Quick Facts
Biography
Boris Spremo, CM (Serbian Cyrillic: Борис Спремо; October 20, 1935 – August 21, 2017) was a Canadian photojournalist. He was the first photojournalist to receive the Order of Canada.
Life
After graduating from the Belgrade Cinematographic Institute, he moved to Canada in 1957 via Paris. He found work with The Globe and Mail from 1962 to 1966, and finished his career with the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star later called him "a legend in the business". Some of his photographs appeared in both Canadian and American magazines. He was known for his collages depicting life in Toronto.
Spremo won many regional and international awards for his work, including a World Press Photo award, the first for a Canadian. He was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1997, by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. He was the first photojournalist to receive the award.
Spremo died in Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital at age 81, from complications of myeloma.