Longtime broadcaster and columnist Rex Murphy has died, the National Post has confirmed.
Murphy passed away Wednesday at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer, one day after his final column ran in the paper.
Hailing from Placentia, NL, west of St. John’s, Murphy studied law for a year at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar after completing his undergrad in English at Memorial University, before embarking on a career in media.
Murphy began appearing on CBC properties like Newfoundland and Labrador’s Here and Now, gaining a following for his commentary on politics, including tussles with politicians like Premier Joey Smallwood.
After working as an executive assistant to Newfoundland Liberal Party leader Clyde Wells, who would go on to become premier, he unsuccessfully stood for election twice – once for the Liberals and once for the Tories.
He was perhaps best known for his regular commentary and documentary work for CBC’s The National that spanned pieces on William Shakespeare and Conrad Black to tackling issues like the Newfoundland cod fishery, Canada’s role in Syria, and federal subsidization of big business.
A regular host of CBC Radio call-in show Cross Country Checkup for two decades, Murphy retired from the show in Sept. 2015, but continued appearing on The National for another two years. He concurrently wrote a Saturday column for The Globe and Mail until 2010, before it was cancelled and he was picked up by the National Post.
A collection of his columns, reviews and commentaries have been published in two books, Points of View and Canada And Other Matters of Opinion.
Among the accolades he was awarded over the years were honorary doctorates from Memorial University, St. Thomas University, Nipissing University, and the University of Waterloo.
“RIP Rex Murphy,” wrote Newfoundland comedian Mark Critch, in a tribute posted to X. “Long before I played him on 22, he worked with my dad at VOCM. When Rex came on, dad would shush the house. You might not always agree with what he had to say but oh, could he say it. I hope he makes it home to Gooseberry Cove.”
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