- Patrick Watson
: "For the singer-songwriter, see
Patrick Watson (musician) ."Patrick Watson, C.C. (bornDecember 23 ,1929 ) has been a prolific and outspoken Canadian broadcaster, author, commentator and television writer, producer and director for five decades. Born inToronto , Watson attended theUniversity of Toronto and graduated with an MA, then completed his doctorate in Michigan.Watson first achieved national fame (and in some quarters, notoriety) as the co-producer and with
Laurier LaPierre an on-camera host of the CBC television current affairs program "This Hour Has Seven Days " in the 1960s. Watson went on to write, edit and/or produce "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau ", "Witness to Yesterday ", "Titans", "The Watson Report ", "The Canadian Establishment " series, theHistorica Foundation 's "Heritage Minutes ", "" and "The Struggle for Democracy " series. The latter has since aired in over 40 countries around the world. Watson also hosted the CBC's business program "Venture" when it was first launched in 1985. The Historica Foundation's Heritage Minutes were an initiative of Watson's begun in 1988 at Charles Bronfman's CRB Foundation, and as of 2007 were receiving more than 30,000 plays a year across the Canadian television system.Watson was Chairman of the CBC from 1989 until 1994. He was the recipient of honorary
Doctor of Laws degrees from Mount Allison University in 2002 and the University of Toronto in 2004. He was invested as an Officer of theOrder of Canada onOctober 21 ,1981 , then promoted to Companion onOctober 26 ,2002 . Watson continues to write, lecture, advise and work in many capacities in broadcasting from his current home inToronto, Ontario .Watson has acted in more than 50 dramatic productions, including the movie "
The Terry Fox Story ", and the HBO movie "Countdown to Looking Glass."Few in his various audiences realize his slight limp was caused by the amputation of his left leg above the knee in 1960 following an accident. He has often assisted the Canadian disabled community, including serving as Honorary
Chair of theCanadian Amputee Sports Association andChairman Emeritus of theCanadian Abilities Foundation .elected bibliography
*"The Struggle for Democracy"
*"Alter Ego"
*"Alexander Dolgun's Story: An American in the Gulag", withAlexander Dolgun
*"Faranella's City"
*"This Hour Has Seven Decades", autobiography
*"Wittgenstein and the Goshawk", a fable for adultsExternal links
* [http://www.histori.ca/ Historica Foundation]
*cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/watson.html | publisher="CBC Television " | work=Life and Times | title=Patrick Watson | date=17 March 2005 | accessdate=2008-05-12
*cite web | url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/W/htmlW/watsonpatri/watsonpatri.htm | title=Watson, Patrick | publisher=Museum of Broadcast Communications | accessdate=2008-05-12 | first=William O. | last=Gilsdorf
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