Sam Yuchtman (January 15, 1910 – June 26, 1979) was a Toronto broadcaster, entertainer and

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

Gottlieb, Sheila, "", ''Lifestyles Magazine'', undated best known for hosting radio shows in

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and English oriented towards the Jewish community in the city. Yuchtman was born in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and moved to

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 ...

around 1917, when he was a teenager, to join his father who had emigrated to Canada earlier. He moved to

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 ...

in 1936, where he became responsible for bringing Yiddish actors to the Standard Theatre on

Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...

where he also produced and directed several productions. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he became one of Toronto's first "Jewish language" radio producers, first at CKFH, then at

CFGM CFIQ (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, Ontario, and serving Greater Toronto, Southern Ontario and Western New York with a talk radio, talk format known a ...

, and finally at

CHIN The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

radio, Toronto's first multilingual radio station.TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS FOR THE CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
September 20, 2002 In 1948, Yuchtman brought ''The Jewish Hour'' (known in

as ''Di Yidishe Shtunde''), to CKFH after originating it at

CKTB CKTB (610 AM, "610 CKTB") is a radio station licensed to St. Catharines, Ontario. Owned by Whiteoaks Communications Group, it broadcasts a talk radio format serving the Niagara Region. Its studios are on Yates Street in downtown St. Catharin ...

, a radio station in nearby

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

. It was one of several Jewish, and for many years predominantly Yiddish-language radio programs broadcasting under that or similar names in Toronto and in Jewish population centres around North America. Sam Yuchtman's Jewish Hour became the longest-running Jewish radio program in Toronto., zeldayoung.com, accessed on December 31, 2007"Dad, daughter, works as team on radio show", Toronto Star (1971-2009); Toronto, Ontario oronto, Ontario9 Sep 1976: E3. He brought the show to CHIN when it was launched in 1966 and Yuchtman was hired as the station's first producer. Following his retirement in 1976 the show was hosted by his daughter Zelda Young and became known as ''The Zelda Show'' and broadcast only in English. Zelda Young hosted the show until her death in September 2023 at the age of 73. Yuchtman ran for

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

North York, Ontario North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

in the 1966 municipal election but was lost to

Robert Yuill Robert Frederick Murray Yuill (1924 — May 17, 2006), known as Bob Yuill, was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served on the North York council for twenty-four years, at first as a ward councillor and later as a member of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuchtman, Sam Canadian radio hosts Hazzans 1979 deaths Jewish Canadian singers Singers from Toronto 1910 births 20th-century Canadian male singers Yiddish-speaking people People from Lublin Polish emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Yiddish theatre Canadian theatre directors Canadian theatre managers and producers Ontario municipal politicians