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This is straight from Jee-Yun Lee's instagram this afternoon:
"Longtime broadcaster Peter Silverman always had your back. He fought for the good guys and told the bad ones to “watch it buddy”. As the consumer reporter for @citynewstoronto, Peter, his team which included @ct_crissie and I shared an office. He was a great friend & a incredible mentor. Peter passed away overnight. RIP Peter"
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This is such sad news. I knew Peter and admired him very much. He was a fearless reporter (and I was told he was a former general in the Israeli army a long time ago), just one reason he was not someone to be fooled around with, as the clip below proves. It was one of the most famous moments from Silverman Helps.
All I can say is "watch it, buddy."
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I'd forgotten he did a show on CFRB after his days at City unceremoniously ended.
Blog T.O. 2009: Peter Silverman Still Helps
He did one of the first ombudsman-type segments in local TV and as I heard it, kept City lawyers busy, as those he exposed frequently threatened to sue. IIRC, his pieces were carefully vetted by the station's lawyers and I don't think anyone ever won anything in a lawsuit.
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IIRC, Peter Silverman was won of the original reporters for Global. After Global, he was on air at City... late 70s?
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You're correct and I'd completely forgotten about his time there. From his Linked In page:
"My journalistic career started at Global where I reported on Government, Labor and Business. I was also the writer and host for Global 's highly rated Code 10-78, a half hour `drama documentary’ dealing with unsolved crimes."
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From the CityNews website:
'Watch it, buddy': Citytv legend Peter Silverman dies at 90
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Silverman Helps made news on CNN:
Last edited by Radiowiz (October 7, 2021 7:24 pm)
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Very sad news. Peter Silverman was one of the City tv personalities that made that station such a part of Toronto.
He used his power for good, to help people who needed an advocate, and along the way created terrifically interesting content. Rest In Peace.
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Sad news. He was a class act.
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Hi RA,
Sad news indeed. A crusty old guy that had a heart of gold. It was always interesting cutting a "Silverman Helps" story. I had the pleasure of working with Peter and his producer Terry O'Keefe on many occasions. I can vividly remember Peter and Terry going at it, having heated arguments about the pros and cons of a story in the edit bay with me stuck in the middle as the sparks were flying. Peter also fronted "CityBiz" for CityPulse Tonight. Peter used to always refer to me as "short ass"! I never took it personally, because his bark was worse than his bite.
May his memory be a blessing.
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One quick Silverman story. Terry O'Keefe can fill in any gaps. In the mid-late 1990's Peter was investigating an immigration consultant in North York who preyed upon members of the Caribbean community. She was operating out of a bungalow. Terry called me and told me they had a big problem. The woman who was the subject of the story had pressed assault charges against Peter. Peter of course professed his innocence. But this case was likely to head to trial - a she said/he said type of case. I am not a trial or criminal lawyer and my appearances in an actual court room won't fill the fingers of two hands. I asked to see all. "raw" footage of the incident. Fortunately the camera was rolling from the time they got out of the CityPulse SUV - and then some. What the "raw" showed, was comical. When Peter arrived, the immigration consultant, who had a very strong (West Indian) accent (can I still say that in the 2020's?) , in a very loud voice kept yelling "it's Silverman...it's Silverman" and ran into her office and tried to hide under a desk. Peter was a very large man and an imposing figure. But the consultant's husband and other male family members were bigger. And far more menacing. They chased Peter out of the office (camera running all of the time) and once Peter and his crew got into the SUV, they chased him in their vehicle, down the road, cursing him and literally tried to run him off the road. All of this caught by Peter's videographer. The camerawork was amazing, even while being chased into the Citypulse vehicle by the woman's family members. The camera was still running in the SUV, as Peter and company sped away. The challenge was to get this footage "seen" by the crown attorney and the judge before going to trial. The video in its raw form was spectacular. I won't go into the details but it was a real struggle to get the crown counsel and the judge to view the footage (prior to going to trial), but they were persuaded to watch it, and Peter left the court house at Finch and Dufferin a very happy man. Fast forward a bit. I believe that the consultant was charged and convicted relative to her business practices/scams. If memory serves me well, the shot of the woman screaming "It's Silverman" and ducking under her desk was used in the opening montage of Silverman Helps, for a while, or at least in a promo spot for the series. Her desk-duck scene was certainly a "Watch it buddy" moment that will live forever. Some of Peter's detractors at 299 Queen W. referred to the segments as "Silverman Helps When He Wants To". But I found that Peter (and Terry) nailed it, almost every time. I cannot recall CityTV being successfully sued by anyone caught up in a Silverman Helps report. A great broadcast journalist. RIP Peter.
