Oscar Peterson dies at 82
Dec 24, 2007 02:19 PM
Angela Pacienza
THE CANADIAN PRESS
KAZUYOSHI EHARA/TORONTO STAR
Oscar Peterson during a ceremony honouring his achievements in June, 2004
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Oscar Peterson
Born: Montreal, Aug. 15, 1925.
Parents: Daniel and Kathleen, both immigrated to Canada from the West Indies in 1917.
Family: Married four times. Leaves behind wife Kelly, daughter Celine.
Beginnings: Started playing trumpet and piano at age 5. At year later contracted tuberculosis which damaged his lungs so he could no longer play trumpet. Focused on piano.
Co-workers: Has played with and befriended many jazz greats including Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.
Quote: “It makes you want to sing.” — Ella Fitzgerald, at 74, about Peterson’s piano work.
Musical luminaries expressed shocked condolences and shared fond memories Monday after hearing reports that jazz great Oscar Peterson had died at age 82.
“What can you say about playing with somebody who was such a giant, who made such a huge contribution to jazz piano?” asked jazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky, who worked with Peterson off and on in the 1980s and 1990s, and was part of his quartet that played Carnegie Hall and toured Europe.
“It was very challenging to play with him in many different ways,” Lofsky said in an interview from Newmarket, Ont.
“You know, I learned a lot from playing with him and it was great, what I would call on-the-job training … playing in a situation like that where you never know what’s going to happen from one moment to the next.”
CBC said Peterson died at his home of kidney failure.
Tracy Biddle, whose late father Charles was a close friend of Peterson’s and a pillar of the Montreal jazz community, was floored when she heard the news.
“He really put Montreal on the map of jazz,” Biddle said in an interview in Montreal. “I believe that on a grander scale, the impact he had on the black community and on the whole musical community was huge.”
“He broke out of Canada. He’s one of the first people. We talk of Celine Dion and Shania Twain and Alanis Morissette and Bryan Adams. Oscar Peterson did what they did years ago as a black person. So what he’s done is incredible.”
Gene Lees, Canadian jazz journalist and lyricist and author of the Peterson biography The Will to Swing, called the pianist a “summational, towering, figure.”
“He was one of the most amazing musicians I’ve ever heard in my life,” Lees said from Ojai, Calif. “I don’t think there’s ever been a pianist in jazz of the later generation who wasn’t influenced by him.”
“Somebody once said that (Franz) Lizst conquered the piano and Chopin seduced it. Oscar is our Lizst.”
The keyboard titan, who recorded almost 200 albums, played alongside the greats of the jazz world: Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald.
“It makes you want to sing,” the late Fitzgerald once said of Peterson’s piano work.
Peterson’s style, somewhere between swing and bop, was considered technically dazzling, keenly aware of the roots of jazz and fearless in its improvisational scope. While some critics said he used too many notes in his music, others said the 100-plus notes allowed for a dazzling work of art.
“There’s an extreme joy I get in playing that I’ve never been able to explain,” Peterson said in a 1996 interview. “I can only transmit it through the playing; I can’t put it into words.”
Throughout his life, Peterson was showered with awards, honorary degrees and national honours.
He collected eight Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 1997, hundreds of prizes from the jazz community, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement and was a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2005 Canada Post marked his contribution to music with a 50-cent stamp.
He was set to be honoured again next month in Toronto.
The world-renowned pianist toured extensively during his career, bringing his easy-swinging sounds to virtually every major concert hall around the globe, and recording some of the country’s most distinctive music including “Canadiana Suite” and “Hymn to Freedom.”
Peterson was frequently invited to perform for various luminaries including the Queen and U.S. President Richard Nixon.
“The piano is like an extension of his own physical being,” composer Phil Nimmons, who helped create “Canadiana Suite,” said in 1975 of his longtime friend.
“I’m amazed at the speed of his creativity. I am not talking about mere technical capabilities, although his are awesome. I’m speaking of the times when you find him under optimum conditions of creativity. His mind can move as quickly as his fingers and that is what is so astounding.”
Peterson began playing the piano and trumpet as a young boy under the stern tutelage of his father, Daniel Peterson, a West Indian immigrant who worked as a railway porter.
He continued with his piano studies under the watch of his older sister Daisy after tuberculosis damaged his lungs at age six.
At 14, Peterson earned his first break, winning the CBC’s national amateur contest (and $250). With his father’s permission, Peterson dropped out of school to focus on his budding career.
As the only black member of a dance band, he was frequently subjected to the racism of the decade. One of the first black artists to achieve prominence in the white-dominated music industry of the 1950s, Peterson spent a great deal of his life acting as a spokesman for minority rights, drawing on his experiences growing up in the impoverished St. Antoine district of Montreal.
The manager of Montreal’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel once phoned band leader Johnny Holmes two days before a big event to declare that blacks weren’t welcome in the hotel. The manager eventually backed down after Holmes threatened to put a notice in local newspapers saying the hotel barred blacks.
“In all the years that Oscar and I have been friends, he’d never really lamented or even discussed the discrimination that he suffered as a child and as a young man,” said Gene Lees, a longtime friend of Peterson’s who also penned the musician’s biography, The Will to Swing. “(It’s) a magnificent triumph of the human spirit.”
International exposure came in 1948 when Norman Granz, producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic, heard Peterson on Montreal radio and later invited the 24-year-old to New York to play as a surprise guest at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. After the performance, the young talent joined the troupe and toured North America with them for two years.
Peterson, whose career was managed by Granz for over 30 years, formed a trio in 1951 with Ray Brown on bass and Charlie Smith on drums and continued playing with the prestigious group.
His most famous threesome was with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown who were often cited as one of the world’s finest jazz combos.
“You saw the greatness immediately,” Ellis once said of Peterson. “He was awesome right away – always.”
Although Peterson was one of Canada’s leading artistic exports, he was frequently mistaken as an American because of his Jazz at the Philharmonic performances.
“I’ve achieved a funny kind of status in Canada,” he once said. “Most of it comes because I went to the United States and other places, and as a result of Canadians having seen me repeatedly on the television shows of people like Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin … I think that has weighed heavily with Canadians.”
But he loved his home country and had lived in Mississauga since the late 1950s.
He was also well known for his kindness towards young artists, having tutored many an aspiring pianist.
Diana Krall credits Peterson for prompting her to pursue a musical career after catching one of his concerts as a young girl.
“You inspire me to no end every day,” she told him in 2005 during a ceremony unveiling a Canada Post stamp in his honour.
In his efforts to coach youth, Peterson helped open Toronto’s Advanced School of Contemporary Music in 1960 only to see his beloved project fail due to financial difficulties three years later. He didn’t give up, serving as an adjunct music professor at York University in the mid-1980s and as its chancellor in the early 1990s.
Arthritis became a problem for the charming musician in the 1980s, causing him some pain in his hands and difficulty in walking yet he never seemed to slow down.
In 1993, at 68, he suffered a stroke which incapacitated his left hand. Peterson recovered and resumed performing two years later.
He then released A Summer Night in Munich, a live recording of old and new material; an instructional CD-ROM; and Trail of Dreams, a musical portrait of Canada commemorating the Trans Canada Trail.
“Age doesn’t seem to enter into my thought to that great an extent,” he said in 2001. “I just figure that the love I have of the instrument and my group and the medium itself works as a sort of a rejuvenating factor for me.”
Peterson leaves behind wife, Kelly, and their daughter Celine.
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CNN’s "Death of a Princess"
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“The commercialization of a princess” – Diana Inc.:
By CNN Interactive Writer John Christensen
(CNN) — In the year since the death of Princess Diana, scarcely a day has passed that at least a few of her admirers have not made the pilgrimage to Kensington Palace to honor her memory.
Londoners have grown accustomed to people taking photographs of the palace — the princess’ last home — or leaving flowers, messages and other signs of their abiding fondness for her.
This unflagging interest in the princess has also manifested itself in a desire to take home a memento, a keepsake, a souvenir that will endure even as memories yellow and curl with age.
The willingness by her admirers to spend money on Princess Diana memorabilia is equaled — and sometimes exceeded — only by the eagerness of those selling it.
Even before the princess was buried, entrepreneurs were churning out her likeness on items ranging from thimbles and saucepans to Christmas decorations and computer screen-savers.
But the guardians of her legacy also moved swiftly.
Four days after her death, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was established as a trust to channel this swelling commercial impulse toward charities helping those “at the margins of society.”
