Stuart McLean

Andrew Stuart McLean (born April 19, 1948 in Montreal West, Quebec) is a Canadian radio broadcaster, comedian and author, best known as the host of the CBC radio programme The Vinyl Cafe. He is often described as a "story-telling comic", though he has written many serious stories. He is well-known for his very distinctive voice.

McLean was educated at Bishop's College School and graduated from Sir George Williams University with a B.A. degree in 1971. From 1978 until 1982, he made documentaries for the radio program Sunday Morning for CBC Radio, and from 1982 until 1984 he acted as the show's executive producer. During the 1980s-1990s he was a frequent guest and sometimes host of "Morningside" with Peter Gzowski.

As a summer replacement show, Stuart McLean created a radio program called The Vinyl Cafe in 1994. By autumn 1997 the show was broadcast every Sunday at noon. McLean's books of stories from "The Vinyl Cafe" have won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour three times, tying him with fellow CBC Radio host Arthur Black and novelist/playwright Donald Jack for most wins of that award.

McLean retired in 2004 as a professor at the School of Journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Since 1998, Stuart McLean has been taking the Vinyl Café on the road to theatres across the country. It is broadcast every weekend on CBC Radio and is also heard via satellite radio around the world and on public radio stations in the US.

Bibliography

*"The Morningside World of Stuart McLean" (1989)
*"Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada" (1992)
*"Stories from the Vinyl Cafe" (1995)
*"When We Were Young: A Collection of Canadian Stories" (1996)
*"Home from the Vinyl Cafe" (1998)
*"Vinyl Cafe Unplugged" (2001)
*"Vinyl Cafe Diaries" (2003)
*"Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe" (2006)

Awards

*Rooke Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Writing: Trent University, 1994–95
*Canadian Authors Association Best non fiction book for "Welcome Home", 1993
*ACTRA award for best radio documentary for coverage of the Jonestown massacre, 1979

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/vinylcafe/about.php Stuart McLean profile at cbc.ca]