Forgive me if I indulge in a moment of sad and personal nostalgia.
 
Chances are most here don’t know the name Richard Morochove, but he was kind of a Marc Saltzman-type before there was a Marc Saltzman. Richard was officially a chartered accountant but his real love was computers. And in that capacity, he appeared as an expert on radio and TV stations throughout the GTA, including CFRB, City TV, Global, CTV Newsnet and more. He also wrote a weekly column for the now defunct “Fast Forward” section of the Toronto Star for almost 15 years.
 
I first met Richard way back in the mid-70s when he was the PD at the old U. of T. radio, the forerunner of what is now CIUT. The station wasn't even technically on the air then, just serving the campus via carrier current and being piped in on some obscure upper tier on Rogers Cable. Richard gave a radio crazed teen his first real shot at doing an actual show, and while the place wasn’t a “real” radio station, I not only learned what to do while I was there, just as importantly I learned what NOT to do. But without Richard, I never would have gotten that shot.
 
So it was with real regret that I read in the Toronto Star on Saturday that he’d passed away last September 16th. He was only 63. I can’t be the only one who crossed paths with this truly nice guy, and I just wanted to make note of it here for those who may have also found themselves on the upper floor of that old house at 91 St. George St.
 
It’s been a long time since I saw him, although a few years ago, we ran into each other at one of the TV stations where I was working and had a great catch-up session. I’m happy to say he was still the same old (but older) Richard.
 
He had a pretty good ear for who he let on the air way back when. Among those who did shows or frequented the halls of the old Radio Varsity, which we artificially dubbed “CKRV,” was the late Kevin Nelson, then a lanky 16-year-old, the son of CHUM’s Jungle Jay Nelson and later a legend in the morning in the Ottawa market.
 
The other guy you may have heard of during Richard’s reign? He’s still with us, although he’s traded the air chair for one at City Hall. He’s John Tory, now the mayor of Toronto.
 
RIP Richard and thanks for that first chance way back when.

Last edited by RadioActive (October 8, 2016 8:40 pm)