Don Goodwin (July 24, 1930 – August 21, 2018) was a Canadian announcer and media executive. He spent a 31-year career with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC), during which time he was the head of television entertainment and the

CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...

division; led the network's coverage of the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

; and served as the director of the Ontario region. He was most famous for a 23-day stint in 1989, when he hosted the CBC's national and Toronto-area evening newscasts during a strike that took '' The National'' off the air, which turned him into a household name and face overnight. Goodwin retired months after the strike but continued as a tennis and squash announcer and was the public address announcer for the

1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place in the evening on Friday, July 19 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, United States. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial openin ...

Career

Goodwin was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on July 24, 1930. He started his career in radio at CKSO and CHNO in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

and at CKY and CKRC in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

before moving to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, to serve in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. He was later recruited to join CJCH, soon defecting to the

(CBC) in 1957 as their television sportscaster at

CBHT CBHT-DT (channel 3) is a CBC Television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The station's studios are located on Chebucto Road in Halifax, and its transmitter is located on Washmill Lake Drive (near Bently Drive) on the city's west side. C ...

. He served as an announcer for a variety of sports, with notable assignments including the 1963 fight between Cassius Clay vs. Henry Cooper and the Olympics beginning in 1964. Goodwin was appointed regional supervisor of sports and special events for the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

in 1966. In the 1960s, he was instrumental in the organization of the first

Canada Games The Canada Games () is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two separate programs are or ...

, and he was the

chef de mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanen ...

of the Canadian Olympic delegation in 1972. As head of

beginning in 1971, Goodwin led the coverage of the

; at his urging, the network increased its coverage from 14 hours for the

Munich Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in 1972 to 169 hours, a figure that more than doubled the output of the much larger

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

crew. In addition, beginning in 1975, Goodwin was named the entertainment director for CBC Television, which included program acquisition and coordinating the Canadian drama department. When the Ontario region was created within the CBC in 1976, he became its director. He also served as an adjunct journalism professor at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. On March 16, 1989, 2,600 CBC employees under the

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...

launched a strike that lasted 23 days.

Peter Mansbridge Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a British-born Canadian retired news anchor. From 1988 to 2017, he was chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of '' The National,'' CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. He was also host of CB ...

, the host of '' The National''—the flagship CBC television news program—was a union employee and joined the walkout. Goodwin stepped in to present ''CBC at Six'', the evening news on Toronto's

CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). The ...

normally hosted by Hilary Brown, and the replacement for ''The National'' (aired at 10 p.m.), bearing the title ''CBC News''. Goodwin had been a strike replacement for ''The National'' on two other occasions for a total of three days, but he otherwise had not had regular on-camera duties since 1971. The strike catapulted Goodwin—who had been set to retire the next month—into the spotlight as the labor dispute's most visible face. Mark Dunn of

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...

called him "the

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

of... ''The National''", attaining "folk-hero status" per

Antonia Zerbisias Antonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the ''Toronto Star'' from 1989 until she took early retirement from the paper on 31 October 2014. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as wel ...

. In the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'',

Joey Slinger Joey Slinger (born John Edward Slinger, Jr. 1943 at Guelph, Ontario) is a Canadian journalist and author, particularly known as a long-standing humour columnist for the ''Toronto Star''. He first studied at Queen's University but left there after ...

commented that Goodwin's face was credible and more relatable, "a face that looks as if it is touched by the news" compared to Mansbridge's "

Saran Wrap Plastic wrap, cling film, Saran wrap, cling wrap, Glad wrap or food wrap is a thin plastic film typically used for sealing food items in containers to keep them fresh over a longer period of time. Plastic wrap, typically sold on rolls in boxes ...

"–preserved face. During the strike, Goodwin put in 15-hour days, combining newsreading with his normal office tasks. Just as union members tentatively agreed to a deal with the CBC on April 5, Charles Yacoub hijacked a bus and drove it onto

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

in Ottawa, forcing Goodwin into the anchor chair to handle five hours of special coverage. Goodwin's last newscast aired that night, and he retired in May, to be succeeded by

William T. Armstrong William T. (Bill) Armstrong (May 17, 1929 – March 25, 2005) was president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from August to October 1989 following the retirement of Pierre Juneau. He served within CBC for 33 years and retired in 1992. His c ...

. He moved to

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

, where he became involved with tennis tournaments and as an editor for

Tennis Canada Tennis Canada is the national governing body of tennis within Canada. It works together with the provincial associations to organize tournaments and rules. They also oversee the Canada Davis Cup team and the Canada Fed Cup team. Tennis Canada w ...

magazines. He also worked as a public address announcer, including for the

. For 35 years, he was the master of the ceremonies of the Canadian Open in tennis and multiple squash events including the

Tournament of Champions A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

for 30 years. He co-founded Sports Media Canada, an organization for sports journalists, with George Gross. Goodwin died of pancreatic cancer on August 21, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Don 1930 births 2018 deaths Canadian radio sportscasters Canadian television sportscasters Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Canadian television news anchors People from Niagara-on-the-Lake