Rock Radio Scrapbook

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Talent: WALLY CROUTER
Station: CFRB Toronto
Date: July 23, 1973
Time: 36:37

When Wally Crouter debuted on CFRB on November 1, 1946, little did he know that this - his second radio job - would also be his last. Nor could he foresee that he'd still be at that same job fifty years later.

Earlier that year, Crouter had started in professional radio at CHEX Peterborough, Ont., shortly after returning to his hometown after serving with the Canadian Army in World War II. He debuted at CFRB a few months later, beginning a career unmatched in Canadian broadcasting.

When he signed off for the last time on November 1, 1996, Crouter could look back on a career that saw him entertain for half-a-century in Canada's top market, most of it in the demanding morning slot. His relaxed personality woke up Torontonians from the time of Mackenzie King and Frank Sinatra into the era of Jean Chretien and Celine Dion. He did it without bells and whistles, by telling stories, making observations on life, or simply telling folks what the weather was going to be like that day, or what the Leafs did last night.

Off-the-air, Crouter was an avid golfer and traveller, who went afar to interview famous people from sports, entertainment and politics. He also survived wounds in World War II, an attempt on his life in Grenada, three plane crashes and a motorcycle accident. Prime Minister Trudeau presented him with a flag that had flown over Parliament Hill, and he was named to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Hall of Fame in 1996.

This aircheck begins with the conclusion of a newscast by Jack Dennett, who in 1973 had been at CFRB for 31 years. A veteran of NHL broadcasts for TV and radio since 1945, Dennett was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in August, 1975. Later that month, he died of cancer at the age of 59.

Also on this aircheck:

- Prior Smith with the traffic. Smith was at CFRB from 1969 to 1988 before leaving permanently to continue hosting "Canada Calling", a Florida-based radio show aimed at Canadians.

- The Canadian Tire Sports Test with Bill Stevenson, the CAB Hall of Fame sportscaster who spent some four decades at CFRB as part of a 53-year-broadcasting career.

- "Good News" reporter Sue Prestedge, who went on to a long and successful career with the CBC. She won the Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting in 1984 - the first woman to do so.

- A newscast with David Craig, a long-time fixture in southern Ontario newscasting.

Enjoy the Wally Crouter show on CFRB here.

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

This aircheck is dedicated to my mother, Margaret K. (Margo) Patterson, who died of cancer May 4, 1998. My mother was an avid CFRB listener, for years she had it on all day from Wally Crouter in the morning until Ray Sonin at night, and Earl Warren, Bill McVean, Betty Kennedy, Bill Deegan and many other voices in between. Whenever I hear CFRB, I think of her.

RETURN TO ROCK RADIO SCRAPBOOK