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Max Ferguson
Max Ferguson
Max Ferguson
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Max Ferguson, OC (February 10, 1924 – March 7, 2013) was a Canadian radio personality and satirist, best known for his long-running radio programs Rawhide and The Max Ferguson Show on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).[1]

Key Information

Biography

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Early life

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Max Ferguson was born on February 10, 1924, in Crook, County Durham in England, the second son of William George (George) Ferguson and Isabella Frances (Isabel) née Finnegan.[2]

In 1926, when Ferguson was two years old, he and his family emigrated to Canada, departing from Cobh, Ireland on May 22 aboard the Minnedosa. They arrived in Montreal, Quebec on May 29 and eventually settled in Ontario.[3]

Ferguson was raised in London, Ontario, and graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a BA in English and French.

Career

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In the summer of 1946, Ferguson was hired as an announcer at radio station CFPL in London, but later that year relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the opportunity to join the CBC as a staff announcer with the local station in the CBC Halifax Radio Building. According to his autobiography, And Now...Here's Max (1967), he was appalled to find among his assignments the task of hosting a cowboy music show called After Breakfast Breakdown. To protect his anonymity, and in hopes of quick reassignment, he improvised the character of "Old Rawhide", assuming the voice of an elderly ranch hand and giving colourfully disdainful appraisals of the songs he introduced. The character was a breath of fresh air to listeners of the staid national broadcaster, and they relayed their approval with volumes of mail. Accepting his fate, Ferguson devised an entire repertory company of raucous and bizarre characters to interact with Rawhide (all voiced by Ferguson) to amuse himself and his audience, creating daily skits which parodied literary classics and satirized current events and CBC personalities. Recurring characters (other than Rawhide) included pompous, adenoidal CBC announcer Marvin Mellobell, the Goomer Brothers, Little Harold, the Black Widow Spider, and the adventurous Granny.

In 1949, the show's popularity led the corporation to transfer Ferguson to its head office in Toronto, where he would broadcast nationally. Rawhide's first coast-to-coast broadcasts caused controversy when a Member of Parliament rose to denounce the show for its low humour and abuse of the English language. However, it remained popular and remained on the air for seventeen years, during which its genre was changed to esoteric folk music. He was also able to originate his broadcasts from his beloved Maritimes for several years in the mid-1950s. Between 1955 and 1960, Ferguson recorded three albums on Folkways Records, each a part of the Rawhide satirical series. From 1954 to 1961, while continuing the Rawhide radio program, Ferguson branched out to television to host the nightly CBC Halifax program Gazette and the CBC Toronto production Tabloid.

In 1962, Ferguson retired Rawhide and associated characters and launched the weekday Max Ferguson Show, featuring ethnic music and topical skits. The latter were always highlighted by Ferguson's impressions of prominent politicians and celebrities. Ferguson wrote his own topical sketches, based on the morning's news, and performed all the voices live-to-air. The show was introduced in grandiloquent fashion by fellow CBC announcer Allan McFee.

Ferguson was the subject of the 1966 National Film Board of Canada profile Max in the Morning, which detailed a typical morning spent preparing and hosting his radio show. The same year, he voiced the Hulk and his alter ego Bruce Banner in The Marvel Super Heroes.[4] He also narrated several films, and wrote the whimsical children's story and its subsequent film short Has Anybody Seen My Umbrella? (1990).

While keeping the radio show going, Ferguson also branched out into television, co-hosting the CBC's daily afternoon talk show 55 North Maple from September 1970 to September 1971.

The radio show remained what Ferguson was best known for, however. The daily Max Ferguson Show wrapped up on June 25, 1971 after a 9+1⁄2-year run. Ferguson's final sketch featured Canadian politicians John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau, and Robert Stanfield (all voiced by Ferguson) expressing relief that they would no longer be on the show.

