Raymond was born in Vancouver in 1956 to parents Geoffrey Massey, architect and Ruth Massey, painter and named after grandfather Raymond Hart Massey, actor. Raymond finished a BBA at Simon Fraser University in 1983.  The area of concentration was marketing, using the quantitative tools of statistical modeling for testing marketing assumptions and defining target demographic profiles. Raymond was the left end of the spectrum in the Business Dept and in the Communications and Film history elective courses was seen as a dangerous right winger.  Before finishing his first year working in the field, brother Nathaniel completed his cinematography degree at Brooks Institute of Cinematography in Santa Barbara and Raymond was suddenly spending time helping family and friends with documentary and various film work.

From the age of about 14, Raymond was an observer to the Annual meetings of The Massey Foundation and today co-chairs the Foundation with cousin John Massey.  The Foundation was granted its letters patent by the Secretary of State of Canada in 1917, the year its first project, Hart House, was completed. The Massey Foundation was founded out of the estate of Hart Almerrin Massey by Vincent and Raymond Massey and went on to build and gift a variety of buildings to the City of Toronto and to the University of Toronto, home of Massey College and one of the most thriving of the family legacies.  Raymond is a Senior Fellow of the College and sits on the Governing Board.

In 1989, the year Raymond’s first feature film premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals (now TIFF), he caved in to a persistent Peter O’Brien to accept a producer residency at Norman Jewison’s Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies, now the Canadian Film Centre.  The Film Centre was a pivotal experience and the universe of film truly opened up that year. Immediately on completion of the nine month residency, Alliance co-produced WHALE MUSIC with Raymond, followed right away with the CBC television adaptation of Alice Munro’s novel LIVES OF GIRLS AND WOMEN.  The pace was steady and the caliber of the filmmakers was amazing. These were entirely Canadian films, financed almost entirely within Canada.

Learn more about Raymond’s past projects on IMDb. 

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