan Devine) was the multi-award winning true story of Detroit Red Wing star Ted Lindsay's attempt to form the first NHL Players Association (Winner Best Writer Television Movies, Columbus International Festival of Film and Video, awarded to Truckey). "Chicks With Sticks" (Cable 2004; Jessalyn Gilsig, Jason Priestley, Margot Kidder) was the world's first women's hockey movie (released as "Anyone's Game" in USA and "Hockey Mom" internationally). "Crazy Canucks" (CTV 2005) told the story of Canada's legendary, fearless downhill ski team.
Truckey's first career was in print journalism (The Calgary Herald, 1979-1986). There he looked for stories as he developed a parallel talent in screenwriting. Two years on the court beat yielded "Rough Justice" (CBC, 1984), his first dramatic script, for which he won the national screenwriting award in 1985 (ACTRA Award Best Dramatic Script). Don moved to Toronto in 1986 to become the first Head Writer on CBC's breakthrough series "Street Legal." His two years-plus on the series, involved in 25 episodes as writer, story editor, and co-writer helped shape a hit. Truckey had a hand in writing three award-winning performances for the series; his scripts have sent eight actors to the awards podium so far in his career.
He was the Co-creator and Executive Story Editor of "Urban Angel" over two seasons (CBC; Telescene Productions; 1990-1991), the first Canadian series picked up by a US network (CBS). The story of a streetwise kid working the cop beat on a major urban newspaper drew on Truckey's experience in print journalism, and was the launching pad for the distinguished acting career of Louis Ferreira. Nominated for a Best Television Series Gemini Award in 1991.
Truckey converted his childhood in a freer time into two published children's novels: "The Adventures of Caraway Kim... Southpaw" and "The Adventures of Caraway Kim... Right Wing" (both from Thistledown Press). The latter is the basis for his script "All I Want for Christmas is to win Top Scorer!" (not yet produced).
Also in the vault are "Paper Tiger" and "Captives of the Warlords; Arthur Kent & the Taliban", both journalism-themed; "Decontaminists," a high-budget futurist thriller; "Canook of the North... Hollywood League," a cross-cultural spoof; and "Rockets", a sitcom set in the world of semi-pro hockey.
Truckey's eclectic bent continues with his latest project, "Below The Belt", an 8 X 60 series proposal, pilot written, meditating on the nature of masculinity in the face of the serious health challenge posed by prostate cancer. A survivor of the disease, Don has again employed personal experience to craft the narrative.
He has taught screenwriting (Canadian Screen Training Centre; 2000-2003), consulted with many screenwriters on their projects, and his work to date has been archived at the Archives and Special Collections department at the University of Calgary.
