Stuart MacLean

Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''.Stuart McLean
, ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Often described as a "story-telling comic" although his stories addressed both humorous and serious themes, he was known for fiction and non-fiction work which celebrated the decency and dignity of ordinary people, through stories which often highlighted the ability of their subjects, whether real or fictional, to persevere with grace and humour through embarrassing or challenging situations.

Personal life

McLean was born in Montreal West, the eldest of three children to Australian immigrant parents Andrew McLean and Margaret Godkin."McLean, Stuart 1948-"
''Contemporary Authors'', January 1, 2006. McLean became interested in radio programming as a child, when his father bought him a Motorola radio to occupy his time while recovering from sickness. This fascination with radio stayed with McLean throughout his adult life as he pursued a career in media and journalism.

McLean was educated at Lower Canada College and Bishop's College School in Quebec. He admitted to feeling like an outsider to the other students at the private school, feeling neither athletic enough nor smart enough to fit in. McLean graduated from Sir George Williams University with a B.A. degree in 1971. Following his graduation, he worked in student services for Dawson College, and as campaign manager for Nick Auf der Maur in his first Montreal City Council election.

McLean married Linda Read, a potter, in 1982. They had two children together, Robert and Andrew, and McLean was stepfather to Read's son, Christopher Trowbridge, from her first marriage. McLean and Read later divorced in 2002.

He was also a sponsor of the YMCA's Camp Kanawana, establishing a charitable fund to provide financial support for underprivileged youth to attend the camp,"Stuart McLean, Canadian Radio Legend, Dies at 68"
''Billboard'', February 15, 2017. and served as honorary colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces' 8 Air Maintenance Squadron at CFB Trenton.

Media career

Early work

McLean first joined CBC Radio as a researcher for ''Cross Country Checkup'' in 1974, later becoming a documentarian for the radio program '' Sunday Morning''."Stuart McLean, longtime host of CBC Radio’s ‘Vinyl Cafe,’ has died"
''Toronto Star'', February 15, 2017. He won an ACTRA Award in 1979 for "Operation White Knight", his ''Sunday Morning'' documentary about the Jonestown Massacre. From 1981 until 1984 he was the show's executive producer.

McLean was a professor of journalism at Ryerson University from 1984 until 2004, when he retired and became a professor emeritus. When he died in 2017, former students of McLean recalled how he concerned himself with their success in the journalism industry. CTV reporter Scott Lightfoot remarked, "I went to university twice, I took a lot of courses, I never had another professor offer to make phone calls on my behalf."

During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a frequent contributor to and sometime guest host of '' Morningside'', for which he often produced human interest documentaries and audio essays about everyday people and places."The ups and towns of being an author". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 4, 1993. He would later characterize his ''Morningside'' work as celebrating "the importance of being unimportant", and as ultimately helping him find his own voice as a writer. ''Morningside'' host Peter Gzowski remembered fondly the work McLean did for the program: ”On the surface, they seemed inconsequential, but in fact they were exquisitely crafted pieces of journalism.”

McLean eventually compiled a selection of his work for ''Morningside'' in his first book, ''The Morningside World of Stuart McLean''. The book was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist for the 1990 Toronto Book Awards. Following the success of his first book, McLean was approached by Penguin Books