In the 11 months since, the fund has raised more than $100 million (£62 million), and distributed nearly $23 million (£14 million).
The fund — with Diana’s estate’s approval — has licensed six products. But scores of other products bearing her likeness or signature have been marketed by companies without the fund’s approval, and often without contributing to it. The fund has both sued and been sued by companies over the “intellectual property” rights to Diana, and has sent warning letters to many others.
Naturally, financial transactions invoking Diana’s memory have raised a few eyebrows in a country where propriety’s perimeter is carefully monitored for trespassers.
The critics had a field day last spring, for example, when the princess’ signature appeared on tubs of margarine manufactured by a company that also sponsored the London Marathon.
Flora, the manufacturer, announced that the princess’ fund would receive some of the proceeds from the promotion, but many in the public and the media concluded that the fund would stop at nothing in its zeal for profit.
In fact, says attorney Andrew Dobson, the fund had nothing to do with Flora’s decision and was powerless to do anything about it.
“The margarine was not a licensed product,” says Dobson, who represents the princess’ estate. “If you had a garden sale and indicated on a sign that the proceeds were going to go to the fund, it would not require us to approve it. That’s fund-raising.”
And fund-raising, says Dobson, is what Flora was up to in its two-week promotion, which had an announced goal of $600,000. When it was over, however, the company turned over $3.26 million (£2 million) to the fund.
While the memorial fund is responsible for fielding proposals and approving products, it is the princess’ estate that permits the use of her likeness and signature as intellectual property. And it is the estate that has the final say on every product the fund approves.
The fund has nine unpaid trustees, many of them longtime charity activists. Among the trustees is the princess’ sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who is also an executor of the princess’ estate. The estate’s other executors are Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of the princess and Lady McCorquodale, and the Rt. Rev. Hon. Richard Chartress, the bishop of London. Neither are trustees of the fund.
The estate’s beneficiaries are the princess’ sons, Princes William and Harry. Their guardian, at least where the princess’ estate is concerned, is former prime minister John Major.
Staff members at the fund say it has received more than 2,000 proposals in the 11 months it has been in operation. More than a few, says assistant press officer Jo Greensted, have been “completely ridiculous and insensitive.
“We’ve had proposals for things like accident emergency kits, seat belts and colonic irrigation kits,” Greensted says indignantly. “And some came literally the week after the princess died.”
There was also a cable TV movie produced in Britain last spring that was immediately greeted with charges of tastelessly exploiting the princess’ memory.
And a Canadian newspaper reported recently that “at least 700 licensees” had paid fees to the fund for the right to market such things as tea towels and mugs bearing the princess’ likeness.
“Absolute rubbish,” says Amanda Clow, one of the fund’s press officers.
In fact, the trustees have approved only six products: a set of commemorative stamps from the British post office; the Princess Beanie Baby, a purple bear with a rose on its chest; a crystal candle holder; a tribute CD featuring Elton John and other musicians; scented candles; and two limited-edition enamel boxes.
The products range in price from about $1.60 for the stamps and slightly more than $8 for the Beanie Baby to about $160 for the more expensive of the two enamel boxes. John donated $32.6 million (£20 million) from sales of his remake of “Candle in the Wind,” and the “Diana, Princess of Wales — Tribute” CD has raised about $22 million (£13.6 million).
“It’s a surprisingly small number,” Greensted says of the six products, “but it’s a very lengthy process by the fund, and by the estate and its executors.”
There are, as yet, no established criteria for prospective products. Nor, says press officer Vanessa Corringham, does the fund try to find products that the princess might have used or approved of.
“We don’t go there,” Corringham says. “But her sister is on the fund’s board and is an executor of the estate as well. She has a good idea of what is appropriate.”
The fund and the estate regard “what is appropriate” as a matter of great delicacy.
Dobson says the executors of the estate are intent that it not benefit financially from the commercial activity created by the princess’ death, and prefer that all proceeds go instead to charity.
“We wanted to bring taste and appropriateness to the use of her rights,” says Dobson. “Those are our watchwords.”
Deciding what is tasteful and appropriate can be highly subjective, of course, but the fund must also ensure that the products it approves not only meet that standard but are commercially appealing as well.
Dobson says the reaction to the princess’ signature on tubs of margarine indicates that “there was a limit to how far anyone could commercialize her name. We don’t want profiteering without charity. Even charity has its boundaries beyond which one cannot traverse.”
Nevertheless, he says he cannot imagine the estate overruling the fund on a product. “We’re a like-minded group when it comes to taste and appropriateness. It even makes good commercial sense.
“I hate to use the word ‘brand’ because it sounds horrible,” Dobson says, “but (Princess Diana’s) intellectual property rights are better used at a rarefied level. And the more appropriate it is, the better it will sell.”
Policing the unlicensed use of the princess’ image and signature has presented the fund with some difficulties.
Corringham says it has issued “a great many” cease-and-desist letters to companies trying to capitalize on the princess’ popularity, and it encourages those companies that have received licenses to help police those that have not.
ALSO
She says the offenders are “predominantly” in the United States, a claim Dobson seconds. “There’s a market for collectibles in the U.S. that doesn’t exist here,” he says.
In May, the fund sued the Franklin Mint, a Philadelphia-area company that has marketed two Diana dolls and several other items without approval from the fund. (See box)
And in early August, the fund itself was sued by Bradford Exchange Ltd., an Illinois company that claims the fund does not have the right to control Princess Diana’s “name, likeness, image or other attribute.”
Bradford, which makes plates, dolls and music boxes, says it has paid the fund more than $2.4 million (£1.5 million) from sales of commemorative Diana items produced as a result of earlier agreements. It also says a new agreement has been worked out but not signed.
A Reuters report quotes an attorney for the fund as saying it has delayed signing the agreement pending the outcome of its litigation with the Franklin Mint.
Policing the princess’ likeness is rendered even more difficult by a long-standing tradition. As Corringham points out, “The princess was hugely loved, and there was a proliferation of things even before her death.”
It is a tradition in Britain for monarchs and other royalty to appear on cups, plates, glasses and other memorabilia, and Corringham says the fund has no intention of going after the many small merchants and street vendors who sell them.
“It’s a game of balance,” says Dobson. “We’re not into litigation. We walk a bit of a tightrope. Diana was the people’s princess, and we have to be very careful that we’re not overly vigilant.”
Diana’s brother, Charles, the Earl of Spencer, has been the subject of more than a little scrutiny over his decision to turn part of the family estate into an exhibit featuring his sister.
Although a registered historic site and the princess’ home when she was growing up, Althorp House (pronounced “Al-THRUP” in Britain) was only a minor attraction in a country rich in history and historical sites until the exhibit opened.
However The Evening Standard, a London newspaper, quoted an expert as saying that Diana’s popularity means that Spencer “is onto a financial bonanza.”
The exhibit is open only in July and August and in this, its first year, quickly sold out all 152,000 tickets — 2,500 a day — at $15.50 (£9.50) for adults, $11.40 (£7) for senior citizens and $8.15 (£5) for children.
Spencer was criticized for saying he would contribute some of the proceeds to the memorial fund but for not saying how much. But Shelley-Anne Claircourk, speaking for Spencer, says Spencer has “officially stated” that he would donate 10 percent of the profits to the fund.
Claircourk couldn’t say how much that would be, because a final accounting probably won’t be available until early next year. She also said that profits would be lower this year because of the “huge capital investment” in setting up the exhibit. But she made clear that the 10 percent would include not only ticket sales, but proceeds from a cafe and shop as well.
Claircourk says there are just a few souvenirs sold in a gift shop at the exhibit, and none use Diana’s likeness or signature.
They include a “Tiffany-like” key ring with a silver heart and an “A” for Althorp, and a platinum-and-blue mug bearing words from Spencer’s eulogy at Diana’s funeral. The key ring, the most popular item, sells for about $4.80 (£3); the mug about $19.50 (£12).
“Everybody’s been very pleased with the way thing have gone, the media and the public,” Claircourk says.
The relationship between Spencer and the fund appears to be cordial. Corringham says the fund recently issued a mission statement that Spencer endorsed, and earlier this summer he donated to the fund the proceeds from a tribute concert held on the grounds at Althorp House. The concert featured Chris de Burgh, Lesley Garrett, Jimmy Ruffin, Duran Duran, Sir Cliff Richard and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
After initial misgivings about sullying the princess’ reputation, concerns seem to have subsided and the public has settled back to watch her legacy unfold.
