Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster,

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

monologist A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recitation, recites or gives oral interpretation, dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The te ...

, and author, best known as the host of the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

program ''

The Vinyl Cafe The Vinyl Cafe was an hour-long radio variety show hosted by Stuart McLean that was broadcast on CBC Radio and was syndicated to approximately 80 U.S. public radio stations through Public Radio International. It aired on Sunday at noon ET and ...

''.Stuart McLean
, ''

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''. Often described as a "story-telling comic" although his stories addressed both humorous and serious themes, he was known for fiction and non-fiction work which celebrated the decency and dignity of ordinary people, through stories which often highlighted the ability of their subjects, whether real or fictional, to persevere with grace and humour through embarrassing or challenging situations.

Personal life

McLean was born in Montreal West, the eldest of three children to Australian immigrant parents, Andrew McLean and Margaret Godkin."McLean, Stuart 1948-"
''Contemporary Authors'', January 1, 2006. His interest in radio programming developed during childhood when his father gifted him a Motorola radio to pass the time during an illness. This early fascination with radio persisted into adulthood, shaping McLean's career trajectory in media and journalism. McLean was educated at

Lower Canada College Lower Canada College (LCC) is an English-language Elementary school, elementary and Secondary school, secondary level independent school located in Montreal, Quebec. It is located in the Monkland Village area of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourho ...

and

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent school, independent boarding school, boarding College-preparatory school, prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; L ...

in Quebec. He admitted to feeling like an outsider to the other students at the private school, feeling neither athletic enough nor smart enough to fit in. McLean graduated from

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène St ...

with a B.A. degree in 1971. Following his graduation, he worked in student services for

Dawson College Dawson College is an English-language public college in Westmount and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately of green space. It is the largest CEGEP in the p ...

, and as campaign manager for

Nick Auf der Maur Nikolaus Erik Auf der Maur (April 10, 1942 – April 7, 1998)Downey, Donn. ''Montreal columnist chronicled cancer fight'', A1. ''The Globe and Mail'', April 9, 1998. was a Canadian journalist and politician from Montreal, Quebec. He was the fa ...

in his first Montreal City Council election. McLean married Linda Read, a potter, in 1982. They had two children together, Robert and Andrew, and McLean was stepfather to Read's son, Christopher Trowbridge, from her first marriage. McLean and Read later divorced in 2002. He was also a sponsor of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

's Camp Kanawana, establishing a charitable fund to provide financial support for underprivileged youth to attend the camp,"Stuart McLean, Canadian Radio Legend, Dies at 68"
''

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'', February 15, 2017. and served as honorary colonel of the

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8 Air Maintenance Squadron 8 Air Maintenance Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force unit. Based at 8 Wing Trenton, it is responsible for supporting 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 436 Transport Squadron, 437 Transport Squadron, and 429 Transport Squadron, in their opera ...

CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub ...

Media career

Early work

McLean first joined CBC Radio as a researcher for ''

Cross Country Checkup ''Cross Country Checkup'' is a Canada-wide open-line phone-in talk radio show that airs Sunday afternoons on CBC Radio One. Beginning in 2021, the first hour of the program has also been simulcast on television on CBC News Network. The program ...

'' in 1974, later becoming a documentarian for the radio program '' Sunday Morning''."Stuart McLean, longtime host of CBC Radio’s ‘Vinyl Cafe,’ has died"
''

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. ...

'', February 15, 2017. He won an

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Jonestown Massacre. From 1981 until 1983 he was the show's executive producer. McLean was a professor of journalism at

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

from 1984 until 2004, when he retired and became a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. When he died in 2017, former students of McLean recalled how he concerned himself with their success in the journalism industry. CTV reporter Scott Lightfoot remarked, "I went to university twice, I took a lot of courses, I never had another professor offer to make phone calls on my behalf." During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a frequent contributor to and sometime guest host of '' Morningside'', for which he often produced human interest documentaries and audio essays about everyday people and places."The ups and towns of being an author". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', January 4, 1993. He would later characterize his ''Morningside'' work as celebrating "the importance of being unimportant", and as ultimately helping him find his own voice as a writer. ''Morningside'' host

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

remembered fondly the work McLean did for the program: ”On the surface, they seemed inconsequential, but in fact they were exquisitely crafted pieces of journalism.” McLean eventually compiled a selection of his work for ''Morningside'' in his first book, ''The Morningside World of Stuart McLean''. The book was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist for the 1990

Toronto Book Awards The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the cit ...

