- George Balcan
George Balcan (
June 29 1932 –May 4 2004 ), born George Adelard Alfred Balcaen, was a Canadian radio broadcaster and artist.Balcan was one of the most recognizable voices on the airwaves of Montreal for 30 years. Born in
St. Boniface, Manitoba in 1931, Balcan first worked as a sketch artist in the engineering department of theCanadian Pacific Railway in his native province.Balcan began his broadcast career in 1951, when he was the first announcer to sign on with
CKDM , a radio station in his hometown ofDauphin, Manitoba . He was later discovered working atCKOC in Hamilton by H.T. “Mac” McCurdy, who brought Balcan to Montreal in 1963 to serve as the afternoon host onCJAD . He then became the station’s morning man in 1967. Balcan moved to cross-town competitorCFCF in 1973, where he also served as an on-air host for their television service. He then returned to CJAD as morning man in 1975, where he remained until his retirement in 1998 — the longest ever to hold the position in any Montreal radio station.He became an accomplished
pastel artist and was a member of the Pastel Society of Canada. His works have graced the walls of theNational Gallery of Canada inOttawa . In 1991, he and his family established the George Balcan Bursary atConcordia University , and awards given to Fine Arts students pursuing a major in painting and drawing. Balcan worked tirelessly in his community in support of many causes, including the fight againstbreast cancer , and for juvenilediabetes research.Balcan was appointed a Member of the
Order of Canada in 1996. In 2005, he was inducted into theCanadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He died onMay 4 ,2004 .External links
* [http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/default.shtm/ Canadian Association of Broadcasters Official Site]
* [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.html/ bio from www.broadcasting-history.ca]
* [http://www.phonotheque.org/Hist-radio-anglo/Mountain-City-CJAD.html From Mountain to the City: A Brief History of CJAD]
* [http://www.cjad.com/ CJAD's Official site]
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