John Hirsch

John Hirsch
Bronze statue of John Hirsch (standing) and Tom Hendry (seated) at the Royal MTC.
Born(1930-05-01)May 1, 1930
DiedAugust 1, 1989(1989-08-01) (aged 59)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Known forTheater directing, artistic direction, co-founding Theatre 77, musicals, and plays

John Stephen Hirsch, OC (/hɜːrʃ/; May 1, 1930 August 1, 1989) was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother István. Hirsch survived after spending most of the Second World War years in Budapest, and came to Canada in 1947 through the War Orphans Project of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Arriving in Winnipeg, Hirsch was taken into the home of Alex (Sasha) and Pauline Shack. He remained close to the Shacks for the rest of his life, and although he lived in New York City and Toronto, maintained strong ties with the city of Winnipeg.