by Mike Cleaver » Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:14 pm
Ralph did anchor on CFCN doing the 6pm 'cast when I was working in Calgary at CKXL in 1971-'72.
People at competing stations were friendly with each other and would often go out for a few wobbly pops or barley sandwiches together.
I got to know Ralph quite well through our mutual memberships in RTNDA and attending one memorable pool party at CFCN ND Thompson MacDonald's place after Ralph became Mayor of Calgary.
After about an hour, he sent his handlers home and let his hair down with his media buddies from across Canada.
Many drinks were had and many indulged in some lit material and a great time was had as he reverted to Ralph the news guy.
It was the reporting and anchoring that he did that gave him the high profile and enabled his win of the Mayor's chair.
We re-connected again when I worked at CJCA in Edmonton, doing several interviews with him in person and on the phone.
He was the people's Premier, down to earth, loved to have a good time during his jaunts to that sleazy beer parlour in that seedy downtown Calgary hotel, the name of which escapes me.
I'll miss Ralph, a great Mayor and Premier but I'll always remember him as the news person he was, back in the early '70s.
And unless someone has some black and white 16mm film that we used to shoot TV news back then, I doubt there is much video as the film generally was dumped after a few years and any videotape that existed would have been re-used almost immediately (2" quad reels were expensive.)
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada
54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations