Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and
television personality
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
, best known for her longtime association with
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 ...
and her television talk show which aired on CTV from 1997 to 2005.
Biography
Vicki Frances Filion was born in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Her father's best friend, author
Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian historian, writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular cultur ...
, was influential in her life, exposing Gabereau to the greatest intellectuals and stars of the 1950s and 1960s."Gift of the Gabereau". ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
'', March 26, 2995.
Gabereau 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 ...
at age 18 for university. While there she married Michel Gabereau and worked a variety of jobs, including working as a professional
clown
A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
at Puck Rent-a-Fool. In that capacity, she ran for
Mayor of Toronto
The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...
in the 1974 municipal election under the pseudonym "Rosy Sunrise". She then worked in radio, hosting her first talk show for a station in
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
in 1975. She later joined the
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
as an
archivist
An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...
, and became host of
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 ...
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.13th ACTRA Awards
The 13th ACTRA Awards were presented on April 3, 1984. The ceremony was hosted by Laurier LaPierre, Ann Mortifee and Jayne Eastwood.Rick Groen, "Popular mini-series dominates ACTRA awards: Empire earns big dividend". ''The Globe and Mail
'' ...
in 1984, for her work on ''Variety Tonight''. She was also nominated, but did not win, at the 12th ACTRA Awards in 1983, and at the 14th ACTRA Awards in 1985.
In 1985, after the cancellation of ''Variety Tonight'' she became host of ''Gabereau'', a daily interview show. The show aired in the same time slot as ''Variety Tonight'' for its first season. In January 1986 she announced that she would be leaving the show at the end of the season to pursue other interests; she was ultimately convinced to change her mind and remain with the network, although her show moved to a weekly airing on Saturdays and its nightly time slot was taken over by Stan Carew's new ''
Prime Time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
''. It returned to daily airing again in 1988 as an afternoon show.
She was one of the CBC's most popular and beloved hosts until her departure in 1997, when she moved to CTV, for which she hosted a television talk show, ''The Vicki Gabereau Show'', for eight seasons.
Her radio program was replaced in the fall of 1997 by '' Richardson's Roundup'', hosted by
Bill Richardson
William Blaine Richardson III (November 15, 1947 – September 1, 2023) was an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the List of governors of New Mexico, 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was U.S. ambassador to ...
. She published an
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, ''This Won't Hurt a Bit'', and a
cookbook
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.
Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...
collecting some of her favourite recipes sent in by her CBC radio listeners.
In 2005, she was named by
ACTRA
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...
as the recipient of its John Drainie Award for lifetime achievement in Canadian broadcasting."Vicki Gabereau to be honoured at Banff TV fest".
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 private, not-for-profit c ...
, May 25, 2005.
In 2013, it was announced that a retired Gabereau had partnered with a childhood friend to launch a shoe company called VG Shoes.
She makes regular fundraising appearances on the
Knowledge Network
Knowledge Network, also branded as British Columbia's Knowledge Network and K:, is a Canadian publicly funded educational cable television network serving the province of British Columbia. It is owned by the Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crow ...
and is a three-time
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Eve Gabereau, a step-daughter and five grandchildren.