First black broadcaster in Canada ‘indefatigable’
‘Outstanding leader’ with engaging ways
ESPIONAGE BECOMES LIKE A DRUG. IT MAKES LIFE VERY EXCITING. YOU KNOW THINGS OTHER PEOPLE DON’T KNOW — YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING UNDER THE SURFACE. — ALINE GRIFFITH, U. S.-BORN SPY WHO BECAME COUNTESS OF ROMANONES
Fil Fraser, a prolific storyteller and filmmaker and a leader in the human rights movement, was Canada’s first black broadcaster, landing a job at the age of 19 at Foster Hewitt’s CKFH Radio in Toronto.
Born in Montreal in 1932, Felix (Fil) Blache-Fraser was the eldest of six children. As a black English speaker in Montreal, he knew what it was to be discriminated against; he channelled those experiences into his work.
“He was an outstanding leader,” said Ron Scrimshaw, a member of the Alberta Human Rights Commission who worked with Fraser in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “He was a humble man. He didn’t toot his own horn, although he had lots of horns to toot.”
He died in Edmonton after a lengthy illness. He was 85.
The job with the legendary Hewitt was the first of many radio and television gigs Fraser held across Canada. He founded a newspaper, the Regina Weekly Mirror, known for chronicling Tommy Douglas’s efforts to create Medicare in Saskatchewan.
In 1965, Fraser moved to Edmonton and became a senior producer at Canada’s first educational television channel, known as MEETA ( Metropolitan Edmonton Educational Television Association), the forerunner of Alberta’s ACCESS television network. He became a popular public figure, known for his warm and engaging approach on his CJCA Radio talk show, the highest- rated local program from 1974 to 1979. Later, he moved to ITV television with The Fil Fraser Show, following up a few years later with Newsmakers.
“Anybody that was interviewed by him on radio or on television over the many years, he was able to make them feel at ease so they were willing to reveal,” said Gladys Odegard, his wife of 35 years.
“He had the ability to understand every person and value them for who they were,” she said. “He was nonjudgmental and had an incredibly inquisitive and curious mind. He was very sharp and could look at all sides of issues, and also had a personality that was not egotistical. It wasn’t about him at all. He was a very kind and gentle person.”
Fraser’s years as an interviewer reflected his love of storytelling, also revealed through feature films that populate Fraser’s extensive resume. He formed his own production company in the 1970s that focused on western tales, including the pioneering drama based on the book by Max Braithwaite, Why Shoot the Teacher? and Marie- Anne, about the first European woman at Fort Edmonton. The Hounds of Notre Dame, starring the Genie- winning actor Tom Peacock, was about Father Athol Murray, founder of the storied boys’ school in Wilcox, Sask.
“Fil was a wonderful gogetter,” said his colleague, Edmonton filmmaker Tom Radford. “He took on big challenges with those first feature films. Fil would not rest. He was indefatigable. He had a sense of Canada that was firmly rooted here in the West, but which was never separate from Quebec or Ontario.”
Fraser, a member of the Order of Canada, founded the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association, and established a master’s program in Canadian film at Athabasca University. Between 1995 and 2000, he and Gladys lived in Toronto, where he was the chief executive officer of Vision TV. The author of three books, Fraser received the Alberta Award of Excellence in 2015.
Edmonton lawyer Shirish Chotalia worked with Fraser from 1989 to 1992 when he led the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
“He was wonderful. He was the first black chief commissioner and because of him, and his support, we had a very diverse commission, with three women, four men, a Métis person, a Hindu and a Muslim,” recalls Chotalia.
Under Fraser’s leadership, the commission decided to hear complaints about discrimination based on sexual orientation, including the groundbreaking complaint filed by Delwin Vriend, who lost his job because he was gay. The commission’s decision was overruled by the Alberta government, but later supported after a long battle to the Supreme Court.
Fraser is survived by four children, as well as two stepchildren with Odegard, and their families. Their relationship was one of “love at first sight,” says Odegard, and the two celebrated the anniversary of their first date every year, in addition to their wedding anniversary.
“It was a very romantic story, and we had that relationship to the very last day,” says Odegard. “He said ‘ You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.’ And I felt the same way.”
An avid tennis player until his mid 70s, Fraser slowed down in the last years of his life. Odegard says he wasn’t the same after back surgery five years ago; recently, he battled several bouts of pneumonia.
Fraser will be remembered at a public memorial to be held in early 2018.