“The last couple of months it’s been quiet,” says Luke Harding, a reporter at The Guardian, another London newspaper. “Things have moved on from the commercialization issue.”
There is still plenty of Diana merchandise being sold, Harding says, but “the trust is keeping its head down and pushing the odd press release. They’ve played their cards very carefully.”
CNN’s “Portrait of a Princess” — August 25, 1998
Royal photographer offers ‘Portrait of a Princess’
Web posted on: Friday, August 28, 1998 1:53:57 PM EDT
(CNN) — With her marriage to Prince Charles, a girl named Diana became a princess and spent the rest of her life in the glaring eye of the camera. Though much of the attention was unwanted, a select group employed by the royal family had complete access as official royal photographers.
View never-before seen photos of the People’s Princess
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Jayne Fincher, the only female royal photographer working with the explicit approval and full cooperation of Buckingham Palace, snapped her first picture of the 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1980. In 1997, she was still photographing the princess just one month before her death and produced some of the most famous, and telling, images of her funeral. In the process, she created one of the largest and most dramatic set of photographs of the most photographed woman in the world.
Audio excerpts from other Diana books:
From “Diana: Her New Life”
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From “Diana: Her True Story”
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(Clips Courtesy Simon & Schuster)
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“Diana: Portrait of a Princess” features more than 500 snapshots, portraits, candids and outtakes of Princess Diana and the extended royal family. The collection, 75 percent never before published, celebrates the life of Diana upon the first anniversary of her untimely death. Here is Diana the fiancee, wife and ex-wife as well as Diana the philanthropist, ambassador, mother and fashion muse.
Included in the book, published by Simon & Schuster Editions in association with Callaway Editions, is intimate text including anecdotes taken from more than 18 years of royal access, including Fincher’s recollection of Diana:
“And then there was her unforgettable charm and immense physical beauty … male colleagues always called her Blue Eyes and that’s my most vivid memory of her — those enormous cornflower-blue eyes. I miss her.”
Related stories:
Diana investigation nears October conclusion
Diana investigation nears October conclusion
Driver appears to be at fault, but questions linger
By CNN Interactive Writer John Christensen
(CNN) — The French investigation into the accident that killed Princess Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver of their car, Henri Paul, and injured bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is not expected to be completed until October.
In the first days after the accident, speculation centered on the horde of photographers pursuing the couple’s limousine on August 31, 1997, when it crashed at high speed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.
It was reported that the limousine was chased by one or more cars and at least one motorbike, and that it may have been sideswiped by yet another vehicle.
But tests revealed that the alcohol in Paul’s blood was three times higher than the level at which one is considered to be drunk under French law.
Later tests confirmed that Paul had been in the midst of a bout of “moderate chronic alcoholism for at least a week,” and that his blood also contained the antidepressant Prozac and tiapride, a drug used to combat alcoholism.
That he was both drunk and speeding would seem to be enough to pin the blame on Paul. That impression was deepened when it was learned that Paul was not a chauffeur, but the deputy security chief of The Ritz hotel. The hotel is owned by Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, who also owns Harrods department store in London.
Nevertheless, there have been a number of interesting developments this year as Judge Herve Stephan has conducted his investigation:
- February 2 : A British tabloid publishes photos of a white Citroen AX that it says might have been involved in the crash. Investigators suspect that the Mercedes driven by Paul might have grazed a white car before crashing but believe it to be a Fiat Uno. They say they have the “most extreme reservations” that the Citroen was involved.
February 12 : Al Fayed tells a London paper that he believes the crash “was not an accident” and that the deaths were part of a conspiracy to keep Diana from marrying his son. Al Fayed doesn’t say who he thinks is responsible but claims that many in the British “establishment” were happy when Diana and his son died.- February 13 : Investigators working for Al Fayed claim to have found the white Fiat involved in the crash. Although the police say they had examined the car before and eliminated it from suspicion, they agree to re-examine it.
- March 12 : Al Fayed meets with Stephan and, according to one of his attorneys, is “satisfied by everything” the judge tells him. The attorney also says that Al Fayed requested “additional investigations,” and wants to know more about the white Fiat theory.
- June 5 : The judge begins questioning more than 20 witnesses involved in the case, including Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd. Al Fayed is among those attending, a day after issuing a statement saying he is “determined to get to the truth” about the accident. “I will not rest until I am satisfied that what happened was God’s wish and not the wish of someone else,” he says.
Late June : A book published by two reporters from the French magazine L’Express says police have found little evidence that the pursuing photographers caused the accident. But the authors do conclude that the frenzied photographers were more interested in taking pictures of the victims than in helping them. Nine photographers and a press motorcyclist are officially being investigated.- Early July : Rees-Jones asks Stephan to determine whether Paul was competent to drive the night of the accident. He also wants to know whether The Ritz knew Paul was an alcoholic and why Paul was chosen to drive the limousine when he was off-duty and lacked a chauffeur’s permit. Speculation has it that Rees-Jones, who quit his job with Al Fayed, may be preparing to sue his former employer for the injuries he suffered in the crash. A friend says Rees-Jones quit his job because he “felt pressured to remember the events in a way in which they might not necessarily have happened.”
- July 28 : A chauffeur who regularly drove the limousine tells Stephan that the car had persistent braking problems and “didn’t hold the road well.” Olivier Lafaye says one of the owners of Etoile Limousine told him, “Be very careful with this car. Don’t brake suddenly or the back end will swing out.” Lafaye says Paul didn’t know that, and had never driven the car before. “You had to know it well to drive it safely,” he says.
- August 3 : A former French marine tells a British newspaper, “My driving may have caused (the limousine) to swerve and lose control.” Francois Levistre, now a truck driver, says he was 10 meters behind the limousine in his gray Ford, and speeding, when the accident occurred. The paper says Levistre was interviewed by French investigators after the crash and at that point had denied any involvement.
Johnny Lombardi – pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnny Barbalinardo Lombardi, C.M., O.Ont. (December 4, 1915 – March 18, 2002) was a pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada.
The son of Italian immigrants, Lombardi was born in the Little Italy section of Toronto. He was lead trumpet player for a popular Ontario big band during the 1930s, and also served in the Canadian Army in World War II and received many decorations and honors.
Upon his return in 1946, he opened a supermarket in Little Italy and began his broadcasting career as a producer for an hour-long Italian music program in which he advertised his supermarket. The show was successful and his store flourished. Lombardi became a promoter of concerts and sporting events. A champion of multiculturalism before it was implemented as Canadian government policy, he founded the multilingual radio stations CHIN in 1966 and CHIN-FM in 1967, which now serve over 30 ethnic communities. Lombardi later hosted an Italian-language television program on CITY-TV. He was also known for hosting the annual CHIN Picnics, featuring bikini contests derided by many feminists.
Lombardi was a recipient of the Order of Canada and was invited by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1994. Often referred to as the “mayor of Little Italy,” Lombardi lived in the neighborhood all his life.
BIO
JOHNNY BARBALINARDO LOMBARDI was born in the dead of winter, December 4, l9l5, on a kitchen table in a tenement house situated on the street called Trinity Square, a street still standing behind the Eaton Center in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Johnny studied music as a child. He taught himself to play the harmonica, the bugle and the trumpet, winning several gold medals. Between the age of nine and ten Johnny set up a mobile shoeshine stand, very near the now non-existent SHEA’s Theatre in downtown Toronto. When there were no shoes to shine, he would love to saunter over to the theatre and, hopefully, as only a child can hope, catch a glimpse of the performers appearing on stage at the time. If he was really lucky, and he often was, he even got a chance to see the acts in their entirety … when a kind soul chose to give a kid a break.
It was during the hungry 1930s that Johnny, at age 10, decided to study music through the charitable and good graces of the Boys “K” Club and Columbus Boys Club, which were service clubs for underprivileged kids. “Ninety percent of the membership in the clubs was ethnic … come to think of it, the ethnics must have had a monopoly on non-privilege,” says Johnny, who is forever grateful to these clubs who gave a kid from the Ward a break. His musical studies paid off and he joined the Club’s Bugle and Harmonica Bands, later forming a boys’ club orchestra playing for coffee and sandwiches. He was also busy that year from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday, lighting gas lights, burners and stoves for the orthodox Jewish families living in his neighborhood and beyond, for which he would very often receive a piece of homemade honey-cake as a reward.