Last edited by tvguy (October 9, 2021 7:24 am)
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tvguy wrote:
One quick Silverman story. Terry O'Keefe can fill in any gaps. In the mid-late 1990's Peter was investigating an immigration consultant in North York who preyed upon members of the Caribbean community. She was operating out of a bungalow. Terry called me and told me they had a big problem. The woman who was the subject of the story had pressed assault charges against Peter. Peter of course professed his innocence. But this case was likely to head to trial - a she said/he said type of case. I am not a trial or criminal lawyer and my appearances in an actual court room won't fill the fingers of two hands. I asked to see all. "raw" footage of the incident. Fortunately the camera was rolling from the time they got out of the CityPulse SUV - and then some. What the "raw" showed, was comical. When Peter arrived, the immigration consultant, who had a very strong (West Indian) accent (can I still say that in the 2020's?) , in a very loud voice kept yelling "it's Silverman...it's Silverman" and ran into her office and tried to hide under a desk. Peter was a very large man and an imposing figure. But the consultant's husband and other male family members were bigger. And far more menacing. They chased Peter out of the office (camera running all of the time) and once Peter and his crew got into the SUV, they chased him in their vehicle, down the road, cursing him and literally tried to run him off the road. All of this caught by Peter's videographer. The camerawork was amazing, even while being chased into the Citypulse vehicle by the woman's family members. The camera was still running in the SUV, as Peter and company sped away. The challenge was to get this footage "seen" by the crown attorney and the judge before going to trial. The video in its raw form was spectacular. I won't go into the details but it was a real struggle to get the crown counsel and the judge to view the footage (prior to going to trial), but they were persuaded to watch it, and Peter left the court house at Finch and Dufferin a very happy man. Fast forward a bit. I believe that the consultant was charged and convicted relative to her business practices/scams. If memory serves me well, the shot of the woman screaming "It's Silverman" and ducking under her desk was used in the opening montage of Silverman Helps, for a while, or at least in a promo spot for the series. Her desk-duck scene was certainly a "Watch it buddy" moment that will live forever. Some of Peter's detractors at 299 Queen W. referred to the segments as "Silverman Helps When He Wants To". But I found that Peter (and Terry) nailed it, almost every time. I cannot recall CityTV being successfully sued by anyone caught up in a Silverman Helps report. A great broadcast journalist. RIP Peter.
Someone needs to compile stories and write a book about CityPulse from 1977-2005. The stories about that place are the stuff of legend.
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You are right - I've heard it was one the strangest places in all of Canada to work. Two such stories about things that happened can be found in this old thread from a few years ago.
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Hi RA,
Since I worked at CityPulse for 17 years, maybe one day I'll get the typing fingers working overtime, but first more about 2 newserials that I cut with Peter.
San Bartolo. Peter and cameraperson Max Trotta in 1985? flew to Nicaragua to document the building of an elementary school by a group of Toronto citizens. It was so hot there that Max lost 30 lbs in 3 weeks.
The other was the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994. One of Peter's greatest series and as a former British paratrooper he loved anything to do with the military. I can't remember who was the cameraperson, but I do remember the heart and soul that Peter put into the series.
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I never met Peter, but I wanted to pay tribute so I spoke with those who knew him for a little tribute you might enjoy listening to:
Cristina Tenaglia, Lorne Honickman, Peter Gross and Marc Weisblott appear in this ep, as well as some choice clips of Peter Silverman.
Last edited by torontomike (October 10, 2021 4:12 pm)
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I can't think of another TV station anywhere - certainly not a local newscast - that had such an interesting cast of characters as City in the Moses era.
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torontomike wrote:
I never met Peter, but I wanted to pay tribute so I spoke with those who knew him for a little tribute you might enjoy listening to:
Cristina Tenaglia, Lorne Honickman, Peter Gross and Marc Weisblott appear in this ep, as well as some choice clips of Peter Silverman.
An excellent presentation Mike and thanks for letting us know about it.
Peter's official obit has been published and his list of accomplishments exceeded even what I thought I knew about him. Worth a read if you get the chance. A pretty remarkable man and a life well lived.
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HI RA,
Ed Conroy at Retrontario posted this on-line. Peter's series that I cut with him, San Bartolo, The Front Line. RIP Peter
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That was pretty amazing and as Ed noted in his comments on the YouTube page, can you imagine anyone in a local news shop doing this today?
Silverman had a gruff exterior but a heart of gold. He deserves all the accolades and positive memories you've read here these past few days. I wish he could have been around longer, but 90 is a pretty good run. He'll be missed but, thanks to all that material on YouTube, not forgotten.
I'm not sure everyone believes in Heaven, but if there is one, with all the help he's given to people over the years, he's guaranteed himself a prime spot!