Tom Daly, a major figure in the illustrious history of the National Film Board of Canada, was born in Toronto on April 25, 1918 and joined the NFB in 1940 as a production assistant directly out of University of Toronto in order to contribute to Canada's war effort. Widely acknowledged as the most important figure ever to work in the English-language branch of the NFB, Daly was a brilliant editor and producer, capable of inspiring his colleagues' best work.

He learned the art of film editing from two of the greatest documentary filmmakers to emerge from Great Britain, Stuart Legg and John Grierson, and went on to mentor a host of filmmakers, including Roman Kroitor, one of the inventors of IMAX, and Wolf Koenig, arguably one of the best cameraman in the NFB's history. Daly established the stock-shot library, essential for The World in Action series, and during the war edited several of the Canada Carries On and The World in Action films. He produced his first film in 1945 and rose to become executive producer of Unit B in 1951.

Under his leadership, Unit B became the NFB's most honoured creative arm and was home to some of Canada's most brilliant and accomplished filmmakers, notably Wolf Koenig, Colin Low, Roman Kroitor, Gerald Potterton, Don Owen, Robert Verrall, Norman McLaren and Arthur Lipsett, whose award-winning films of the 1950s and 1960s brought international recognition for their innovative approaches to documentary and animation. The tone and ideology of the films were also recognizable: a nostalgic affirmation of the past; a detached, even sardonic, view of reality; an almost existential attitude toward individual human actions and social development; and, perhaps paradoxically, an emphasis on the importance of group effort.

Daly was the executive producer of Candid Eye, the celebrated 14-film cinema-vérité series made between 1958 and 1961, and was the editing genius behind the legendary, giant, multi-screen film In the Labyrinth, which became the most popular attraction at Expo 67.

A sensitive and energetic producer, Daly was also acknowledged to be the Film Board's best editor and an inspiration to his colleagues throughout his entire career. He retired in 1984 with a legacy of more than 300 films, produced during 44 years of dedicated service.

In 1996, Tom Daly's rich career was the subject of U.S. film scholar D.B. Jones' book, The Best Butler in the Business: Tom Daly of the National Film Board of Canada, published by the University of Toronto Press.
You can find more details on Tom Daly in the Film Collection.