. Following the success of his first book, McLean was approached by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

to write a travel memoir about life in small-town Canada. Released in 1992, ''Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada'' featured stories from seven small communities, and won the Canadian Authors Association for best non-fiction book in 1993."Slice of life comes from smalltown Canada". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'', October 22, 1993. McLean often reported for CBC news programs '' The Journal'' and '' The National'', where he focused on human interest stories, talking to "regular people" and delving into their often funny or poignant experiences. These segments about everyday people helped to inspire ''The Vinyl Cafe'', which in the same vein looked at the lives of average Canadians.

''The Vinyl Cafe''

In 1994, McLean launched ''The Vinyl Cafe'' as a summer series featuring stories about a fictional second-hand record store. Although the early stories focused on a diverse group of characters loosely linked through the titular Vinyl Cafe record store, by the time the series became a permanent one the stories were focused more squarely on the store's proprietor, Dave, and his family and friends."Vinyl Cafe a star vehicle for McLean". ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published four days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postm ...

'', February 13, 1998. Following the show's second summer run in 1995, McLean published ''Stories from the Vinyl Cafe'', his first book in that series. The show joined CBC's permanent regular-season schedule in 1997.

Beginning in 1998, McLean took ''The Vinyl Cafe'' on the road to theatres across Canada and the United States. Some stories would be repeated at multiple shows—in particular, an early story about Dave's awkward attempt to cook a turkey for Christmas dinner became one of the most famous and most frequently performed stories of McLean's career—but McLean would often perform slightly different versions of the stories to keep his audiences engaged."Vinyl Cafe's McLean returns to Grand". ''

'', January 29, 1999. One episode of ''The Vinyl Cafe'' each year was also dedicated to the "Arthur Awards", McLean's own awards program to honour acts of kindness and community engagement by ordinary Canadians that might otherwise "go unheralded and even unnoticed"."Remembering Stuart: What everyday act of an ordinary person in your community do you think should be honoured?"
''

'', February 19, 2017. ''The Vinyl Cafe'' was broadcast every weekend on CBC Radio, and later as a weekly podcast.Bruce DeMara, "McLean steps down from his Vinyl Cafe: CBC Radio host says year-long battle against melanoma is not going 'exactly as planned'". ''

'', December 14, 2016. McLean's books of stories from ''The Vinyl Cafe'' won the

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

three times. Several albums of his performances of ''Vinyl Cafe'' stories were also released. In the 2010s a spinoff edition, ''Vinyl Café Stories'', aired on CBC Radio in a weekday afternoon time-slot, featuring two previously broadcast stories on interrelated themes.

Cancer treatment and death

Following McLean's diagnosis with

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

in November 2015, ''The Vinyl Cafe'' stopped touring and producing episodes. McLean announced on December 13, 2016, that he required a second round of treatment, meaning further delay in producing episodes, and that repeats of past shows would stop airing on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

effective January 2017 to "make room for others to share their work on the radio." McLean died of cancer on February 15, 2017, in Toronto, aged 68. His archive was donated to

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

. One day after his death in February 2017, a tribute special hosted by Michael Enright under the title ''Canada's Storyteller: A Tribute to Stuart McLean'', aired on CBC Radio; it was repeated the following Sunday in ''The Vinyl Cafe's'' former timeslot. CBC Radio's documentary series ''

The Doc Project ''The Doc Project'' was a Canadian podcast and radio program, which aired weekly on CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commer ...

'' produced a special episode after McLean's death, re-airing his 1979 ''Sunday Morning'' documentary "The New Goldrush", while ''Cross Country Checkup'' devoted a tribute episode to its own version of the Arthur Awards, asking callers to share stories of acts of kindness that had made a difference in their lives. In April 2018, ''Cross Country Checkup'' devoted a second episode to the question "Who would you nominate for Stuart McLean's Arthur Awards?"

Works

Bibliography

* 1989 – '' The Morningside World of Stuart McLean'' * 1992 – ''Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada'' * 1995 – ''Stories from the Vinyl Cafe'' * 1996 – ''When We Were Young: A Collection of Canadian Stories'' * 1998 – ''

Home from the Vinyl Cafe ''Home from the Vinyl Cafe'' (1998) is Stuart McLean's second volume of stories that first aired on the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''. It was the winner of the 1999 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour. Stories included in ''Home from the Vi ...

'' * 2001 – ''

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged ''Vinyl Cafe Unplugged'' (2000) is Stuart McLean's third volume of stories that first aired on the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''. In 2001, it won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour. This was the second time that Stuart McLean had won f ...

'' * 2003 – ''

Vinyl Cafe Diaries ''Vinyl Cafe Diaries'' (2003) is Stuart McLean's fourth volume of stories that first aired on the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''. It made the 2004 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour shortlist, and was the winner of the 2004 Canadian Authors ...