After some time off, Ferguson returned to the CBC airwaves, appearing on Saturday morning. For this iteration of The Max Ferguson Show—which would run for over 25 years—Ferguson dropped the skits and relied exclusively on his outspoken charm and facility with the language, as well as his unique selection of offbeat music and comedy tracks. Long-time friend McFee -- who also hosted his own CBC Radio show, Eclectic Circus -- continued working as Ferguson's announcer, introducing the program and occasionally interacting with Ferguson in unscripted on-air banter. After McFee retired from the CBC in 1991, he was replaced by Shelagh Rogers, who had previously worked with Ferguson.

Ferguson retired from broadcasting in 1998, having spent over 50 years at the CBC. Over the years, he garnered many awards, including the 1968 Stephen Leacock Award for humour for his autobiography, And Now...Here's Max. He was appointed an Officer of The Order of Canada in 1970 and in 2001 was chosen as a recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.[5] He was the recipient of the John Drainie Award and the Gordon Sinclair Award. He held honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Dalhousie University, the University of Waterloo, Brock University and the University of Saskatchewan.

Personal life

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Ferguson married Norma Fraser on April 9, 1949, and the two had five children. They later divorced, with Ferguson marrying former CBC producer Pauline Janitch in 1979. The couple had one child, Tony Ferguson (born October 22, 1984).

Ferguson died of a heart attack on March 7, 2013, at the Northumberland Hills Hospital, Cobourg, Ontario, at the age of 89. He was survived by Janitch and his children.[6]

Published works

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  • And Now...Here's Max (1967; republished 2009 with new foreword by Shelagh Rogers)
  • The Unmuzzled Max (1971)
  • Has Anybody Seen My Umbrella?, illustrated by Jane Kurisu (1982)

References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Max Ferguson

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from Grokipedia
Max Ferguson (November 10, 1924 – March 7, 2013) was a Canadian radio broadcaster and satirist best known for his pioneering satirical programs Rawhide and The Max Ferguson Show on CBC Radio. Born in Durham, England, in 1924 to parents of Irish descent, he moved to Canada at age three and grew up in London, Ontario, where he later graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1946 with a degree in English and French. He began his broadcasting career that same year at CFPL in London before joining the CBC and being assigned to Halifax. In 1947, while hosting a country music program he disliked, Ferguson spontaneously created the satirical character Rawhide—a grizzled cowboy with a distinctive voice—and delivered intentionally insulting introductions to records, which unexpectedly drew massive listener response and led to a long-running weekday morning show built around Rawhide and a growing repertory of eccentric characters all voiced by Ferguson himself. The program, which ran for 17 years, blended sharp satire, prankster humor, and philosophical commentary, establishing Ferguson as a master of radio entertainment despite occasional controversy, including parliamentary criticism in 1949. He continued innovating across CBC Radio for over five decades until his retirement in 1998, contributing to various programs including The Max Ferguson Show and earning widespread acclaim as an offbeat genius who entertained generations with his wit and bizarre creations. His honors included the Order of Canada, the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, and induction into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Ferguson died on March 7, 2013, at the age of 88.

Early life and education

Early years and education

Max Ferguson was born on February 10, 1924, in Crook, County Durham, England, to parents of Irish stock. His family immigrated to Canada when he was three years old. He grew up primarily in London, Ontario, where he spent most of his early life. Ferguson attended the University of Western Ontario, intending to become a teacher. He graduated in 1946 with a degree in English and French.

Broadcasting career

Beginnings in radio and creation of Rawhide

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1946, Max Ferguson began his radio career as an announcer at CFPL in London, Ontario. A few months later, he joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and was assigned to its Halifax station as a junior announcer. In 1946, Ferguson was scheduled to host After Breakfast Breakdown, a half-hour Saturday morning program of cowboy music, a genre he strongly disliked. On the spur of the moment during the broadcast, he invented the satirical character Rawhide, adopting a distinctive voice he later described as “low, aged, hard, flat, sloppily sibilant.” He proceeded to introduce each record in the most insulting fashion he could devise, mocking the performers and the genre itself in a humorous, irreverent style. The unconventional on-air persona proved immediately popular with listeners and drew an unprecedented 3,000 fan letters. In response, a few days later the station manager assigned Ferguson to host a six-mornings-a-week program for the CBC's Maritime network featuring the Rawhide character. This rapid success marked the spontaneous creation of Rawhide as Ferguson's signature satirical vehicle in radio.

