Canadian documentary maker David Sobelman, who was considered a scholar of media theorist and writer Marshall McLuhan, has died.

Sobelman died at his home in Oakville, Ont., on Nov. 7 while recuperating from surgery, according to his obituary published this past week in The Globe and Mail and on Legacy.com.

The Toronto-based multi-hyphenate — whose career spanned producing, directing, screenwriting, editing, translation and poetry (After the End) — worked on feature-length documentaries including Runaways: 24 Hours on the Street, McLuhan’s Wake, and Samuel Bak: Painter Of Questions.

His TV credits included TVO programs Marshall McLuhan’s ABC, The Shuttle Years, and The Space Symphony.

“If you knew David, then the loss of this maddening, inspirational, and beautiful soul will hit you hard, as it did me,” said Stuart Coxe, founder of Toronto-based Antica Productions, in a tweet posted on Sunday (Nov. 20).

Sobelman conceived the idea for McLuhan’s Wake and also coproduced and wrote the project from Primitive Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada. Kevin McMahon directed the film, which was produced by Gerry Flahive, Kristina McLaughlin, and Michael McMahon.

The doc, about the ideas of the late Canadian communications philosopher, won honours including a Gemini Award for best sound. The CBC doc Runaways: 24 Hours on the Street, which Sobelman helped write and produce, won a Michener Award for journalism.

Born in 1950 in Haifa, Israel to a French-Jewish family, Sobelman studied in Holland, Germany, France and England. He immigrated to Canada in 1972 and studied film and literature at York University.

He predeceased by his wife, poet and professor Rishma Dunlop, and is survived by his brother, Nadav Sivan.

Photo courtesy of Legacy.com