'' * 2005 – ''Stories from the Vinyl Cafe 10th Anniversary Edition'' * 2006 – ''Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe'' * 2006 – ''Dave Cooks the Turkey'' * 2008 – ''When We Were Young: An Anthology of Canadian Stories'' * 2009 – ''Extreme Vinyl Café'' * 2010 – ''

The Vinyl Cafe Notebooks ''Vinyl Cafe Notebooks'': a collection of essays from The Vinyl Cafe (2010) is Stuart McLean's ninth book and each one has been a Canadian bestseller. McLean has sold over 1 million books in Canada. Unlike the other "Vinyl Cafe" books, these a ...

'' * 2012 – ''

Revenge of The Vinyl Cafe ''Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe'' (2012) is Stuart McLean's fifth book of stories that first aired on the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''. It debuted at #1 in ''The Globe and Mail''’s bestseller list. It is the only book in the ''Vinyl Cafe'' ...

'' * 2013 – ''Time Now for the Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange'' * 2015 – ''Vinyl Cafe Turns the Page'' * 2017 – ''Christmas at The Vinyl Cafe'' * 2021 – ''Vinyl Cafe Celebrates''

Discography

* 1997 – ''Christmas Concert at the Vinyl Cafe'' (Audio Book CD) *1998 – ''

Vinyl Cafe Stories Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''. *1999 – ''

The Vinyl Cafe on Tour ''The Vinyl Cafe On Tour'' (1999) is a two-CD album by Stuart McLean released by Vinyl Cafe Productions. This collection of stories was taken from CBC Radio concerts that were taped in St. John's, Halifax, Guelph, Calgary, and Victoria. Recorded ...

'' *2001 – ''

Vinyl Cafe Odd Jobs ''Vinyl Cafe Odd Jobs'' (2001) is a two-CD album by Stuart McLean released by Vinyl Cafe Productions. This collection of stories was taken from CBC Radio concerts that were recorded in Burgessville, Lindsay, Markham, and Toronto in Ontario; in S ...

'' *2002 – ''

Vinyl Cafe Inc. Coast to Coast Story Service ''Vinyl Cafe Inc. Coast to Coast Story Service'' (2002) is a two-CD album by Stuart McLean released by Vinyl Cafe Productions. This collection of stories was taken from CBC Radio concerts that were recorded in Banff, Calgary, Toronto, Kingston, ...

'' *2004 – ''

A Story-Gram From Vinyl Cafe Inc. ''A Story-Gram From Vinyl Cafe Inc.'' (2004) is a two-CD album by Stuart McLean released by Vinyl Cafe Productions. McLean's '' The Vinyl Cafe'' is CBC Radio program telling about the fictional escapades of Dave, an eccentric owner of a small r ...

'' *2005 – ''Vinyl Cafe: A Christmas Collection'' *2006 – ''Stuart McLean's History of Canada'' *2007 – ''An Important Message From The Vinyl Cafe'' *2008 – ''Vinyl Cafe: Storyland'' *2009 – ''Vinyl Cafe Planet Boy'' *2010 – ''Vinyl Cafe: Out and About'' *2011 – ''Vinyl Cafe: Family Pack'' *2012 – ''Vinyl Cafe: The Christmas Pack'' *2013 – ''Vinyl Cafe: New Stories'' *2014 – ''Vinyl Cafe: The Auto Pack'' *2015 – ''Vinyl Cafe: Seasons'' *2016 – ''Vinyl Cafe: Up and Away'' *2017 - ''Vinyl Cafe: The Unreleased Stories''

Awards

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Jonestown Massacre (1979) *Canadian Authors Association Best Non Fiction book for ''Welcome Home'' (1993) *Rooke Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Writing: Trent University (1994–95) *

, ''Home from the Vinyl Cafe'' (1999)"Stuart McLean, longtime CBC Radio personality and bestselling author, has died"
''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'', February 15, 2017. *Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, ''Vinyl Cafe Unplugged'' (2001) *Canadian Authors Association Jubilee Award, ''Vinyl Cafe Diaries'' (2004) *Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, ''Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe'' (2007) *

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

, awarded in 2011 "for his contributions to Canadian culture as a storyteller and broadcaster, as well as for his many charitable activities".

References

External links

Stuart McLean profile at cbc.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Stuart 1948 births 2017 deaths Canadian people of Australian descent Writers from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people CBC Radio hosts Officers of the Order of Canada Stephen Leacock Award winners Sir George Williams University alumni Academic staff of Toronto Metropolitan University Canadian male short story writers Bishop's College School alumni 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers Canadian storytellers Deaths from melanoma in Canada 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers