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1800 - 2010 (Creation)
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2.3 m of textual records
Approximately 300 photographs
14 objects
11 audio-visual records
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Peter Gzowski was a Canadian broadcast journalist, best known as the host of Morningside on CBC radio (1982-1997). Gzowski was born on July 13, 1934, in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up in Galt, Ontario and was educated at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario and the University of Toronto. Gzowski was appointed Trent University’s eighth Chancellor in 1999, a position he held until his death on January 24, 2002 . Gzowski College, named after Peter Gzowski, opened at Trent University in 2003.
Gzowski edited “The Varsity” as an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto (1956-1957). He went on to work for town newspapers in Timmins, Ontario, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and Chatham, Ontario. He became managing editor of Maclean's Magazine in 1962.
Gzowski’s radio career started with CBC's "This Country in the Morning" (1971-1974). He later hosted "90 Minutes Live" (1976-1978), a national late-night television program, and was the host for a brief revival of CBC’s “Fighting Words” television series on CHCH in Hamilton (1982-1984). He became the host of “Morningside” in 1982 and remained its host until the show went off air in 1997 .
Gzowski wrote numerous books, including Peter Gzowski's Book about This Country in the Morning (Hurtig Publishers, 1974), Peter Gzowski's Spring Tonic (Hurtig Publishers, 1979), The Game of Our Lives (McClelland and Stewart, 1981) and several volumes of Morningside letters (McClelland and Stewart, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 1994).
Gzowski contributed to adult literacy education through his annual golf tournament fundraiser, the Peter Gzowski Invitational (PGI), which began in 1986. Hosted at multiple locations across Canada each year, the PGI has raised millions of dollars since its inception. In 2002, the Peter Gzowski Foundation for Literacy was funded by an endowment from the federal government and took over responsibility for the PGI.
In 1974, 1983, and 1985, Gzowski won ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) awards for best host-interviewer on radio. He has also won three National Magazine Awards, one of which was for his 1981 profile on Wayne Gretzky. Gzowski was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in1986 and appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1998. He received honourary degrees from the University of New Brunswick (D.LITT., 1984) and Trent University (LL.D., 1988). Other honours include the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (1995) and the International Peabody Award for Broadcasting (1997).
Custodial history
Records were in the possession of Gzowski's partner, Gillian Howard, after his death, and reviewed by Gzowski's children before being donated to the archives in 2023.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records documenting Peter Gzowski’s professional activities as the host of CBC’s Morningside (predominant 1997) as well as his annual charity golf tournament, the Peter Gzowski Invitational (PGI) (1986-2010). Gzowski’s personal life and education is also documented, as well as Gzowski family history from 1813-2002.
Professional activities documented include researching and producing Morningside and ongoing work related to other CBC programming. Correspondence includes listener letters and internal communications within CBC. Research and production material include show notes, logs, drafts, scripts, and handwritten notes. PGI material includes copies of poems from PGI events, photographs, ads and programs, and limited correspondence.
Personal activities documented include Gzowski’s undergraduate studies, honours and awards received throughout his schooling and professional life, projects such as research into Stephen Leacock, and Gzowski’s death in 2002. Material documenting Gzowski’s undergraduate studies include photographs and course essays. Awards include The Canadian Journalism Foundation lifetime achievement award and an honourary LL.D. degree from the University of Western Ontario. Research material includes correspondence, drafts, notes, and photocopies of published material. Gzowski’s death is documented through several volumes of memorial books.
Gzowski family history documented include genealogies, education, and personal relationships. The professional life of Peter Gzowski’s paternal great-aunt, Hope Morgan, as a soprano is also documented. Correspondence includes letters from Peter Gzowski’s mother, Margaret Young, to her own parents; letters between Gzowski’s paternal grandparents, Vera Gzowski and Harold N. Gzowski; and letters between his father, Harold E. Gzowski and his paternal grandparents. Photographs include portraits, some framed, of Gzowski’s paternal relatives. Research material related to Gzowski family history includes correspondence, photographs, and photocopies of published material, especially about Sir Casimir Gzowski, Peter Gzowski’s paternal great-great-grandfather.
This fonds is organised into six series: (1) Gzowski, Morgan, and Young families correspondence and research; (2) Awards and memorabilia; (3) Morningside and CBC materials; (4) Projects and publications; (5) Speeches; and (6) Peter Gzowski Invitational.
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Immediate source of acquisition
This accession was donated to the archives by Gillian Howard in August 2023.