At age twelve Johnny’s first after-school job was as a folder and addresser for the then Italian weekly “La Tribuna Italo-Canadese,” where he earned $2.00 per week for his efforts. He felt he could do more and graduated shortly thereafter to the position of back-page editor, writing his own column entitled “The Snipper-Snooper,” a la Walter Winchell.
When famous dance bands, led by Frank Busseri, Romanelli and others, did not invite Johnny to join them because he was too young, the musically-drawn Johnny, at age l4, formed his own band. For five years he led eight “star” musicians with a repertoire of twenty songs, the original top 20 format. The band played all the hot spots in town (sometimes known as “buckets of blood”) — parish halls, above pool rooms, small clubs, front-room house parties, warehouses, garages — anywhere you could dance, anytime, to the top 20 tunes. Whenever Johnny got to the box-office before the impresario at big dances, he would be paid cash. Otherwise, he’d end up being paid in coffee and sandwiches.
In the l930s Johnny left Toronto and joined Benny Palmer’s band in London, Ontario, as first trumpet player at $25 per week. When the band became a co-operative, he began earning from $l00 – $300 each week, a lot of money even for big bands in those days. All good things come to an end! In early l942, like many of the other young men, Johnny joined the Canadian Army and saw service during WWII, first as a wake-up bugler and a bandsman, then as a Sergeant with the Armoured Corps, Education Corps and Engineers in England, France (Normandy), Belgium, Germany and Holland. He received decorations and honors for the Battle of Britain, France and Germany Stars, Defense Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the War Medal 1939-45. In June 1994, Johnny was invited by the Prime Minister of Canada to attend the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy. In May of 1995, Johnny was in Holland to celebrate its liberation.
At the end of the war he stayed on in Zutphen, Holland for a year as the little Canadian “burgermeister” (little Mayor) and directed entertainment for troops waiting to go home. He was one of the last Canadians to leave Holland in l946. Johnny shared and swapped stories and memories with his former Army buddies at the very first Canadian Army Show Reunion held here in Toronto at the Royal York Hotel on the evening of August l2, l979.
In 1946 Johnny returned to Toronto and started a grocery business. Immigrants from Italy were settling in Toronto in vast numbers, and Johnny’s grocery store imported specialty Italian foods for the newest ethnic community.
Johnny met his wife Lena Crisologo, when she and her mother came shopping at his first grocery store location at the corner of Dundas and Manning. Lena worked as a seamstress at Tip Top Tailors on Lakeshore, piece work tailoring men’s suits, and working side by side with many other Italian women from the neighborhood. Two of these women were Johnny’s mother Theresa, and his sister Carmela. They liked Lena very much, and thought she would be the perfect young woman to introduce to their bachelor son and brother, Johnny. The “chance” meeting at Johnny’s grocery store was far from accidental, but it led to many more. Johnny was very taken by the beautiful Lena, and they were married soon after, on July 4th, 1949. Their marriage of fifty-two years was blessed with three children and five grandchildren.
Johnny’s grocery business in the 1950’s prospered and grew, and it was moved first to a Clinton and College street corner, and then to 637 College, near Grace Street. Johnny’s wife Lena and his sister Carmie were instrumental in running the Supermarket when Johnny was busy with other interests such as concerts, radio programs, record importing , food and specialty importing. Johnny’s father, Leonardo, was also a familiar sight to all patrons of the supermarket, passersby on College, and the staff of CHIN Radio/Tv until his death at age 93 in May l977.
Johnny’s impresario career started in the early 50’s with Italian singers brought in from Italy for concerts at the Eaton’s College and Bay store theatre hall, Massey Hall, and then Maple Leaf Gardens, O’Keefe Centre (now Hummingbird) and Roy Thomson Hall. Johnny produced Italian radio programs on CHUM and then CKFH to promote his supermarket, concerts and community events such as park shows, and he started a record label – Bravo Records & Music – to promote Italo-Canadian singers. In the early 60’s Johnny turned his never ending energy and attention to the new immigrants coming to Toronto from European lands, to make their new home in Canada. With the growing need for more radio time, he applied for a multicultural radio station – and CHIN Radio was launched, opening its studios and offices above the Supermarket in 1966. The rest, as they say, is history.
Johnny Lombardi symbolized an era that is irreplaceable, an era that shall not pass this way again. Johnny lived and worked throughout his 86 years of life with unrelenting energy and enthusiasm, until his passing on March 18, 2002, within the boundaries of ethnic Toronto, downtown at College and Grace Streets, giving him a razor-sharp insight into the pulse and heartbeat of the multi-language communities which CHIN Radio serves.
Toronto and Canada’s very own, I’ll-do-it-my-way Johnny Lombardi, nurtured his love of ethnic broadcasting for over 50 years – Johnny was the founder and host of the CHIN International Picnic – the world’s largest free picnic” – which will celebrate its 40th Anniversary, along with CHIN Radio, this year 2006. Johnny was very much active until his passing, with the radio station, as a concert promoter and impresario, and hosting every Sunday at noon his Festival Italiano di Johnny Lombardi Italian TV program on CityTV – broadcast live from the CHIN building. He remained a very active fundraiser for several charities, his favorite being the Hospital for Sick Children. Johnny hosted Radiothons, Telethons, and sat on the board of several charitable organizations, hospitals, and community awareness programs. Johnny is forever remembered as the pioneer of multicultural broadcasting, musician, Canadian soldier, impresario, father, grandfather, husband, and friend to all who knew him.
Johnny Lombardi’s awards and medals are testimony to his extensive
achievements through the years:
Broadcaster of the Year Award
Cavaliere Ufficiale (Official Knight of the Italian Republic)
Chief Barker’s Award from the Variety Club of Ontario – Variety Club Telethons for Handicapped Kids
Federal Citation of Citizenship
Toronto Civic Award of Merit
Entrepreneur of the Year – National Council of Ethnic Canadian Business & Professional
Family of Man Award from the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith of Canada
Hospital for Sick Children Foundation award – Sick Kid’s Telethon
Howard Caine Memorial Award for public service in broadcasting
Human Relations Award -the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews
Member of the Order of Ontario
Member of the Order of Canada
Officer of the Order of St. John
Order of Merit from the National Congress of Italian Canadians
Paul Mulvihill Heart Award by the Broadcast Executives Society
Ted Rogers Sr./Velma Rogers Graham Award from the Canadian Assoc. of Broadcasters
In the Canadian Encyclopedia: Lombardi, John Barba-Linardo (Johnny), pioneer broadcaster, impresario, musician, entrepreneur (b at Toronto 4 Dec 1915; d at Toronto 18 Mar 2002).
CHIN is First & Unique
CHIN is the first multicultural/multilingual station to be established in Ontario. It is the pioneer in multicultural radio broadcasting and has led the way for similar broadcast operations to be established in other communities.
CHIN is not only “unique in Toronto,” but now also “unique in Ottawa/Gatineau”. CHIN Ottawa CJLL 97.9FM began its unique multicultural/multilingual style of broadcasting to the Ottawa/Gatineau region in October 2003, and is the very first third language radio service in our nation’s capital.
CHIN reaches out in over 30 languages to more than 30 cultural communities in the greater metropolitan Toronto and southern Ontario areas on CHIN AM1540/FM100.7, and over 18 languages and cultures in the Ottawa/Gatineau region on 97.9FM CJLL. The contribution of CHIN to the cause of multiculturalism, understanding and tolerance between people of many national, racial and religious origins has been recognized and acknowledged throughout Canada.
CHIN radio programming is also available via satellite across North America on Anik F1, Ku-Band, Transponder l8 (digital format) to the many cities and towns it is unable to reach by radio. With CHIN programming available for down-linking from satellite, cable systems outside the CHIN Radio broadcast radius are now offering CHIN radio programming to their communities via CableFM.
Worldwide, CHIN Toronto Radio AM1540 (simulcast on 91.9fm) and FM100.7, as well as CHIN Ottawa CJLL 97.9FM, are all carried live over the internet on www.chinradio.com.
ED MIRVISH (1914-2007) "Toronto’s greatest bargain"
His theatrical empire changed the face of our city, but many also recall an open-hearted entrepreneur who gave food to the needy
The Star
Jul 12, 2007 04:30 AMRichard Ouzounian
Theatre Critic
JOHN MAHLER/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Ed Mirvish and son David celebrate the opening of Miss Saigon at the Princess of Wales Theatre in May, 1993. The 2,000-seat theatre was built by the Mirvishes at a cost of $22 million.
