Johnny Lombardi, (December 4, 1915 – March 18, 2002) was a pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada.
He founded
CHIN
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
in 1966
and
CHIN-FM
CHIN-FM (100.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It broadcasts a Multilingual radio format and is owned by CHIN Radio/TV International. It is co-owned with CHIN 1540 AM and CHIN-1-FM at 91.9 MHz. All three ...
in 1967.
Early life
The son of Italian immigrants, Lombardi was born in what is now
Trinity Square, in
The Ward neighbourhood in central
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 ...
, Ontario.
His father Leonardo Barbalinardo changed his name to Leonardo Lombardi shortly after moving to Canada because the Anglo-Saxon community of Toronto at the time had difficulty pronouncing his name.
Leonardo had come to Canada from
Pisticci
Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; la, Pesticium) is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is k ...
, in the region of
Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
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.
He was lead trumpet player for the Benny Palmer Orchestra
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
a popular Ontario big band during the 1930s. He enlisted in the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1942,
and was soon stationed in Europe, participating in the taking of
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...
. He was a Sergeant in the army, and during the war he entertained the troops with his trumpet.
CHIN Radio
He returned to Canada in 1946, and in 1948 he opened a supermarket named ''Lombardi's Italian Foods Ltd.'', or simply ''Lombardi’s Supermarket'', at 637 College Street, an area which came to be known as
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
. He began his broadcasting career as a producer for an hour-long Italian music program, first on
CHUM and later on
CKFH
CJCL (590 AM, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toron ...
in which he advertised his supermarket.
[ The show was successful and his store flourished. Lombardi became a promoter of concerts and sporting events. A champion of ]multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
before it was implemented as Canadian government policy, he and James Service founded one of the first multilingual radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s in Canada, CHIN
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
in 1966 and CHIN-FM
CHIN-FM (100.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It broadcasts a Multilingual radio format and is owned by CHIN Radio/TV International. It is co-owned with CHIN 1540 AM and CHIN-1-FM at 91.9 MHz. All three ...
in 1967, which now serve over 30 ethnic communities. By 1968, CHIN was broadcasting in 32 languages, with Italian language programming predominant, at 60 hours per week. Lombardi bought Service out in 1970.
Lombardi later hosted an Italian-language television program on CITY-TV
CITY-DT (channel 57) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television outlets CFMT-DT (chan ...
. He was also known for hosting the annual CHIN Picnics at the Canadian National Exhibition
The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...
, featuring bikini contest
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...
s derided by many feminists.
He would later explain the choice of ''CHIN'' using a backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
:
Lombardi ran for a seat on Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022.
Structure
The cur ...
in the 1969 municipal election in Ward 4 which included Toronto's Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
but was defeated by less than 200 votes.
Personal life
Lombardi was married to Lena, with whom he had one son, Leonard (also known as Lenny), and two daughters, Donina and Theresa. He was sometimes referred to as "Mr. Toronto", and usually wore a baseball cap.
Death
He died in hospital on 18 March 2002 after a brief illness. A funeral mass
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
was held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Little Italy on 25 March, and was attended by over a thousand people, including former Premier of Ontario Mike Harris
Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
.[ ]
The day after his death, York West
York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
representative Judy Sgro
Judy A. Sgro (born December 16, 1944) is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she currently represents the electoral district of Humber River—Black Creek in the House of Commons of Canada. Sgro currently serves as ...
paid tribute to him in the House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
. Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to serve ...
, then mayor of Toronto, stated that "Johnny invented multicultural radio in Toronto". On 20 March, Eglinton—Lawrence
Eglinton—Lawrence is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979.
It covers a portion of Toronto northwest of downtown. It stretches from Yonge Street in the ea ...
Member of Parliament Joe Volpe
Giuseppe "Joe" Volpe (born September 21, 1947) is a Canadian politician. He represented the Ontario riding of Eglinton-Lawrence as a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until 2011, when he lost his seat t ...
also paid tribute to Lombardi in the Commons, referring to him as "king of Little Italy" and the "father of multicultural broadcasting", also stating:
He would complete his tribute with a statement spoken in Italian. On 26 March, Lombardi received tributes in the Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
from Frank Mahovlich
Francis William Mahovlich CM (born January 10, 1938) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a former Liberal Senator in the Canadian Senate. He played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams and is an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fa ...
and Consiglio Di Nino
Consiglio Di Nino (born January 24, 1938) is a Canadian businessman and former Senate of Canada senator from 1990 to 2012.
