Tommy Wolski, on Jan. 20 in Naples, Florida. Wolski had a career as a jockey, starting in the U.S., and later was a well-known fixture at Hastings Park Racecourse in Vancouver in the 1970s and 80s. He forayed his popularity into a media career, hosting “Track Talk” on CJOR and later a horse racing show on CKO-FM, as well as cable TV show “Sport of Kings” on CKVU-TV. He also penned a column in The Vancouver Province from 1985 to 2015. Wolski was an inductee of both the B.C. Horse Racing Hall of Fame and Canadian Thoroughbred Society Hall of Fame.
Gordon Lyall, 91, on Dec. 26. Lyall, a lawyer by trade, was part of the entrepreneurial group that started up CKVU-TV Vancouver (now CityTV). Lyall was part of Western Approaches Ltd., which was awarded the city’s third broadcast licence in 1975. Western Approaches was controlled by DKL, which included Lyall, TV producer Daryl Duke, and writer Norman Klenman. The other 45% of the stock was held by a group of more than 40 Vancouver businessmen. CKVU-TV went to air on Sept. 1, 1976. Canwest later purchased a controlling interest in the station, which DKL was unsuccessful in blocking, and obtained 100% ownership of CKVU in 1988.
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