Alumnus teacher inspired Gladwell

By Staff, Torstar News Service

Once he retired after 34 years of teaching, Bill Exley, BA'62, MA'72 (English),  was able to stop living a double life.

His students at Elmira District Secondary School had always heard whispers their strict, buttoned-down English teacher was also the singer in a loud, weird band in London, Ont. on weekends.

He never spoke about it to them. That was before YouTube, so many former students still may not realize the man who was so exacting about grammar and punctuation is big in Japan, or that he wore his sweater vests onstage.

The worlds aren’t so different. Just as the Nihilist Spasm Band developed a cult following for its avant-garde noise music and dissonant charm, so did Mr. Exley for his high standards and eccentricities.

His most ardent fans are former students, some of whom are household names in their own right, including bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times media editor Bruce Headlam, Harvard professor Terry Martin and his older brother, former Rotman School of Management dean Roger Martin.