About

Apart from working as a strategic communicator, social media marketer & blogger, FORDHAM PR founder Glenda Fordham is also a freelance journalist, published author and guest lecturer on effective marketing, publicity and promotions for film and television at various Ontario colleges & universities.20150317_151909_001

Born in England, Glenda actually grew up and was educated in Perth, Western Australia prior to moving to Canada with her family in the mid-70’s.  Although her early career was as an actor/singer (*see footnote below), she quickly moved into writing, directing & producing cabaret shows, then in the early 1981 was appointed business manager and agent for Yuk Yuk’s Komedy Kabaret, Toronto’s now-legendary comedy nightclub.  Within 5 years, Glenda helped build Yuk Yuk’s into a multi-million dollar chain of clubs across Canada, and developed the club’s talent representation company, Funny Business, into one of the premiere comedy talent agencies in North America.

Davy Jones 80's tourAfter leaving Yuk Yuk’s, throughout the late 1980’s and 90’s, Glenda managed and promoted several other live entertainment clubs and founded Class Acts Entertainment, an agency specializing in media relations & promotion for internationally renowned comedians and variety performers, as well as producing concerts and cross-country tours for comedy stars Dennis Miller, Gillbert Gottfried and Jimmy “J.J.” Walker, and acted as Canadian media relations consultant for Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Reba McEntire, Clint Black, Vince Gill, The Monkees Reunion Tour (pictured at left with Davy Jones), Men at Work, Crowded House, the legendary Marvin Gaye, The Animals, Lou Rawls, and many others.

Glenda has mentored numerous young Canadian filmmakers, helping launch their indie film production companies and has sat on several film festival awards juries.  This led to her appointment as Chair of the Entertainment Business Management program at the Toronto campus of an internationally accredited film and music school (2002 – 2004). Since then, she’s created a web series of celebrity interviews during the Toronto Int’l Film Festival, has represented incoming filmmakers & actors during TIFF, and has managed film, tv and music clients’ social media, creating effective promo campaigns to sell tickets and raise awareness. Her blog has been read by up to 20,000 per day during major event launches and has reached international readership working remotely for US and Australian film & tv productions during Covid’s 2 years of lock-down.

Due to her depth of knowledge and passion for NASCAR auto racing, in the summer of 2005 Glenda signed a 4-book deal with a leading Canadian publishing house, first to write on the history of stock car racing and profiles of the hottest drivers – both books were subsequently added to the archives at the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.  In early 2006, her third auto racing book on the prestigious sport of Formula One was published, and by the end of 2007, she had completed her fourth book, this time on the history of women auto racers (click here for details).

Archie finds a new home - finalTHE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Glenda has started writing a series of children’s books featuring a cute little mouse called Archie.  The first book in the series (published Oct/19) is Archie Finds a New Home, the story of a little house mouse forced to move from his family’s over-crowded mouse hole in the farmhouse and eventually finds a brand new home out in the barn.  Archie encounters all sorts of hazards as he makes his way across the farmyard but he finds a new best friend in Winny, the old carthorse, who saves Archie from the hungry barn cat.  For children 0-6.  To purchase, contact Glenda directly at fordhampr@rogers.com or from publisher BARNMICE BOOKS: https://www.therider.com/site/barn-mice-books.

The second Archie book, Archie Finds the Filly, was published in June 2020, and is available directly from Glenda or via the publisher’s website.  The story tells how the little mouse, with the help of new friend Buzzy the Bee, goes in search of his best friend Winny’s new grand-daughter…a brand new baby horse.Archie Finds The Filly Cover

*DID YOU KNOW: Glenda became a footnote in history when she portrayed “Tallulah Bankroll” in the now cult-classic-made-for-Canadian-TV movie The Rise and Fall of Tony Trouble.  For many years, there was an urban myth out of New York City that legendary artist Andy Warhol was watching Glenda/Tallulah swing on a chandelier in a scene from the film being aired on Manhattan Cable the evening he died…and in the late 90’s, the myth was, in fact, confirmed.  You can watch the movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPL6QS33cAQ