Canadian Country Legend Tommy Hunter Passes

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Tommy Hunter

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Tommy Hunter died on Thursday (July 2) at age 89.

Known as “Canada’s Country Gentleman,” he was the host of a legendary, long-lasting national TV show. Hunter’s country TV career was launched in 1956 on CBC’s Country Hoedown, where he was a cast member. He was given his own program in 1965.

The Tommy Hunter Show became one of the most enduring music programs in North American television history. The show aired weekly on CBC for 27 years, 1965–1992, and was later carried in the U.S. by TNN. Over the years, it showcased top Canadian country acts — Carroll Baker, Rita MacNeil, Hank Snow, Michelle Wright, Shania Twain and the like — as well as Nashville stars such as Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire and many others.

Hunter was noted for classy presentation of country music (no barns, hay bales, or corn stalks). The crooner charted in the U.S. with the ballad “Mary in the Morning” on Columbia in 1967.

After his TV show ended, Hunter remained a top concert attraction into the 1990s and 2000s. He retired from touring on his 75th birthday in 2012.

During his long career, he won three Juno Awards and one Gemini Award, as well as induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. He was appointed to both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. Hunter was also honored via a Canada postage stamp.

Hunter is survived by his three children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral arrangements and details regarding a public memorial will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the London Ontario Humane Society or to an animal rescue organization of the donor’s choice.

Robert K Oermann
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