With Roger Ashby's exit from CHUM-FM this week after 49-and-a-half years at CHUM or CHUM-FM, I got to thinking - who has seniority in Toronto radio now?

Ashby was the last Toronto radio announcer from the '60s still on the air on terrestrial Toronto radio. He was at CHUM-AM from 1969 to 1985, then on-air at CHUM-FM from 1985 until Wednesday.

If you consider stations licensed to Toronto only, I believe the longevity holder might be is 680 News traffic specialist Darryl Dahmer, who's been on-air at CFTR since its early years as a rock station in 1973. He celebrated his 45th anniversary at CFTR on September 17 of this year. Dahmer still has a chance to break the record of 50 years set by former CFRB morning man Wally Crouter from 1946 to 1996.

There's also the case of Brian Master, who started at CHUM-FM in July 1972. He's still on the air doing afternoons at the Jewel 88.5, which has studios in Etobicoke but is licensed to Newmarket. Master might be the GTA record holder but he has competition in Bob Magee.

Bob Magee is still on air in Toronto radio at ELMNT 106.5. He started at CHUM-AM (as Mark Edwards) on the all-night show in July 1972 - 46-and-a-half years ago. Magee/Edwards appears to go back back the furthest among announcers on Toronto licensed radio stations, but has not been on-air continously and at the same market and station like Dahmer. Magee has been in Vancouver (CFUN) and Hamilton (Vinyl 95) since his 1972 debut at CHUM, and also in Toronto at CHFI-FM.

John Donabie was in Toronto radio for 50-and-a-half years, from his debut at CKFH in the fall of 1967 to his departure frrom CIUT earlier this year. He makes the half-century club with ease as he started in the GTA at CKLB (now CKDO) in 1965.

Also in the 50-year club is David Marsden, who started at CKEY in 1963 and was still on GTA radio in 2014 when his show on Oshawa's The Rock 94.9 ended. Fifty-one years for Mr. Marsden (and still going on the Internet).

Denis Snowdon debuted his show "A Litttle Breath of Scotland" at CHWO iin October 25, 1965 and stayed there ffor nearly 50 years until his last show at AM 740 on August 9, 2015 two-and-a-half months short of 50 years - (geez couldn't they have waited?). He revived the show as a podcast, which is still going.








 

Last edited by Dale Patterson (December 9, 2018 4:17 am)