B.C. broadcaster was on the air for 62 years

Ryan Price, The Canadian Press
The Globe & Mail
Published September 26, 2018

Terry Moore, a broadcaster whose career spanned 62 years, has died after a battle with cancer.

Radio station CFAX says Mr. Moore died on Monday at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital, leaving behind his wife, Ramona, and four adult children. He was 82 years old.

Mr. Moore was a well-know afternoon host on CFAX 1070 radio in Victoria since the early 2000s, where he interviewed newsmakers both locally and globally in his coverage of current events.

He began his career in radio in 1956 in Edmonton [CKUA], then moved to Toronto. He spent the 1960s anchoring TV news in Edmonton, Sudbury, Ont., and Calgary before making his way to New York to work at WTFM in morning radio and as the assistant program director.

In the 1970s, Mr. Moore moved to Vancouver, where he was heard on radio stations CKWX and CJOR before joining CKNW.

Former CFAX station manager Mel Cooper says Mr. Moore was one of the best radio personalities he had the privilege of working with.

“He had a great sense of humour. He was an enthusiastic guy but he was also very serious about his work. And he was well read. He knew his subjects and that I really appreciated about him.”

But Mr. Moore’s talents didn’t stop at radio and TV. He played roles in several TV series and movies, including My American Cousin, and authored the Canadian best seller Toothpaste and Peanut Butter, a how-to collection of household hints.

Ted Smith, a longtime friend and former co-worker, said there was never a dull moment with Mr. Moore.

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“He was the original Energizer Bunny,” said Mr. Smith, who is the former president the WIC Radio Group, one of Mr. Moore’s former employers.

“Terry was a great friend. He was a very kind person. Whenever there was a gathering, Terry was always the life of the party, the centre of attention. You’d go out to dinner with Terry at any restaurant and people recognized his voice right away.”

One of Mr. Moore’s legacies will be the lasting impact on the generation of broadcasters he worked with, Mr. Smith said.

“The thing that impressed me over the last few days, with a lot of broadcasters from Victoria and Vancouver who were calling him and visiting him, a lot of them said that Terry was their mentor. Terry’s been in the business 62 years, so I guess he mentored a lot of people.”

Premier John Horgan was a listener and also regularly found himself being interviewed by Mr. Moore.

“Talking comes easily to me but talking really came easily to Terry. He was personable, he was open, he would talk candidly about himself. He would probe those who were in the studio or on the telephone to get a little bit more out of them. He had a unique ability to talk all the time but also to listen.”