Salah Bachir, former Cineplex president and philanthropist, dies at 71

Salah Bachir, the Canadian philanthropist and film entrepreneur, has died at age 71.

He passed away at home Oct. 8 following a prolonged illness, said his husband, artist Jacob Yerex.

In a post written prior to his death and shared on his Facebook page, Bachir wrote that he spent the end of his life “surrounded by family and friends.”

“I have had an amazing life that I am lucky to have shared with my wonderful husband, Jacob Yerex, two brothers and two sisters, eight nieces and nephews, eight grandnieces and nephews, 15 godchildren and a fantastic daughter, all of whom have brought me immense joy,” he wrote.

Bachir was born in Lebanon, and moved to Toronto in 1965, where he grew up in the city’s Rexdale neighbourhood.

In his Facebook post, he said his greatest source of pride was his work in the arts, social justice and philanthropy worlds. He highlighted the wing named for him at the 519 community centre, as well as a space at the Art Gallery of Ontario and two St. Joseph’s Hospital dialysis centres named after him and his husband.

Yerex said it was important to him to highlight Bachir’s social activism and work supporting different causes.

“It’s an opportunity to kind of put that out there, advocating for people to get involved, show up, be present, and fight the good fight,” Yerex told the Star.

Bachir’s philanthropic activities were extensive: He was a founding member of the Canadian Film Centre and served as a board member for the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Luminato Festival, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, and the 519. He was twice the grand marshal of the Toronto Pride Parade. In 2012, he received the Canadian Centre for Diversity’s Human Relations Award for outstanding contributions to Canadian society.

He was also appointed a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.

Bachir was president of Cineplex Media from 2006 to 2021. He was the publisher of the cinema chain’s magazine (including a brief partnership with the Star in 2021, when the magazine was relaunched as Star Cineplex), co-founded the company’s Scene Points loyalty program, and worked on its partnership with Scotiabank.

In 2013, the Star’s then-entertainment columnist Rita Zekas wrote about Bachir’s extensive art collection, 3,000 pieces of which were on display in his Toronto condo. His collection included pieces by Canadian artists Betty Goodwin, Stephen Andrews and Attila Richard Lukacs, as well as “more Warhols here than you can shake a tin of Campbell’s soup at,” Zekas wrote.

In 2023, he published a memoir titled “First to Leave the Party: My Life with Ordinary People … Who Happen to be Famous,” and shared stories about his encounters with stars and celebrities, including Paul Newman and wife Joanne Woodward, Joan Rivers, Mary Tyler Moore, Keith Haring, Orson Welles, Aretha Franklin and Elizabeth Taylor, just to name a few.

He was profiled in the Star’s “Home of the Week” series in 2024 after he listed his Paris, Ont. home for sale — a 8,900-square-foot mansion where he hosted many of the celebrities he wrote about in his book.

“I feel as though I have lived several lives and I am profoundly grateful to the friends, family and colleagues whose support has helped me realize my dreams and make my achievements possible,” Bachir wrote in his Facebook post.

A visitation will be held on Oct. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. and his funeral will take place on Oct. 15 at 11 a.m., both at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel on Bloor Street West.

In lieu of flowers, Bachir wrote it would be “greatly appreciated if donations could instead be made” to the Salah Bachir Fund at the 519 community centre.