John Rae, along with other well-known personalities like Al Hamel and Alex Trebek, left an unforgettable mark on the broadcasting industry
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In the (g)olden days of broadcasting, Canadian announcers were hot properties in the U.S. This could have been due to their neutral “mid-Atlantic” accents, their experience as versatile workers in smaller stations, or their strong work ethic. U.S. networks frequently recruited Canadian journalists known for covering stories with minimal support. Unlike their American counterparts, Canadians often had to multitask, even carrying and operating their own camera gear, making them adaptable and resourceful in the field.
In the early days of broadcasting, Canadian voiceover announcers didn’t carry camera gear. Their work was strictly vocal. Allan McPhee, a notable voice of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), once shared an interesting anecdote with me. He said that in the early 1960s, he either made or lost $200,000 in the stock market – an extraordinary amount back then, equivalent to nearly 20 times his annual salary from the CBC, or “Mother Corp” as it was affectionately called. His loss highlights the modest pay broadcasters received despite their talent and demand.
By the time I came along, I could only hop on the gravy train’s caboose and do a few commercials, voiceovers, and films while on staff.
John Rae, the CBC’s Chief Announcer, was a senior figure when Al Hamel and Alex Trebek were hired. On one occasion, Rae, Hamel, and others travelled to the Osaka World’s Fair. When they returned to Toronto, no one could locate Hamel. Rumour had it that he was staying at a hotel in Hawaii, possibly with an apparently “missing” flight attendant. Hamel later married thigh-master’s Suzanne Somers. Allan McPhee jokingly referred to this marriage as Hamel “marrying 13 million dollars” – likely a nod to Somers’ wealth.
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I never made the big bucks, but I followed closely behind Al Hamel and Alex Trebek at the CBC. One day at CBC’s old network headquarters on Jarvis Street, there sat Alex, fresh off the set of Jeopardy, visiting former colleagues in the Announce Office. On any given day, familiar names like Jan Tennant, George McLean, Bruce Rogers, and Warren Davis could be found on the old couch used on Peter Gzowski’s late-night talk show 90 Minutes Live or seated in the wingback leather chair bequeathed by long-gone announcer, De B Holly. It was a place filled with broadcasting history.
Back to the great John Rae. He hosted the old geezer’s “Walking and Chowder” lunch for CBC alumni. Retirees would talk about trying to improve their health by walking and they’d eat chowder – hence the name. I occasionally attended. So did Lloyd Robertson decades after he left CBC for CTV and his big bucks. John had a solid friendship with many of the people he’d mentored, including Al Hamel. During one lunch he recounted his visit with Al in either Malibu or Palm Springs. In his mid-eighties, John began doing an impression of Al in his mid-sixties. Oddly, John was parodying an older man, noting in pantomime and dialogue that Al was getting on.
Regardless of his age, John would have three martinis and then drive off in his T-Bird.
Back in the (g)olden age, John was in demand in New York. On one occasion, he flew down and back one morning to record a tagline for a Ford Thunderbird commercial. The line was, “It’s a Thunderbird kind of a day.”
“Hummm …” said the young producer, no doubt pondering how to add anything to the already satisfactory event. “Great, John, but can you give me 20 percent more curve?” said the talk back from the control room to John seated in the studio.
John performed (not read) the line again.
“That’s it!” exclaimed the kid-producer.
Years later, John told me why he’d stopped doing commercials and voiceovers. He got sick of kids telling him how to do it.
When you can put 20 percent more curve in a line, you don’t need direction.
Allan Bonner was the first North American to be awarded an MSc in Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Management. He trained in England and has worked in the field on five continents for 35 years. His latest book is Emergency! – a monograph with 13 other authors on the many crises that occurred during the pandemic.
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