Fred has had a full career as a CBC TV host and reporter. He has written countless articles for many renowned publications such as The Economist, The Globe and Mail, BusinessWeek and many more, as well as more than 2000 obituaries. He is also a successfully published author and ghostwriter. His current projects include writing and co-authoring books, as well as lending his talents as a speaker and interviewer for webcasts.
David Culver was an athletic man who liked to keep trim by walking to work from his house in Montreal’s Westmount neighbourhood to his office at what was then the headquarters of Alcan Aluminium Limited, downtown in Place Ville Marie. When he became the chief executive officer of Alcan in 1979, one of the perks […]
Tom Harpur was a devout Christian who was not certain that Jesus existed, but did believe in the principles that were taught in his name. He knew before he wrote his most powerful book, The Pagan Christ, that his views would be controversial and unsettling. “My goal is not to summarily dismiss the deep beliefs […]
Jean Portugal, who has died at the age of 95, spent years chronicling the accounts of Canadian veterans of the Second World War, and published their stories as We Were There, in seven volumes. Ms. Portugal, who worked for The Globe and Mail for many years, was named to the Order of Canada in recognition […]
Canadian entertainer Gordie Tapp, a comedian, musician, script writer and pitchman, died Sunday from complications of pneumonia at age 94. Born in London, Ont., the member of the Order of Canada and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee kicked off his career in radio before moving into TV. During the 1950s, he was a […]
Rev. Reginald Stackhouse, who died in Toronto on Dec. 14, was a man of strong convictions whose first pulpits were at the Anglican churches where he served as rector. His next two pulpits were the House of Commons, where he sat as a member of Parliament for nearly six years, and the editorial pages of […]
Like many successful middle-aged businessmen, John Saksun spent too much time at work and didn’t get enough exercise. Consequently, in the mid-1970s his doctor told him to take up a sport, perhaps golf, which would provide exercise and relieve some of the pressures of work. Mr. Saksun, who died on Nov. 1 at the age […]
Adam Zimmerman, who died on Oct. 19 at the age of 89, ran Noranda, one of the largest natural resource companies in Canada. Under his management it shifted its focus from rocks to trees, especially after it bought MacMillan Bloedel in 1981. At the time it was Canada’s largest corporate takeover. He was the ultimate […]
Raymonde Chevalier Bowen was born into a life of privilege and became a strong supporter of many social causes, including women’s rights, nuclear disarmament and anti-war efforts. In 1960, along with her cousin, the political reformer and late senator Thérèse Casgrain, she was one of the founders of the Quebec branch of the Voice of […]
Plasma physics is such an arcane subject that someone once said a particular Tudor Johnston book on the subject could be understood by maybe 50 people in the world. But the brilliant Canadian scientist, who has died at the age of 84, could explain his big ideas to the layman in just a few minutes. […]
Bill Rodgers, who died of a heart attack in Ottawa on Aug. 12 at the age of 64, was a hard-working daily news reporter for CFTO, CTV’s top-rated Toronto station, as well as co-host of its current affairs programs such as Hour Long, and eventually became the station’s Ottawa-based political reporter. Though he was a […]
Imagine you're 23 years old, the low man on the newsroom totem pole, and they are about to send the police reporter, the oldest guy in the room, to cover
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When her husband’s first big deal was hanging in the balance, Jacqueline Desmarais, who died this month at the age of 89, said to him: “Don’t worry, Paul, if it doesn’t work out, I can go back to nursing.” Her husband told the story at her 80th birthday party. “They were the original power couple, […]
Francess Halpenny, who died on Christmas Day at the age of 98, was a powerhouse in the world of letters in Canada. She was a top editor with the University of Toronto Press at a time when the esteemed publishing house was expanding its international reputation; she was editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, […]