He may have begun by showing us where to find a bargain, but he wound up giving us much that was priceless.
Edwin Mirvish, known universally as “Honest Ed,” died yesterday morning in St. Michael’s Hospital, less than two weeks shy of his 93rd birthday. Although he first came into the public eye as the merchant king whose giant Bloor St. discount store, with its thousands of blinking lightbulbs, is still thriving after nearly 60 years, Mirvish will be remembered best as the man who created the most successful theatrical empire in Canadian history.
“Ed was a terrific example of someone who makes a success in one area, the business world, and then turns around and makes an even greater success in another, the arts,” said John Sewell, mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980. “Instead of turning his back on Toronto once he earned his fortune, he turned his front to us instead, and thank goodness for that.”
Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of Miss Saigon, said, “He ran an extraordinary empire as if it was a corner store. He will be hugely missed and never forgotten.”
It seemed as though everyone in the city claimed Ed Mirvish as a friend. He was known for his warm smile, his quick wit and his open-hearted generosity to individuals and charitable causes.
His smile was a tonic, his laughter a vacation, his handshake a benediction.
The man who did all this was born on July 24, 1914, in Colonial Beach, Va., to David and Annie (née Kornhauser) Mirvish. He was given the name Yehuda, but his cousin Frances persuaded the family to change it to “Edwin.”
Show business made its presence felt shortly after Ed’s birth, when he was circumcised by Rabbi Moses Reuben Yoelson, whose son went on to be known as Al Jolson.
The Mirvish family business was a grocery store.
It was doing so terribly, however, that in 1923 David and Annie moved to Toronto with Ed and his year-old brother, Robert.
Initially, the elder Mirvish worked as a travelling salesman, hawking The Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry at $50 a set to lodges in the region. That proved to be such a flop that he re-entered the grocery business with a store on Dundas St. W.
Ed went to work there, opening at 6 a.m. each day and helping out with the deliveries after classes at King Edward Public School.
Eager to supplement the store’s meagre receipts, his father started moonlighting as a “candy butcher,” selling soft drinks and confections on trains between Toronto and Winnipeg. The extra workload contributed to his ill health, and David Mirvish died in 1930 at 42.
Ed was 15 at the time. He was attending Central Tech High School but quit to take charge of the family business. He had already learned his first lesson: “Never give credit. My father gave credit and he died broke.”
After struggling to keep the store afloat for nine years, Ed finally closed it to work for Leon Weinstein, who owned a supermarket chain. Over the next two years, Ed worked in all of Weinstein’s stores, formulating ideas that were to shape his future empire.
“I learned that people wanted value, quality and honesty,” he once said. “If you gave them that, it didn’t matter how ratty the package was. If you didn’t give them what they wanted, then you could wrap it up in the finest box you ever saw, but they wouldn’t buy it.”
Romance entered Ed’s life when he fell in love with Anne Maklin, a sculptor from Hamilton. They married in 1940 when she was 21. Besides providing him with a happy and stable family life, she also guided him to more artistic interests, although not without a struggle.
Much later, Ed would recall an incident in “the first year of our marriage when my wife had me attend a symphony concert at Varsity Stadium. It was a sweltering hot summer evening with the temperature nearly 90 F. I had put in a full day’s work and, as we did not own a car at the time, we boarded a Bloor street car, jammed with sweltering crowds of people.
“At the stadium, we sat on hard benches right behind the drums and percussion section of the orchestra. When they started to play Beethoven’s Fifth right in my ear, I can tell you our first year of marriage almost did not make it to a second year.”
At this point, business was Ed’s major concern. He wanted to implement the entrepreneurial philosophy he had formed while working for Weinstein.
He and Anne took some of wedding-present money, cashed in Anne’s insurance policy, got a bank loan and put $600 into a store they called The Sport Bar. It specialized in low-priced sportswear aimed at young women flooding into Toronto to work at munitions plants, and was instantly successful.
The location – on Bloor St., just west of Bathurst St. – was to prove central to Ed’s career. By 1946, he had bought all the stores between Bathurst and Markham Sts. The Sport Bar expanded, changing its name to Anne & Eddie’s.
Another addition to the Mirvish enterprise was their son David, born in 1945. Anne stayed home with their son and Ed found himself growing bored with the women’s clothing business.
He began buying all sorts of odd merchandise from fire sales and bankruptcies. When he had enough, he filled his Bloor St. property with it, putting a hand-painted sign over the door: “Name your own price. No reasonable offer refused.”
The self-mocking ads that would later become a Mirvish trademark made their first appearance. “Our building is a dump! Our service is rotten! But our prices are the lowest in town!” On an April Saturday in 1948, “Honest Ed’s” was born.
When asked why he chose that name, he said, “I opted to buck the trend. Rather than sound self-serving, I decided to take the mickey out of all the usual sanctimonious slogans.”
His approach worked, and soon the store – which sold everything from frying pans to flannel nighties – was open and bustling seven days a week.
Its tremendous success, in fact, led to the expansion of the Mirvish empire. People living on Markham St. complained about the constant noise and activity generated by Honest Ed’s. Mirvish bought their houses, intending to tear them down and build a parking lot, but the city wouldn’t allow it.
At his wife’s suggestion, he created an assortment of galleries, studios and stores that became known as Mirvish Village. His son, David, already a connoisseur of fine art at the age of 18, opened the David Mirvish Gallery in 1963.
The year before, Ed had turned his attention to a fading stretch of King St. W. On it, the once-grand Royal Alexandra Theatre (built in 1907 for $750,0000) lay crumbling.
Mirvish bought it for $215,000 and spent more than twice the cost of the building to restore it to its former glory.
Once he had it fully operational again, he learned to his chagrin that “as long as you keep the theatre locked up you know exactly how much it costs you every week. Once you open the door and put a production on the stage, it could be risky to the point of putting you in bankruptcy.”
By the end of the fifth season, the Royal Alex was turning a profit, and Mirvish kept it going through thick and thin. For many years, it ran as a touring house, welcoming shows and stars from around the world, all of them treated with gracious hospitality by Ed and Anne.
Autographed pictures of stars from Robert Morley to Peter O’Toole line the theatre walls, indicating their reciprocal affection.
By 1988, the Royal Alex boasted 52,000 subscribers, the highest figure in North America, and since then productions of such long-run shows as Les Miserables, Crazy For You and Mamma Mia! have brought in millions of people.
At one point, Mirvish also operated six restaurants nearby and, for several generations of theatregoers, the dinner he offered of prime rib, mashed potatoes and peas constituted the perfect pre-show meal.
But economic realities and labour problems caused Ed to close them one by one, until the last survivor – the gaudily baroque Ed’s Warehouse – shut its doors in September 2000.
While the restaurant empire was shrinking, the theatre empire was expanding, including an expensive flirtation with running London’s famed Old Vic Theatre, beginning in 1982. Mirvish hired internationally renowned directors such as Peter Hall and Jonathan Miller to run seasons there.
“Ed Mirvish showed great generosity and imagination in allowing me to present the kind of classical repertory theatre that wasn’t available anywhere else in England at that time,” said Miller, artistic director from 1988-1990. “He took great pride in the fact that he had saved the Vic from its derelict state and bought it a new and vital existence.”
Despite its artistic triumphs, the Vic proved a financial millstone and Mirvish sold it 16 years later, after hemorrhaging millions of dollars.
Far more successful was the construction of The Princess Of Wales Theatre for $22 million. It opened in the spring of 1993 with Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Miss Saigon, which ran for two years.
“There has never been anyone like him in the theatre,” Mackintosh recalled. “Completely down to earth and one of the only people in this business you never needed to sign a contract with. Win or lose, he stood by his deal.”
With the 2001 purchase of the Pantages Theatre (renamed the Canon), Mirvish further solidified the theatrical power base he ran with his son David, stronger than any outside New York.
Not every show was triumphant. The 2006 failure of The Lord of the Rings came as a substantial setback, but the current hit production of We Will Rock You and the upcoming Dirty Dancing, with its record advance sales, augur well for the future.
During his lifetime, Mirvish received honorary degrees from five Canadian universities and Tel Aviv University, was inducted into the Canadian and American Business Halls of Fame, the Order of Ontario, the Order of Canada, and the Order of the Commander of the British Empire.
