John Ansell, 93, on Aug. 16.
Ansell started in radio part-time at CKOV Kelowna in 1940, following high school. After serving for a few years in the army, he was hired by CJVI Victoria as an announcer in 1945. He joined CKWX Vancouver a year later as an announcer, rising through the ranks to program manager and eventually operations manager. In 1968, he was appointed General Manager of sister station CFAC Calgary. Ansell returned to Victoria in 1971 as President and GM of CJVI. He took early retirement in 1987, continuing to serve as Chairman of CJVI’s Advisory Board until 1995. Over the years, Ansell served as chairman of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters board of directors (1981-82), earned Broadcaster of the Year accolades from both the BC Association of Broadcasters and the Broadcast Education Association of Canada, in addition to the CAB Gold Ribbon Award. Ansell was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1990.
John Wishart, 75, on Aug. 10.
Known for his versatility as a host, Wishart helmed programs on CJIC Radio and TV in Sault Ste. Marie in the 1960s and early 1970s, in addition to time with local stations CHAS-FM and YES FM (WYSS-FM). He ended his career at CBC Radio.
“Hunky Bill” Konyk, 88, on Aug. 13.
Born in North Winnipeg, Konyk worked at Canadian Pacific Telegraph before heading to Chicago where he reinvented himself as a freelance sports reporter interviewing the likes of Mickey Mantle, Bobby Hull, and Yogi Berra. Konyk returned to Winnipeg in the late 1950s and joined CKY Radio. He uprooted his family in 1966 to make the move to Vancouver and CJOR. In l967, CFUN made him General Sales Manager. While juggling the role, he also started importing Ukrainian food from Winnipeg and after landing a booth at the Pacific National Exhibition on a bet, the “Hunky Bill” empire was born. 2019 would have marked Konyk’s 53rd year at the PNE. Hunky Bill’s Perogie Maker was also a smash success, driven by the popularity of Konyk’s television commercials.
Frank (Zbigniew) Sasin, 68, on Aug. 8.
Sasin started in radio at his college station at the University of Western Ontario and went on to work at a local commercial station before moving to Ottawa in the late 1970s. At CFGO, he briefly did all-nights to get comfortable with the board and later middays before moving to afternoon drive. In 1979, Sasin hosted National Air-distributed program Countdown Canada, which was heard on stations coast-to-coast. He headed west in the mid-1980s, joining CFR Calgary and later CKWX-AM Vancouver where he also hosted nationally syndicated evening program Lovin’, Lyin’ or Leaving. When CKWX flipped to an all-news format in 1996, Sasin returned to Ottawa to work in the sports department at 1310 News, moving on to Jewel (CJWL-FM) a few years later. Over the course of his career, he voiced hundreds of commercials, educational training videos, and corporate narrations. In recent years he also took to the stage, acting in productions with Kanata Theatre and Ottawa Little Theatre.
