Patrick Watson fonds

Biographical History

Writer, producer, host, and actor Patrick Watson has played a pivotal role in the development of Canadian television. Watson was born in Toronto in 1929, and by the age of fourteen he was acting in the daily CBC radio children's series, The Kootenay Kid. By 1955, Watson had earned a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Toronto, and was on his way to completing a Ph.D in Linguistics at the University of Michigan; however, the lure of broadcasting was strong, and Watson began freelancing for CBC Television. Shortly thereafter, he joined the staff and began producing Close-Up (1957-60) and Inqui’ry (1960-64). In 1964 Patrick and co-producer Douglas Leiterman developed This Hour Has Seven Days, an innovative public affairs series with a magazine format that set investigative reporting and documentary features alongside satirical songs and sketches. Over its 50-episode, two-year lifespan, This Hour drew an audience of three million viewers before a rising tide of complaints from politicians and public figures prompted the CBC to pull the show off the air, and to fire co-hosts Watson and Laurier Lapierre. The move occasioned an avalanche of angry letters, public demonstrations, a parliamentary committee hearing, and a special investigation by an appointee of the prime minister.
After a brief period (June 1969 - March1970) at the CTV Ottawa affiliate CJOH, Watson worked as writer/producer/director on The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and as host/interviewer on The Watson Report, The Canadian Establishment, Flight; The Passionate Affair, Lawyers, Live from Lincoln Centre, The Fifty-First State (for WPBS channel 13 New York), Witness to Yesterday, and The Titans. Watson also hosted a ten-part series, The Struggle for Democracy (produced in both English and French with Watson as host) which garnered him a Gemini and a Gemaux.
Watson was named Chairman of the CBC in 1989. During the five years that he spent in that position, he handled severe budget cuts and demands for the privatization of the Corporation. He resigned from the Chairmanship in 1994.
In 1988, Watson had been appointed Creative Director and principal writer of the CRB Foundation's Heritage Minutes project. On leaving the Corporation he resumed his work on this series of more than 60 cinematic dramatizations of moments from Canada's past, and more recently has been helping create a similar series of 90-second dramatizations for radio, under the auspices of The Historical Foundation of Canada.
While most of Watson’s career has been as a broadcaster, he has also performed roles in Bethune, Terry Fox: The Movie, Countdown to Looking-Glass and The Fourth Angel. In addition, he has written on a wide variety of topics, including religion, science, art, music, politics, human rights, the practice of magic, journalism, history, and broadcasting. Watson’s autobiography, This Hour Has Seven Decades, was published in 2004.
Watson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 for promoting excellence in television and radio, and in 2002 he was promoted to Companion of the Order. Over his career, he has received many awards, including two Canadian Film Awards, two Emmys, the Academy of Canadian Film and Television's Margaret Collier Award for Writing, and a number of ACTRA Awards, including the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism. He has honorary doctorates in Letters and in Laws, and is a holder of the Canada 125 Medal and the Queen's 50th Anniversary Jubilee Medal.
A man of diverse interests, Watson is a fully qualified pilot and practicing magician. He has also served on numerous boards of advisers, such as the National Film Board (1984 – 1987), Canadian Centre for Arms Control, ACTRA, Writer’s Union of Canada, Civil Liberties Association, March of Dimes, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and the Canadian Abilities Foundation. Watson has been married twice (his second wife, Caroline Bamford, is also his business partner) and is the father of three children.