Roy Hennessy, 80, on June 7, after suffering a stroke on May 27. Originally from Ladner, BC, Hennessy started his broadcast career doing evenings at CKOK Penticton in the early 1960s. Six months later he was hired to do the all-night show at CHQM Vancouver. In 1964, he joined CKLG Vancouver – first as host of Real Roy Hennessy evenings and later morning drive where he had a 12-year run – establishing himself as one of the best-known DJs on the West Coast. Hennessy took over as program director in 1976 and was instrumental in the station’s transition to the CFOX-FM call letters in 1979. Hennessy signed LG off with “The End” by The Doors, followed by a few minutes of dead air, signing “The Fox” on with “FM” by Steely Dan. Hennessy then made the move to Edmonton with Moffatt Broadcasting and accepted his first General Manager role in Winnipeg at CKY/CITI FM. That was followed by CKXL and CHFM Calgary. He joined Standard Broadcasting in the early ’90s, helping usher CFRB 1010 Toronto into an all-news format. After five challenging years at CFRB, Hennessy formed radio advertising agency RadioWorks with David Bray. In 2008, he went on to become part of the ownership group that launched Shore 104 (CHHR-FM) Vancouver. Hennessy was awarded the inaugural Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) President’s Award in 2005. Read more here.
Ed Needham, 90, on May 31. Needham began his career in New England and the American Midwest, with stops at WCBS-AM and WINS-AM New York City, and a stint as a war correspondent for ABC in Vietnam. He immigrated to Canada in the 1970s. Best known for his long-running, highly-rated evening show on 1010 CFRB Toronto, which ran from 1986 to 1993, Needham’s trademark was his bloviated, yet captivating style. In addition to CFRB, he also worked for CKO-FM, CFRA-AM and CBC-TV in Ottawa.
Tom Gauthier, 85, on April 17. Gauthier had a long broadcast sales career, starting out in Montreal at CFCF and later Standard Broadcasting and CJAD. His career also included stops as sales manager at CKTB and HTZ-FM in St. Catharines, in addition to CKLW Windsor, and CHML and Y95 in Hamilton.
