Photojournalist Boris Spremo dies

Award-winning photojournalist Boris Spremo, a blue-eyed charmer who captured intimate and surprising moments from world leaders and average citizens alike, has died.

The retired newsman died Monday in hospital after a short battle with cancer, said Diana Spremo, one of his four daughters. He was 81.

“He was the man of the house, he was our hero,” she said Tuesday while recounting stories about a loving father who would regale his children with tales from the road. “He really had a passion for life, he was always making jokes, he took life to the fullest.”

Spremo’s 34 years at the Toronto Star took him to war zones in Vietnam, Cyprus, Belfast, Grenada and the Falkland Islands, and he also covered the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana.

After each assignment, he would sit his girls down and tell them what he saw.

“He always made sure that we understood that we were privileged,” said Diana Spremo. “He loved Toronto, he loved this country, but he saw so much bad stuff out there and he wanted to make sure that we didn’t take what we had for granted.”

Fellow photographer and friend Peter Bregg was among a stream of colleagues to visit Spremo in hospital last week as his health spiralled.

He had a knack for getting subjects to reveal themselves to him, said Bregg, who met Spremo nearly 50 years ago in Ottawa.

The 19-year-old Bregg, a new hire of The Canadian Press, couldn’t help but be impressed by Spremo’s expertise and instinct.