Wallace Clarence "Wally" Crouter (August 5, 1923 – March 28, 2016) was a Canadian

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

broadcaster best known for his career at

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

radio in Toronto, spanning half a century, most of which was spent as the station's top-rated morning man.

Early years

Crouter was born and raised in

Lindsay, Ontario Lindsay is a community of 22 367 people ( 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough. It is the seat of the City of Kawartha Lakes (formerly Victori ...

and made his debut radio broadcast on Toronto radio station CKGW in 1932 as a nine-year-old, award-winning 'boy soprano'. Crouter served 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 res ...

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 opposing ...

with the Army Show radio, with postings in Britain, Rome, Paris and North Africa. He spent a year in hospital recovering from

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

wounds.

Radio career

After the war Crouter joined CFRB on November 1, 1946 after a brief stint at radio station

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 s ...

AM1430 in

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 ...

, near his hometown. At the height of his influence in the 1970s and 80s, Mr. Crouter had the highest-rated show in the city and his name was known across the country. According to his son Glenn, the key to his father's success was to avoid any topic that could potentially divide an audience like sex, politics or religion - both on and off the air. About the reason for his own success, Wally Crouter said, "I always tried to put myself in the place of the listener. … It's the most personal time of the day. The radio is on while you're doing your morning ablutions, getting dressed, having breakfast with the kids coming to the table. … I've had a surgeon write me to tell me that, when he had three serious operations to do in a day, he started off by listening to my show so he could achieve the right relaxation and focus he needed." On November 1, 1996, exactly 50 years to the day of his start with CFRB, Crouter, who would be known as Canada's longest serving radio morning man, retired. He was subsequently inducted into the

Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame The Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, started in 1982, recognizes Canadians in broadcasting or entertainment related industries who have "achieved outstanding success in helping raise industry standards from a material or humanitarian standpoint." T ...

. Wally Crouter Walkway, located off

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial H ...

north of St. Clair Avenue behind the former offices of CFRB, was named after the broadcaster.

Death

Crouter died in his sleep on March 28, 2016 at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He is survived by sons Dale and Glenn, who was also a broadcaster, his wife Lynne, daughter Janice, and 5 grandchildren.

Quotations

* "Before you put your foot down, make sure you've got a leg to stand on." -A Thought of the Day from a Wally Crouter broadcast.

References

External links

CAB Hall of Fame profile
* CTV News {{DEFAULTSORT:Crouter, Wally 1923 births 2016 deaths Canadian talk radio hosts People from Kawartha Lakes