Julie Brown, 80, on Dec. 16 after a battle with ALS. “Downtown” Julie Brown started her radio career at Montreal’s CHOM-FM in the early 1970s, going on to be heard on CFMI-FM Vancouver and later CJAZ-FM and CKKS-FM in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. She was the weekend host at Durham Radio’s WAVE 98.3 (CIWV-FM) Vancouver when the station launched in 2022. Brown received an ALS diagnosis in 2024. She was also known for performing as part of Vancouver-based jazz vocal trio, The Hot Mammas. Listen to Tara Jean Stevens tribute on WAVE 98.3 here.
Dennis Hendricks, 73, on Dec. 16. After studying Marketing Management and Sales at NAIT, Hendricks embarked on a career in media sales. He joined Sunwapta Broadcasting (now CTV Edmonton) in 1986, rising to the position of sales manager eight years later. He went on to serve as General Sales Manager at CTV Vancouver from 1997 – 2001. He later formed his own event signage and marketing services company, DRH Performance.
Michael Whalen, 82, on Dec. 15, of cancer. Whalen’s early broadcast career saw him host a music program at CBC Radio Montreal in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. He was among the reporters who covered John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s infamous “bed-in for peace” at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in 1960. He went on to work for CFCF-TV (now CTV Montreal) as a medical reporter, before joining TSN as the network’s first permanent bureau reporter outside Toronto at network launch in 1986. Among his beats were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Expos and Montreal Alouettes, which he covered for TSN from 1986 to 2007. His career ended when he was packaged out by Bell Media at age 65.
Ron Mullin, 78, on Nov. 28. Originally from Glentworth, SK, Mullin (aka “Moon”) attended Mount Royal College in Calgary where his broadcasting career was born. His work took him to communities across Saskatchewan, including CFSL Weyburn, CKSW Swift Current and CKRM Regina, before he eventually settled at CJOC Lethbridge.
