John F. Bassett

John F. Bassett (February 5, 1939 – May 15, 1986) was a Canadian tennis player, businessman, and film producer. Athletic career Bassett won the Canadian Open Junior Doubles Championship in 1955 when he was 15 years old. He reached the second round of the 1959 U.S. National Championships in singles, appearing only in the main draw of the tournament. Bassett never played a Davis Cup match for Canada, though he was on the team in 1959. He was also a member of Canada's 1959 Pan American Games tennis team. He played tennis, squash, football, and hockey at the University of Western Ontario. Bassett was also a successful squash player; he reached the semi-finals of the 1969 Canadian Open and was champion of Ontario from 1965 to 1967. Business career In 1960, Bassett initially worked as a reporter for The Victoria Times. He later worked for the family-owned Toronto Telegram until it folded in 1971. Bassett also worked as a motion picture producer, serving as a president of Amulet Pictures, Ltd. He produced the films Paperback Hero, Spring Fever, and Face Off. Bassett and Tom Ficara owned Federal Broadcasting Company, a seminal American cable TV network. Bassett and Ficara produced the first live, national commercial cablecast (of Bassett's WHA Birmingham Bulls team) in 1976. His other business interests included ownership of a computer software company and a real estate firm based in Sarasota, Florida.