Online tributes continue to pour in for Randy Tieman, a pillar of Montreal sports broadcasting, who passed away unexpectedly on Friday (Nov. 16). He was 64.
Tieman had a 34-year career with CTV Montreal, up until this past June, when he was part of layoffs at Bell Media that saw the CFCF-TV sports department eliminated.
Hailing from the small town of Exeter, ON, Tieman started his radio career at CKY Radio and TV in Winnipeg after attending Fanshawe College, going on to work with CFGO-AM Ottawa and then CJOH-TV. He landed at CFCF Radio in Montreal in 1983. After moving over to the television side, he served as sports director for both the Ottawa and Montreal stations. He also hosted a radio show on Team 990 (now TSN 690) between 2009 and 2012.
Two of Tieman’s children inherited his love for broadcasting and journalism with his daughter, Gabrielle Tieman-Lee, a freelance writer, and his son Jesse, the promotions director and afternoon drive host at 106.1 The Goat (CKLM-FM) Lloydminster.
Tieman had previously cheated death three times, surviving a quintuple bypass, Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and meningitis within an 18-month period in the mid-1990s.
The Montreal Canadiens will pay tribute to Tieman during Monday night’s hockey game, with photos of the broadcaster to be shown on the jumbo screen during the first period of play.
For decades, Randy Tieman invited viewers to share in his joy for sports – professional, amateur & everything in between. His love of the game came straight from the heart, and Montrealers felt it. He’ll be deeply missed. My condolences to his family & everyone at @CTVMontreal. https://t.co/iBNgZxzkfo
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 18, 2018
His healthy moustache could never hide his incurable smile, or mask the twinkle in his eye. Rest in peace “SportsStache”. Randy Tieman will be missed and remembered.
— Rick Moffat (@RickMoffat) November 18, 2018
Heartbreaking news about Randy Tieman. Worked alongside him for a decade in Montreal. As the new kid in town 35 years ago, he stood up for me – a competitor – against other local media. A teddy bear with the heart of a lion. Condolences to his family & friends. So so sad. https://t.co/y8RtU0Lx0A
— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) November 18, 2018
Tieman used to call his son Harry after every broadcast. I never heard someone laugh, counsel and enjoy talking on the phone more than Randy on those nightly calls. Learned a lot from him about being a broadcaster, learned more about being a father. https://t.co/7p5feBQcfp
— Sean Coleman (@SColemanUFA) November 18, 2018
A man you loved the moment you met him.
Anybody who ever met Randy Tieman cried today.
We are heartbroken #RIP— Elliott Price (@ElliottFPrice) November 18, 2018
Randy Tieman was the colleague who never let you down..generous, on-air or in the newsroom..helping me w any sport stories I covered & making me laugh. We talked about our teenagers, our families, health..life. A gigantic presence. A sad, enormous loss. pic.twitter.com/SuruSYcceD
— Cindy Sherwin (@CSherwinCTV) November 18, 2018
What I’ll remember most about the late Randy Tieman is that he genuinely loved profiling grassroots athletes in his Randy’s Rookies segments on @CTVMontreal as much as he enjoyed covering the greatest pros. T loved the local & offbeat stories, and he never took himself seriously
— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) November 18, 2018