But in the hearts of Torontonians, he will remain the elfin figure who dispensed hundreds of free turkeys to the needy every Christmas, or footed the bill for a bash on his birthday every year to which thousands of happy partygoers flocked.
“Someone once asked me what I would like on my tombstone and how I would like to be remembered,” he told the Empire Club in 1989. “I said I would like to erect a huge throne in the centre of Honest Ed’s.
“I would then like my body cremated and the ashes put in an hourglass. I would then like someone sitting on the throne to keep turning the hour glass up and down, up and down, and the employees would point to the hourglass and say, `There’s Ed. He’s still running!’”
David Crombie, mayor of Toronto from 1972-1978, summed up Mirvish’s accomplishments. “He did amazing things for all of us. To use his own expression, he was a great bargain for Toronto. If it hadn’t been for Ed, the face of this city would look a lot different today.”
He gave us a world of commerce where we could buy whatever we needed and he gave us a world of art where we could dream of everything else. But most of all, he gave us himself.
Edwin Mirvish leaves his wife Anne and son David, and a sister, Lorraine.
The funeral service will take place at Beth Tzedec Synagogue, 1700 Bathurst St., on Friday at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ed Mirvish Educational Memorial Fund, c/o The Benjamin Foundation, at 3429 Bathurst St., Toronto, M6A 2C3. The fund is to support young entrepreneurs.
Photos: Remembering Ed Mirvish
CP Video: Toronto remembers Honest Ed
BORIS SPREMO, CM/TORONTO STAR
Ed Mirvish in front of Royal Alexandra Theatre on Aug. 23, 1977. Mirvish bought the theatre in 1963.
APPRECIATION - Mirvish set the scene for success
Impresario paved way for the thriving theatrical landscape we now enjoy
TheStar.com – entertainment
Jul 12, 2007 04:30 AM
Richard Ouzounian
What would the theatre in this city have been like without Ed Mirvish?
Don’t think about it.
When the master impresario died yesterday at the age of 92, he was frequently praised for having renovated the Royal Alexandra Theatre and built the Princess of Wales Theatre, but his contribution to the theatrical life of Toronto was far more complex than that.
Until he saved the Alex from the wrecker’s ball, the only viable option facing a touring show that wanted to perform here was what Irish playwright Brendan Behan called “that sanctified garage,” the 3,200 seat O’Keefe Centre.
Barry Humphries (a.k.a. Dame Edna) had to perform Oliver! there back in 1962 and equated it to “the black hole of Calcutta,” a feeling shared by many performers.
Had Mirvish not made the Alex available in 1963, Toronto audiences would have missed out on hundreds of theatrical experiences over the years, from performances of the classic Canadian revue Spring Thaw, to long runs of shows like Hair and Godspell.
But the most important thing to remember is that Mirvish didn’t just present shows, he built audiences. By 1989, he could boast 52,000 subscribers and although there are no statistics to prove it, one would be surprised if that didn’t have a significant impact on the increasing vitality of all Toronto’s theatres during that period.
From a climate in which theatre going was an occasional activity for the few, Mirvish helped turn it into a regular habit for the many.
And, in 1989, it also set the stage for the next important step, when Mirvish actually produced a Canadian version of a hit show (Les Misérables) instead of importing it.
The phenomenal success of that production not only made subsequent local versions of hit musicals a viable option, but it encouraged Mirvish to build the Princess of Wales Theatre to house Miss Saigon in 1993.
Throughout that decade during which Toronto audiences flocked to the mega-musicals, our city came to be known as the Number Two market for theatre in North America, a distinction that the long stewardship Mirvish served helped bring to reality.
Since then, we’ve known good times and bad in the world of commercial theatre, but the reassuring thing is that the Mirvish empire didn’t cut their sails when the winds grew too severe.
Yes, they were there to reap the benefit of multi-year runs of shows like Mamma Mia! and The Lion King, but the surprise failures of The Producers and Hairspray didn’t send them running for the hills, as they might have done with producers who weren’t in it for the long haul.
They came back with their greatest gamble to date, the $28 million musical of The Lord of the Rings, which they promoted with every ounce of energy at their disposal. When it failed, they shook their heads, tightened their belts and readied for the next wave.
Now We Will Rock You is solidly holding the stage while anticipation builds for Dirty Dancing’s opening this fall, with its record-breaking sales.
It’s a real shame that Ed Mirvish didn’t live to see this last show open the 100th season at his beloved Royal Alexandra Theatre, because if there was ever a number that he could have claimed as his theme, it clearly would have been “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
Thank you, Ed, for saving the Royal Alex 45 years ago and paving the way for the theatre scene we celebrate today.
PASSING OF AN IMPRESARIO – Ed Mirvish put show in retail business
‘The community marketplace has always been the greatest show on earth’
TheStar.com – Business
Jul 12, 2007 04:30 AM
David Olive
KEITH BEATY/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
As much a showman as a businessman, Ed Mirvish passed away on July 11, 2007, at the age of 92. Mirvish and his business partner and only child, David, have been integral in building two of Toronto’s entertainment districts.
Before there was Sam Walton, there was Ed Mirvish.
Mirvish pioneered the basics of today’s discount drygoods retailing at Honest Ed’s, the soup-to-nuts emporium he opened at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor Sts. in 1948. Fifty-nine years later, countless retail trends have come and gone, but Mirvish’s famous store is still going strong.
Walton launched his first Wal-Mart, in Rogers, Ark., 14 years after Mirvish cut the ribbon on his landmark Annex store.
Mirvish, who died yesterday at age 92, was Toronto’s first “big box” merchant, the term for the specialty hardware, business supplies, furniture and other warehouse-type stores that began popping up across North America in the 1980s.
While Simpsons and Eaton’s, the dominant Toronto drygoods retailers of the day, catered to a middle- and upper-class clientele, Mirvish turned the merchandising of essentials for lower-income customers into an event.
Beginning in 1948, shoppers of limited means had a bustling emporium of their own, offering the same wide variety of dinnerware, linens, apparel and toys to be found at Simpsons and Eaton’s, but at prices rarely above $5 per item.
Before Honest Ed’s opened for business each day, a line of as many as 200 customers had formed outside the Bloor St. entrance, under a sign the read: “Don’t Just Stand There — Buy Something!”
On entering Mirvish’s store, they were obliged to descend a long, sloping narrow passageway lined with deep-discount impulse items before entering the first of a series of display rooms that had to be accessed sequentially.
That layout, similar to today’s Ikea, drew customers through the entire store, exposing them to every category of goods Mirvish had accumulated from distributors’ warehouses that had suffered a fire, flooding or bankruptcy, and were selling off undamaged goods at pennies on the dollar.
Mirvish introduced “loss leaders.” He skimped on décor, introduced self-service, and sold only those goods he was able to find at rock-bottom cost, passing the savings to his loyal shoppers.
You could usually count on finding socks at Honest Ed’s, at $3 for six pair, but they might not be the blue socks you’d prefer. If you didn’t see it, Ed didn’t have it. There was no special ordering of goods not in stock, and no white-glove service by a nice lady behind the cosmetics counter as on Eaton’s main selling floor.
Sam Walton eventually adopted all these techniques. In his rusting pick-up truck, he traveled the bumpy roads of Arkansas and Texas on news of a distant wholesaler abruptly forced to immediately clear all his inventory. Walton came back to his store with whatever he found — a mountain of stockings, 18 racks of plaid hunting jackets, but, alas, no cutlery this time. And so Wal-Mart that week would have no cutlery to offer.
Among the differences between the two trailblazing merchants was their role models. Walton’s was James Cash Penney, a traditional drygoods merchant for whom Walton once toiled as a lowly clerk. A prime influence on Mirvish, by contrast, was a revered uncle, Harry Mensh, who owned practically everything worth owning in the resort town of Mirvish’s native Colonial Beach, Va.
Mensh was an impresario who exulted in playing host to pleasure-seeking visitors to his hotels, restaurants, shooting galleries and other amusements. He was an outsized figure, impeccably dressed, who regarded his empire as an entertainment extravaganza.
Hence the Mirvish trademark of theatricality and publicity stunts, which generated the best kind of advertising — stories in the Toronto papers about Mirvish recruiting 21 sets of triplets for his “Triplets Fashion Show,” and his appearance at the bedside of the mother of the first infant born each year, bearing an outsized gift certificate.
