Harold Brillinger was a professional dancer and a dance instructor at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. Brillinger was born to a Toronto pharmacist in China in 1913. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to California before settling in Toronto. During the Second World War, Brillinger flew with the RCAF, then worked as a painter and photographer, notably capturing the likenesses of both Pierre Trudeau and Lester B. Pearson. In his early twenties, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in show business and appeared in minor roles for RKO, a major Hollywood film studio. These included bit parts with actors such as Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Errol Flynn, and others. In 1978, at age 65, Brillinger graduated with a Diploma in Photographic Arts from Ryerson. He began teaching dance at the Institute in 1979, a position he still held in 1995. He is the author of four books, including his autobiography, These Dancing Feet (1992).