Strathearn Thomson Hush publisher and Toronto gossip tabloid

Unearthing Toronto’s Tabloid King: Strathearn Boyd Thomson and Hush

On a recent walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, I stumbled upon the grave of Strathearn Boyd Thomson, the man behind Hush — a tabloid that shook Toronto’s social scene starting in 1927.

Hush launched under Thomson’s editorship and quickly became an instant sensation. Unlike any other publication at the time, it mixed scandal, exposés, government corruption, and even stock tips into one tantalizing package. What made it truly fascinating was Thomson himself — a man firmly rooted in Toronto’s upper crust.

Strathearn was related to the lieutenant governor, married into a prominent family, and spent much of his time raising horses. Yet, ironically, he ran a tabloid that mercilessly poked fun at the very society he belonged to. Hush delighted readers with juicy stories about Lady Eaton, Rosedale gossip, Granite Club finances, and society divorces. It was the go-to source for finding out “who was with who” and “what was happening” behind the grand facades.

Though Thomson’s direct involvement with Hush ended in 1937, the tabloid lived on, passing through a series of editors and continuing to stir the pot well into the 1970s — long after Thomson died in Toronto on March 27, 1946, at the age of 64.

1881-1946