The Rawhide program

The Rawhide program, which ran for 17 years from 1946 to 1962, began as a morning show on CBC Radio in Halifax. It relocated to Toronto in 1949 and shifted to an evening time slot from 6:40 pm to 7:00 pm beginning January 1, 1951. Ferguson voiced the central character Rawhide in a distinctive low, aged, hard voice, alongside up to 14 other eccentric personas he performed himself, including announcer Marvin Mellowbell, the Goomer Brothers, Granny, and Little Harold. The program initially centered on country music introductions delivered with satirical and insulting commentary, but it gradually expanded to feature novelty songs, folk music, world music selections, topical comedy skits, and live performances. The 1949 move to Toronto brought national attention and sparked criticism in the House of Commons. MP Douglas Gooderham Ross described the program as "meaningless ravings and tripe disguised in the poorest possible English and an insult to the intelligence of thinking Canadians," while Social Credit leader Robert Thompson claimed it was "undermining our national morals" and threatened the security of the social order. Despite the controversy, Rawhide drew a wide audience and solidified Ferguson's reputation as a CBC star. In 1954, Ferguson resigned amid a salary dispute after being denied a raise beyond his standard announcer pay despite creating and voicing the entire show. The CBC responded by purchasing the program from him at four times his previous salary to keep it on the air. The program concluded in 1962 when Ferguson retired the Rawhide persona and its cast of characters.

Later radio programs

In 1962, Max Ferguson retired his Rawhide persona and launched The Max Ferguson Show on CBC Radio, a daily program blending music, topical comedy, and impersonations that continued his tradition of sharp satire. He formed a notable long-term partnership with announcer Allan McFee, who served as his sidekick and contributed to the show's distinctive humor. The Sunday morning version of The Max Ferguson Show proved particularly enduring, running for more than 25 years with McFee participating for most of its duration. Ferguson also made contributions to other CBC radio formats, including the satirical comedy series Inside From The Outside, a series of five-minute sketches, and a 90-minute interview/talk show. His overall career with CBC Radio spanned 52 years, beginning in 1946 and concluding with his retirement in 1998.

Television and voice work

Ferguson occasionally ventured into television and voice acting, complementing his extensive radio career with narration and character roles in animation. He provided the voice of the Hulk and Bruce Banner in the 1966 animated series The Marvel Super Heroes, performing the role across the Hulk segments in the series' 39 episodes. He also contributed voices to other animated projects, including roles in Spider-Man (1967–1968), Mr. Thunderbottom in Runaway Robots! Romie-O and Julie-8 (1979), Readalong (1975), and King of Kensington (1979). Ferguson narrated various short films and educational productions, such as Eye Witness No. 57 (1953), The Cremation of Sam McGee (1990), and Has Anybody Seen My Umbrella? (1990). He made appearances on CBC television programs, including 55 North Maple (1970–1971), an informal conversation series, as well as Gazette and Tabloid. Ferguson also received occasional writing credits for television, notably on Folio (1957) and Winter Week-end: Revised (1952).

Personal life

Marriages and family

Max Ferguson was married twice. His first marriage was to Norma Fraser Ferguson, who died in 2008. Following their divorce, he married Pauline Janitch, a former CBC producer, in 1978. They remained married for 35 years until his death. Ferguson had six children: Scott, Nancy, Anne, Nonie, Bill, and Tony. He lived primarily in Ontario, and he was surrounded by his wife Pauline and all six children at the time of his death in Cobourg, Ontario.

Awards and honours

Death and legacy

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