Public Memorial for Former CBC Host Max Ferguson Sunday June 16, 2013, 2;00pm

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Public Memorial for Former CBC Host Max Ferguson

We invite you to the CBC Radio's public tribute to Max Ferugson.
Please join us for an afternoon of stories, tributes, and memories of
a truly legendary Canadian broadcaster, writer, performer, and
storyteller.

When: Sunday June 16, 2013, 2;00pm
Where: Glenn Gould Studio Lobby, CBC Broadcasting Centre, 250 Front
St. West, Toronto
http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/community/mt/2013/05/public-memorial-for-former-cbc-host-max-ferguson.html
About Max Ferguson
In more than 50 years at the CBC, Max Ferguson became a celebrated
satirist and award-winning broadcaster and writer, best known for his
long-running programs Rawhide and The Max Ferguson show.

Born in Durham, England, Ferguson arrived in Canada at the tender age
of three and grew up in London, Ont., where he graduated with a BA in
English and French from the University of Western Ontario.

He soon embarked on a broadcasting career, joining CFPL London as an
announcer. Only a few months later, he was in Halifax, employed by the
CBC.

However, when he went to work one Saturday, he was horrified to learn
he had been scheduled to host a half-hour show on country music, which
Ferguson loathed. That's when he decided to invent a character called
Rawhide.

"I then proceeded for the next half-hour to introduce each cowboy
record in the most insulting fashion I could devise," he wrote in his
1967 memoir, And Now...Here's Max, which nabbed the Stephen Leacock
Medal for Humour.

It was an instant hit and much to Ferguson's chagrin, he was soon
hosting a a six-mornings-a-week show, which ran for 17 years out of
Halifax and Toronto, starring Rawhide and as many as 14 other
characters that Ferguson could create.

After retiring Rawhide in 1962, he soon launched The Max Ferguson
Show, which ran five days a week and featured topical skits based on
the news of the day.

Ferguson would mimic prominent politicians and celebrities, and he
wrote his own sketches.

Ferguson was a busy broadcaster. He also appeared on the satirical
comedy show Inside From The Outside, the afternoon TV talk show 55
North Maple and the TV news program Tabloid.

After 52 years at the CBC, he retired in 1998.

Ferguson was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1970 and
garnered many other accolades, including the Governor General's Award
for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2001, the John Drainie Award for
significant contribution to Canadian broadcasting, the Gordon Sinclair
Award, three ACTRA trophies, and honorary degrees from the University
of Western Ontario, the University of Waterloo and Dalhousie
University.

With files from the CBC Archives.