Harry Gulkin, 90, on July 23 of pneumonia. The Montreal film and theatre producer, arts director and project manager was best known for producing 1975 drama Lies My Father Told Me, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay and won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. After a stint in the merchant marines during WWII, he worked for communist weekly the Canadian Tribune and then in marketing for the Steinberg supermarket chain, before deciding on a career in film. He went on to produce Two Solitudes (1978), Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1978) and Bayo (1985). From 1983-87, he was director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, followed by 20 years as a project manager with Quebec film funding agency Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC). He also served as president and chair of the Canadian Film Institute and vice-president of Cinémathèque québécoise. In 2008, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presented Gulkin with a special Genie Award recognizing his work to build a stronger and more vibrant film community. The National Film Board produced a documentary on his life Harry Gulkin: Red Dawn on Main Street (2004). Gulkin was revealed as the biological father of actress/filmmaker Sarah Polley in her 2012 documentary Stories We Tell.
Dane Gibson, 49, on July 15, of cancer. Gibson started covering northern First Nations communities in 2001, producing a daily newscast for CKLB-FM Yellowknife and creating the program Ends of the Earth. In 2005, he became executive director of the Native Communications Society which operates the non-profit station. Gibson left the north in 2011 and moved to Gabriola Island, BC with his family. Most recently, he’d been working in communications with Vancouver Island University.
John Dukelow, 75, on July 14. Known to friends, family and co-workers as ”The Duke,” Dukelow’s broadcasting career spanned several decades. In 1980, he and Evanov president Bill Evanov became shareholders in and took over management of FM 108 (CING-FM) Hamilton. Initially they launched a 50s and 60s format, later rebranding in 1991 as “Canada’s First Dance Music Station.” Dukelow was GSM at CING-FM up until 1995 when Evanov purchased Z103.5 (CIDC-FM) Orangeville, and he joined the Sales and Marketing team there. Dukelow remained active with the company right up until his passing.
Michael Dorn, 60, unexpectedly on July 5. Dorn worked for more than three decades at CBC-TV Toronto as a video producer and editor, remembered for bringing equal passion to documentaries and breaking news alike. He devoted much of his spare time to working on his own film and photography projects. Dorn’s late father was CBC Toronto designer and artist Rudi Dorn.
Fred Hodson, 76, on July 5. Hodson worked for more than 20 years at CFRN-TV Edmonton as a producer/director on both in-house programming and commercials. He left the station in 1977 and went on to found post-production facility Video Pack, which was eventually acquired by ITV (now Global Edmonton) and became part of the Studio Post and Transfer operation. Hodson also served as the original webmaster for the Edmonton Broadcasters Club. A celebration of life is planned for Aug. 12 in Agassiz, BC.
James “Jim” Wallace, 77, on July 4 at Leduc Community Hospital. Wallace began his more than 50-year career in television in his hometown of Regina at CKCK-TV. He went on to be hired as head of the lighting department at ITV Edmonton prior to the station’s sign-on in Sept. 1974 and with his team of lighting professionals worked on the long running series of ITV concerts with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and on SCTV during the years it was produced in Edmonton. His career also included stops at CFCN Calgary and BCTV Vancouver. Following his retirement, he continued to provide lighting expertise on commercial shoots, feature film and documentary productions in Alberta and beyond.
Monsignor John Caswell, 83, on July 1. Caswell was behind the television broadcasts that brought weekly mass to thousands of Catholics across northeastern Ontario. He created, produced and directed the weekly television program Mass for Shut-Ins which aired on CTV. While Caswell retired as Pastor of Sudbury’s Christ the King Parish in 2006, he remained part of the television program up until 2012.
J.J. Richards, 88, on June 30 in Rancho Mirage, CA. Richards began his career as a teenage disc jockey in Brandon, MB in 1948 before moving on to CKUA Edmonton, CBC and CHUM Toronto, and later CKDA/CFMS-FM Victoria, CFUN (CFTE-AM) Vancouver and CHQM-FM Vancouver. He worked as a news reader, foreign correspondent, news director and talk show host up until his retirement in 2000. Retiring to Rancho Mirage, CA, Richards hosted and produced Palm Springs Street Talk for nine years. Richards received the RTDNA Distinguished Service Award in 1993 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