Mirvish’s challenge was a bit tougher than Walton’s. Mirvish plied his trade in a city of millions where alternative shopping venues were many. In the first decades of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the chain’s outlets were monopoly or near-monopoly stores in very small towns of no interest to Sears, Roebuck & Co., S.S. Kresge Co., Woolworth Corp. or J.C. Penney Co.
Eventually Wal-Mart would surpass all those firms in size, becoming the world’s largest commercial enterprise by revenue. But as it has grown, Wal-Mart’s stock price has flattened, because for the sake of growth it has moved out of the sparcely populated U.S. heartland into major cities and abroad, where competition is fierce and local shopping preferences vary. Wal-Mart is now a complex firm that has strayed from the bare-bones formula that brought its early success.
Wary of the dangers of overexpansion, Mirvish and his business partner and only child, David, followed the same cautious path in building their live-theatre operations, consisting of the Royal Alex and the Princess of Wales Theatre, built by Mirvish. A third theatre, London’s fabled Old Vic, was renovated but relinquished after more than a decade of losses. Mirvish knew his limits, while his overextended rival, Garth Drabinsky’s Livent Corp., flamed out inside a decade. The Mirvishes added a third Toronto venue to their stable in 2001, taking on management of the former Pantages, now the Canon Theatre.
For Torontonians, the most important distinction between Mirvish and Walton is that Mirvish was content with his one store, in which he toiled daily well into advanced age, and rather than build a national chain, he chose instead to try his hand at architectural rehabilitation (rescuing the Royal Alex from the wrecking ball) and building two entertainment districts.
If Mirvish couldn’t quite replicate Henry Mensh’s resort paradise, he would at least satisfy his own urge to play host by creating Markham Village, an Annex collection of restaurants, art galleries and art-book stores near his store; and turning a then-desolate stretch of King St. West anchored by his Royal Alex into an entertainment district.
Mirvish lived his life out loud — still not done by enough of us in this sober city — because, as Mirvish wrote in his memoir, “The community marketplace has always been the greatest show on Earth.”
He’s back
Exclusive: Honest Ed talks after illness Mirvish to attend Hairspray openerJul 11, 2007 01:03 PM
Martin Knelman
This article originally appeared in the Star on May 5, 2004.
Move over, Hairspray.
The delirious musical about a TV teen dance show, circa 1962, opens tonight at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
But the Tony-winning Broadway show will have to compete for attention with the owner of the theatre. After being out of commission for almost a year, Ed Mirvish is poised to make the showbiz comeback of the year. And he is definitely ready for his closeup.
“This is going to be a big, important opening, and I’m really looking forward to being there,” the man known as Honest Ed explained in an exclusive interview with the Star – his first since illness struck.
It was last May when double pneumonia knocked out the 89-year-old merchant who had turned a little store into Canada’s most famous bargain mecca and then went on to create this country’s liveliest theatre empire.
Mirvish has been away from his beloved store, Honest Ed’s (at Bloor and Bathurst Sts.) since then. He has been away from the theatre, too.
He spent months in Mt. Sinai Hospital, then moved to chronic care before returning to his Forest Hill home, where has been more or less under house arrest since January.
Yesterday, returning to his ramshackle office on the second floor of Honest Ed’s for the first time since last May, the Honest One, looking dapper in a suit and tie, immediately cracked a joke to demonstrate that taking care of business is still at the top of this agenda.
“Who’s looking after the store?” he asked with feigned alarm as more than 20 employees squeezed into his office to present a “Welcome Back – We Love You” cake, and sing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”
He seems slightly frailer than before, and the familiar voice is not quite as forceful, but a year of illness has not affected his wit or his comic timing.
“They’re better than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,” he commented at the conclusion of the employees’ serenade.
On a more serious note, he said: “It’s nice to be back, because I really missed the store, and I really missed all of you.”
At tonight’s opening, Ed will be in the orchestra in a special wheelchair location along with his wife, Anne. Among the special guests who will join them: Ken and Marilyn Thomson, Irving and Rosalie Abella, Ronnie Hawkins, George Chuvalo and Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino. Both Mayor David Miller and Premier Dalton McGuinty are planning to attend. So will John Waters, who not only wrote the show but also created the 1988 movie from which it was adapted.
Hairspray is set in Baltimore, and that is a city with which Ed Mirvish has a connection. He lived in Washington, D.C. (40 minutes from Baltimore), until moving to Toronto at the age of 9.
“We had relatives in Baltimore, and used to visit often,” Ed recalls.
Yesterday, his return to the store turned into a family affair.
Anne Mirvish, his wife of 63 years, fretted about the need to straighten Ed’s tie for the camera, and gave detailed instructions to their son, David Mirvish, on exactly how to straighten the tie.
Looking forward to their wedding anniversary next month, Ed joked: “Of course, 63 years with me is like nothing. I’m so easy to get along with, and a joy to be with.”
Asked about his long illness, Ed said: “I didn’t feel any pain, but I was a little bit bored.”
As David Mirvish explained, his father’s lungs were damaged by his bout of pneumonia. And he had a tracheotomy that left him unable to speak.
“When you can’t talk, it’s not good,” quipped Ed.
Last summer, as a result of his illness, Ed missed the big outdoor party the Mirvishes have been throwing on Markham St. next to the store every July since he reached the age of 75. According to Russell Lazar, general manager of Honest Ed’s, 60,000 people turned up for seven hours of hoopla, including live entertainment, souvenirs, free hot dogs and kiddie rides.
Yesterday, Ed explained why he is looking forward to making a personal appearance at his 90th birthday bash on July 25.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a 90th birthday,” he said.
CTV.ca – 2007 Diana Concert
A Concert for Diana
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Concert for Diana: Latest Headlines
Updated Sun. Jul. 1 2007 6:21 PM ET
As the news rolls in and the excitement builds for one of the summer’s hottest events, we’ll keep you posted on all the latest developments.
Top Five Moments
Here’s the top five moments of the concert from our vantage point here at CTV.ca.
Concert for Diana an exuberant celebration
Ten years after her untimely death, the most popular royal of the 20th century wwas remembered by some of England and the world’s most well-known pop acts.
Who Performed What?
Check out the rundown of artists and what they each performed during this memorable day
International Stars Join Concert for Diana as More Tickets are Announced
Anastacia, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, Donny Osmond and Jason Donovan will be appearing in a special musicals medley which Andrew Lloyd Webber has put together for Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium on 1st July.
Diana’s sons still dwell on her death
The sons of England’s Princess Diana said in a television interview that they still think about their mother’s death all the time.
Nelly Furtado Added to “Concert for Diana” Line-up
Nelly Furtado will celebrate Canada Day on CTV’s broadcast of the “Concert for Diana” as one of five more acts announced for the greatly- anticipated memorial concert event.
CTV Named Exclusive Canadian Broadcaster of The Concert for Diana, July 1
As the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of Concert for Diana, CTV will connect Canadians with an expected worldwide audience of half a billion households.
JULY 1, 2007 Wembley Stadium, LONDON, ENGLAND
“The Concert for Diana” was an event that honoured the life and legacy of Princess Diana on the tenth anniversary of her tragic death.
It would have been her 46th birthday.
Prince William, along with his brother Harry, organized the day’s event which included performances from Elton John, Rod Stewart, Take That and Canada’s own Nelly Furtado.
Former President Bill Clinton also appeared via video message, along with others who knew Diana.
Proceeds from the concert went to charities supported by the late Princess, and to charities of which the Princes are Patrons.
“This has been the most perfect way of remembering her, and this is how she will always be remembered,” said Prince William.
If you missed any of these memorable performances, be sure to catch them all…
On Demand now …
Missed a Performance?
It was a memorable night and an unforgettable tribute to Diana’s legacy. Catch all your favorite performers and special guests On Demand now.
Stars make music at Diana concert
BBC NEWS :: Entertainment
Last Updated: Sunday, 1 July 2007, 21:54 GMT 22:54 UK
Up to 63,000 fans joined hosts Princes William and Harry at the gig, intended to celebrate Diana’s life, on what would have been her 46th birthday.
Sir Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Duran Duran and Joss Stone also joined the eclectic line-up at London’s Wembley Stadium.
It is 10 years since the princess died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.
Prince William and Prince Harry returned to the stage at the end of Sir Elton’s final set, praising the artists for an “incredible evening”.
William, 25, called it “the most perfect way of remembering her”, adding that he hoped the concert had raised “enough money to make a difference”.