Early life and career
Born in Italy, Di Nino immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 13. He attended St Michae ...
.
Legacy
Lombardi was a recipient of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
and was invited by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
invasion of Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
on June 6, 1994, in which he had originally participated.
Often referred to as the "mayor of Little Italy," Lombardi lived in the neighborhood all his life, and a memorial to him was installed at the southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street, in an area known as ''Piazza Johnny Lombardi'' in Little Italy. It is a bronze statue of Lombardi, seated on an arced granite bench, with a statue of a seated boy nearby. It was designed by Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales.
In Pisticci
Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; la, Pesticium) is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is k ...
, a comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
of the Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
...
region in southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, a square was restored and renamed Piazza Johnny Lombardi (also known as Piazza Lombardi) in his honour. It will "function as the main focal point for all musical shows and exhibits in Pisticci", a tribute to Lombardi's trumpet playing. A ceremony held on 11 August 2007 in Pisticci, declared Johnny Lombardi Day, officially twinned the Piazza in Pisticci with Piazza Johnny Lombardi in Toronto.
Lombardi was also bestowed with the Cavaliere Ufficiale (''Official Knight of the Italian Republic''), awarded a Federal Citation of Citizenship, and won Broadcaster of the Year Award. The municipal government of the city of Toronto officially named a segment of College Street between Clinton Street and Grace Street as ''Johnny Lombardi Way'' in his honour. That area houses the CHIN Radio building, and was the location of Lombardi's grocery store.
His son Lenny and daughter Theresa, and daughter-in-law Grace, along with Joe Pantalone
Joe Pantalone (born February 22, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician. He served as a former Toronto city councillor for Ward 19, one of two wards in Trinity—Spadina and as deputy mayor under David Miller from 2003 to 2010. He ran for mayor in ...
, established The Johnny Lombardi Multicultural Foundation on 21 May 2008.
The hour-long documentary, produced by his son Lenny and his wife Grace Fusillo-Lombardi, ''Johnny Lombardi: The Great Communicator'' about his life contains interview clips from many well-known Canadians, including Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
and Ted Rogers.
Lombardi was one of six original inductees into the Italian Walk of Fame
The Italian Walk of Fame (IWOF) located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful persons of Italian descent. The walk of fame is located in the downtown Little Italy distri ...
in Toronto, honouring Italians or descendants of emigrant Italians "who have demonstrated an exceptional level of accomplishment within their respective fields". The others were Rudolph Bratty, Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...
, Julian Fantino
Julian Fantino, , ( it, Giuliano Fantino; born August 13, 1942) is a Canadian retired police official and former politician. He was the Conservative Party of Canada Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a Novem ...
, Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
and Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Seven Beauties' ...
.
The ''Ethnic Broadcasting Award in honour of Johnny Lombardi'' at Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
awards to a student in the School of Radio and Television Arts program at the university "who demonstrates a special proficiency in ethnic broadcasting".
In ''Portrait of the Street: The Soul and Spirit of College'', a documentary by Sandra Danilovic of the history of College Street and the surrounding area, Lombardi recounts an anecdote from his youth. He had walked for more than an hour to a pool in Mimico
Mimico is a neighbourhood (and a former municipality) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke, and was an in ...
with friends, only to be turned away:
Lombardi was memorialized in a Heritage Minute
''The Heritage Minutes'' is a series of sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. The ''Minutes'' integrate Canadian history, folklore and myths into dramatic storylines. Like the Canada Vignettes of t ...
, discussing his service at Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...
and subsequent impact on Canadian culture.
His son Lenny and daughter Theresa remain dedicated to continuing the legacy their father left. Lenny is president and CEO of CHIN Radio/TV International. Theresa is the vice president and general manager.
Archives
There is a Johnny Lombardi fonds
In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
at Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
. The archival reference number is R5389.
References
Further reading
*Joseph Erdelyi (24 September 1977). ''Multicultural TV is aim of impresario'', Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
.
Decision CRTC 86-233
External links
Biography on ChinRadio.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardi, Johnny
1915 births
2002 deaths
Canadian mass media owners
Canadian radio personalities
Canadian television hosts
Canadian television producers
Members of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
Canadian people of Italian descent
Businesspeople from Toronto
Canadian radio company founders