| Peter Gzowski CC, LLD (hc), DLitt (hc) |
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Peter Gzowski at CBC Radio |
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| Born | July 13, 1934 Toronto, Ontario |
Peter Gzowski, CC was a Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, most famous for his work on the CBC radio show Morningside. His first biographer argued that Gzowski's contribution to Canadian media must be considered in the context of efforts by a generation of Canadian nationalists to understand and express Canada's cultural identity.[1] Gzowski wrote books, hosted television shows, and worked at a number of newspapers and at Maclean's magazine. It is estimated that he conducted 27,000 interviews as host of Morningside. Gzowski was known for a friendly but at times somewhat gruff interviewing style.
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A descendant of Sir Casimir Gzowski, a prominent engineer, Gzowski was admitted to Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto but never graduated; he was later awarded 11 honorary degrees. Midway through university, he took time off to work for the Timmins Daily Press. During his last year, 1956–57, at the U of T, he edited the student newspaper The Varsity. In the spring of 1957, he became city editor of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. After a few months in Moose Jaw, he was hired by the Chatham Daily News. In September 1958 he joined the staff of Maclean's magazine. When he was 28 he became the youngest-ever managing editor of Maclean's.
His first regular radio show was Radio Free Friday, 1969-1970. In 1971 he became host of radio the CBC's This Country in the Morning. From 1976 to 1978 he hosted the television show 90 Minutes Live on CBC Television. In 1982 he returned to his former morning radio program, which had by now been renamed Morningside, where he remained until 1997. He returned to Moose Jaw, to host his last episode of Morningside from the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort.[2]
Gzowski died of emphysema in Toronto in 2002. He had defended his smoking by saying that the taxes on his cigarettes would more than cover any increased health costs his smoking would cause. However, at the end, he publicly acknowledged that he was wrong, and that his recent healthcare expenses dwarfed the taxes he had paid.
Gzowski was divorced from his first wife, Jennie Lissaman, from Brandon, Manitoba, whom he met while residing in Moose Jaw and with whom he had five children (Alison, Maria, Peter, John and Mick). He was survived also by two common-law partners, Jan Walter and Gillian Howard, whom he called his "Partner for Life". Gzowski was the father of a son, born in 1961, from an extra-marital relationship.
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| Preceded by Mary Simon |
Chancellor of Trent University 1999–2002 |
Succeeded by Roberta Bondar |