John Gilbert (14 September 1930 – 14 September 1998)
indicated a conflicting date of death, the previous day (13 September). was a Canadian radio broadcaster. Gilbert grew up in the Cabbagetown section of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

before running away from home to join a carnival when he was 13. He began his broadcasting career in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

at age 17 and hosted his first talk show in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

around 1966. Gilbert was a broadcaster with CJCH Halifax, which was acquired by

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...

in 1970. In February 1971,

1050 CHUM CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with The Sports Network, TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt, Toronto, A ...

announced that he would succeed

Larry Solway Lawrence S. "Larry" Solway (13 August 1928 – 9 January 2012) was a Canadian actor and broadcaster. Career During the 1960s he hosted radio programmes at CHUM in Toronto such as the early Canadian talk show ''Speak Your Mind''. He left th ...

as host of the talk show ''Speak Your Mind''. In 1973, he became the most successful radio talk show host in Canada with 120 000 measured listeners, more than Vancouver media legend Jack Webster. Gilbert's term with CHUM ended in 1977. In 1980, Gilbert hosted ''Night Talk'', a weekday late night program planned as a national talk show. However, the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

ordered that the network of stations broadcasting the program be cut back from 13 to the six stations then owned by

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversification (finance), diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers J ...

: CKEY Toronto (host station), CFCN Calgary,

CFCO CFCO (630 AM) is a news, sports, and country music radio station located in Chatham–Kent, Ontario. The station, owned by London, Ontario, London, Ontario-based Blackburn Radio, features a heavy local news commitment. CFCO is one of the few ded ...

Chatham, CHNS Halifax, CKGL-FM Kitchener, and CKOY Ottawa. A year after it launched, it was also broadcast by CJJD Hamilton,

CJBQ CJBQ is a Canadian radio station licensed at Belleville, Ontario. It is owned by Quinte Broadcasting along with CIGL-FM and CJTN-FM. CJBQ broadcasts at 800 kHz at a power of 10 kW. The transmitter is located in Prince Edward County. The a ...

Belleville, CJNH Bancroft, CHSC St. Catharines, and

CHEX Chex is an American brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. It was originally produced and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri, using the name Chex starting in 1950. The Chex brand went with corporate spi ...

Peterborough. The show ran until 1982, when Gilbert re-joined ''Night Talk'' co-creator Taylor Parnaby, who had become station manager of CKO.

Career

* years unknown: CKSF,

* 1962:

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

* years unknown:

CFBC CFBC (930 kHz) is a commercial Canadian radio station in Saint John, New Brunswick. The station plays a country format and is owned & operated by the Maritime Broadcasting System. CFBC broadcasts with a power output of 2,000 watts daytime and ...

* ???-1971: CJCH, Halifax * 1971-1977:

CHUM Chum may refer to: Broadcasting * CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company * CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company * CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station * CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station * CHUM Chart, a C ...

* 1978-1980:

CKFH CJCL (590 AM broadcasting, AM, ''Sportsnet Radio, Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio radio station, station in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the ...

, Toronto * 1980-1982: CKEY Toronto * 1982-1986: CKO, Toronto (national radio network) * 1990s:

CKTB CKTB is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Broadcasting at 610 AM, the station airs a news/talk format. CKTB is housed in the former mansion of William Hamilton Merritt, the main promoter of the first Welland Canal, located on ...

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

References

External links

University of British Columbia: Public Affairs Office fonds - #3305 - references 1987 interviews with John Gilbert on CKO

CBSC Decision CBSC Decision 92/93-0179: CKTB-AM re the John Gilbert Show
26 October 1993

1930 births 1998 deaths Canadian radio personalities {{Canada-radio-bio-stub