Jason Ruta (born August 7, 1979, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television personality and actor.Ben Kaplan, "Less chalk and cheese, more steak and eggs; Jason Ruta and Arisa Cox took two very different paths to end up at the same spot, and they couldn't be happier about it". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', December 13, 2008. Ruta first came to prominence as a participant in the second season of '' U8TV: The Lofters''."M8, H8 & CRE8 on U8TV ; Eight fresh faces ready to be taped, watched and talked about 24/7". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', January 8, 2002. The show followed the lives of eight Canadians living and working in a fully wired loft TV studio, producing and hosting shows. Unlike season one's

Mathieu Chantelois Mathieu Chantelois (born July 4, 1973) is a Canadian television personality, journalist, magazine editor, and marketing executive. Early life and education Mathieu Chantelois was born and raised in Mascouche, a suburb just outside Montreal, Q ...

, who was openly gay from the very beginning of his time on the show, Ruta came out as gay during his time in the loft. He hosted the

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

-nominated magazine series ''

So Gay TV ''So Gay TV'' is a Canadian television talk show, which aired on PrideVision in the early 2000s."Reality bites: An oral history of The Lofters". ''The Grid'', August 7, 2013. Hosted in its first season by Mathieu Chantelois and in its second seas ...

'' for U8TV and PrideVision,"Reality bites: An oral history of The Lofters". '' The Grid'', August 7, 2013. but later left ''The Lofters'' after being voted out by viewers."Record number of voters force Calgary man off show". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', March 23, 2002. From 2000 to 2006, Ruta was employed by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

in various roles, including for

CMT Canada CMT is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagship CMT channel ...

, YTV and as a radio DJ for

CING-FM CING-FM (''Energy 95.3'') is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 95.3 FM in Hamilton, Ontario. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CING's studios are located on Main Street West in Hamilton, while its transmitter is loca ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. Ruta later returned to television in 2007, joining

E! Canada E! is an American television network. E! may also refer to: Television * E! (Asian TV channel), the Asian franchise of E! * E! (Australia and New Zealand), the Australian version of E! * E! (Canadian TV channel), a Canadian cable/satellite telev ...

as co-host, with fellow ''U8TV'' alumna Arisa Cox, of ''E! News Weekend''. The show was cancelled in 2009 when E! Canada's original incarnation was shut down after Canwest Media filed for bankruptcy. In 2012 and 2013 Ruta narrated seasons 1 and 2 (52 episodes) of the

HGTV Canada HGTV is a Canadian English-language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which serves as managing partner and owns 80.24% majority control through licensee HGTV Canada, Inc.) and ...

travel series ''Live Here, Buy This''. In 2015, Ruta hosted ''Fabulocity'', a show that aired on OutTV.

Acting

In 2012, Ruta appeared as an actor in episode 20 of the TV series ''

The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Bens ...

''. In 2013 he played Robert Johnson in episode 6 ("Gabby Gabreski") of the Cineflix produced series '' Air Aces''.

References

External links

Jason Ruta
* 1979 births Living people Canadian infotainers Canadian radio personalities Canadian television journalists Canadian male television actors Journalists from Manitoba Canadian LGBT actors Participants in Canadian reality television series Male actors from Winnipeg Canadian LGBT broadcasters 21st-century Canadian LGBT people {{Canada-tv-bio-stub