Kit Hood, co-creator of Degrassi TV series, dies

Christopher (Kit) Hood, the co-creator of the beloved Canadian teen DegrassiTV series, has died.

An obituary on the website of the Cole Harbour Funeral Home and Crematorium in Nova Scotia said Hood died suddenly Monday at his home in West Lawrencetown, N.S.

Born in England, Hood emigrated to Canada in his mid-20s and made a career as a writer, director, editor and producer.

In 1976, he and former teacher Linda Schuyler founded the Toronto-based Playing With Time, which produced the Canadian TV series The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior Highand Degrassi High.

The shows became cult sensations with their look at the fictional lives of youth in downtown Toronto, from the light-hearted antics to the deeper issues that weren't featured in many other youth-focused programs.

Schuyler says Hood had a "trademark impish charm, and a kid's-eye view" and never let "the camera look down on" their young protagonists.

The Kids of Degrassi Streetand Degrassi Junior Higheach won an International Emmy Award.

Hood is survived by his wife Agnes Malouf and her daughter July, and his sister Nicola and her husband and two sons in Australia.