Sir Elton opened the six-hour concert with Your Song
In a televised tribute, ex-South African president Mandela praised Diana’s “energy, courage and selfless commitment” as he urged the crowd to “support the work that continues in her name”.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bill Clinton were also among those who paid tribute to Diana in video clips during the show, along with members of a host of charitable organisations.
The event was broadcast to 140 countries, with proceeds from ticket sales going to charitable causes favoured by the princess.
Tight security
Earlier in the concert Prince Harry paid tribute to fellow soldiers serving in Iraq.
The 22-year-old had been due to be deployed in Basra this year, but military commanders decided against sending him there, deeming it too dangerous.
“I wish I was there with you. I’m sorry I can’t be. But to you and everybody else on operations at the moment, we would both like to say, stay safe,” he said.
Tight security greeted concert-goers attending the six-hour show, following recent attacks in London and Glasgow.
Sir Elton, 60, who famously performed a reworked version of Candle In The Wind at Diana’s funeral, opened the concert with a rendition of Your Song, performed in front of a giant photograph of Diana by Mario Testino.
He was followed by 80s stars Duran Duran played a trio of songs including Wild Boys – which they dedicated to the princes – and Rio, a favourite track of the late princess.
Hollywood stars including Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland and former X Files star Gillian Anderson also took part.
Film legend Hopper, 71, introduced Lily Allen who brought the crowd to their feet performing LDN and her number one hit Smile.
The princes announced plans to put on a concert last Christmas
Canadian singer Nelly Furtado also went down a storm with the crowd, including the princes, dancing throughout her three-song set.
The English National Ballet – of which Princess Diana was a patron – brought a change of pace to the day.
Their performance from Swan Lake reminded everyone of the princess’s love of the ballet.
Introducing the second part of the show, Status Quo had the crowd jumping with classic track Rockin’ All Over the World, recalling their iconic performance in front of the late princess at Live Aid in 1985.
Another rock veteran, Sir Tom Jones, thrilled the crowd with his version of Arctic Monkey’s I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor before duetting with Joss Stone on Ain’t That A Lot of Love.
Ballet stars performed an extract from Swan Lake
Will Young made a theatrical entrance. Dressed head-to-toe in white with a troupe of dancers, he sang Switch It On, before giving up the stage to Natasha Bedingfield.
The theatrical theme continued with a medley of hits from composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Led by US singer Anastacia, the medley included performances from Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman and Sound of Music star Connie Fisher.
Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead sang with fellow former “Josephs” Jason Donovan and Donny Osmond.
Joss Stone duetted with Sir Tom Jones to the crowd’s delight
Rod Stewart launched the third part of the day, as dusk fell on Wembley stadium.
A personal favourite of the late Princess, he sang Maggie May, Baby Jane – which he dedicated to Diana – and Sailing.
Some of Princes William and Harry’s favourites followed, with rapper Kanye West singing Gold Digger.
There was a poignant moment when P Diddy dedicated his hit track Missing You to the Princess.
Take That, who had been eagerly anticipated, did not disappoint, with their number one hit Patience, although rumours that Robbie Williams might join them on stage proved unfounded.
The evening wrapped up with a comic performance from Ricky Gervais, who was forced to improvise when technical problems caused a minor delay to Sir Elton’s closing set.
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In pictures: Concert for Diana
Last Updated: Sunday, 1 July 2007, 21:08 GMT 22:08 UK
BBC NEWS :: Entertainment
Sir Elton John opened Sunday’s Concert for Diana with a rendition of Your Song. The concert is intended to celebrate the life of the late Princess Diana, 10 years after her death.
Chart-topping 80s band Duran Duran sang a trio of tracks at Sunday’s memorial concert in London’s Wembley Stadium, including Rio – reportedly a favourite of the late princess.
Singer Lily Allen had the crowd on their feet with hit track Smile. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to charitable concerts favoured by Diana, Princess of Wales.
Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi (l-r) were among an eclectic bill at Sunday’s concert – a line-up inspired by the musical taste of Diana and her sons, Princes William and Harry.
The line-up included contemporary stars like The Feeling, Orson and rappers Pharrell Williams and P Diddy. The princes said the concert should celebrate Diana’s life “with music”.
Black Eyed Peas star Fergie gave a glamorous turn in the first part of the concert. She dedicated Boys Don’t Cry – “a song about hope” – to the late Diana, Princess of Wales
Prince William showed off his dance moves during Nelly Furtado’s performance of her hit track Maneater. The concert was also attended by his ex-girlfriend Kate Middleton.
Singer Nelly Furtado’s three-song set had the crowds on their feet at the revamped Wembley Stadium, on what would have been Princess Diana’s 46th birthday.
The late Princess Diana trained as a ballet dancer and went on to become patron of the English National Ballet. Members performed extracts of Swan Lake.
Sir Tom performed an Arctic Monkeys’ cover, before duetting with Joss Stone on Ain’t That A Lot of Love. “It’s wonderful feeling being here,” he said. “This is a wonderful tribute.”
Former Pop Idol winner Will Young performed in a white suit, flanked by female singers. The concert took place amid tight security, following recent attacks in London and Glasgow.
British Princes Honor Diana With Concert
Associated Press
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER 07.01.07, 4:24 PM ET
Waving their arms in the air with 70,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, princes William and Harry celebrated the life of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 46th birthday Sunday at a concert they organized.
William, 25, rocked his hips as Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado belted out her song “Man Eater” – to the embarrassment of younger brother Harry, who shook his head and laughed.
Harry, 22, said they asked Elton John to play “Candle in the Wind,” the song he sang at Diana’s 1997 funeral in Westminster Abbey. Originally about Marilyn Monroe, its lyrics were reworked in tribute to Diana and it became a worldwide No. 1 hit that same year.
“This evening is about all that my mother loved in life: her music, her dance, her charities and her family and friends,” William told the crowd, thanking them and millions more who watched the show on television.
Security for the event was increased after the discovery of two unexploded car bombs in central London on Friday and an attack on Glasgow airport on Saturday where a Jeep Cherokee slammed into the main terminal and burst into flames. At least 450 officers patrolled the concert.
The memorial concert mixed rock, pop, hip hop and classical ballet and featured some of Diana’s favorite acts including Duran Duran and Tom Jones. In honor of her love of dance and theater, there was a performance of an extract from “Swan Lake” by the English National Ballet and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Younger artists such as Kanye West, Joss Stone and Lily Allen also performed.
William’s former girlfriend Kate Middleton attended the concert, further fueling rumors that the couple, who announced their split in April, have reconciled.
Diana died Aug. 31, 1997, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver when their Mercedes crashed inside the Pont d’Alma tunnel with media photographers in hot pursuit.
The princes have said that the memorial concert was intended as a celebration of their mother’s life.
Weeks of soggy weather lifted as the sun peeked out from behind gray clouds rolling over the newly built glass-and-steel stadium – Britain’s largest – which usually hosts soccer games.
“This is not an exercise in nostalgia, this is a party!” director and actor Dennis Hopper said, introducing Allen, the British singing star who performed a cheery rendition of her chart-topper “Smile.”
The crowd cheered as John played the piano and sang “Your Song” – and they were on their feet as the princes introduced Duran Duran.
“Pray for sun!” lead singer Simon LeBon told the crowd as the band broke into “Sunrise,” followed by “Rio,” which they dedicated to the late princess.
Harry added a special message for his army unit, currently serving in Iraq.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to say hi to all the guys in A Squadron of the Household Cavalry, who are serving out in Iraq at the moment,” he said. “I wish I was there with you. I’m sorry I can’t be. But to all of those on operations at the moment, we’d both like to say stay safe.”
Harry, a second lieutenant in the regiment, was banned from going to Iraq for security reasons.
A family of fans from Portsmouth in southern England said they had come to sample the wide variety of acts all playing under the same roof – but Diana was also in their minds.
“I was devastated,” Karen Moore, 50, a restaurateur, said of her death.
Diana is remembered for her glamour, her extensive charity work and her tempestuous marriage to Prince Charles, heir to the British throne. The pair married in 1981 in a ceremony watched by millions around the world, but divorced in 1996 after admissions of adultery on both sides.
William said the concert was a chance for people to “remember all the good things about her because she’s not here to defend herself when she gets criticized.”
Tickets for the concert cost $90 with proceeds going to causes Diana supported.
A memorial service is also planned in London on Aug. 31, the anniversary of Diana’s death.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
