Patrick Watson, a veteran Canadian actor, producer, television host and one-time president of the CBC/Radio-Canada broadcasting company, has passed away. He is 92 years old.
Watson died Monday of natural causes; No further details are available. “From his beginnings as a teen actor on CBC Radio’s The Kootenay Kidwith his long career with CBC News and his time as CBC/Radio-Canada board chair, Patrick Watson’s contribution to Canada’s public broadcaster and his service to the people of Canada in some areas is far-reaching, has made a difference and will not be forgotten anytime soon,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio Canada said in a statement Tuesday. The Hollywood Reporter.
Born on December 23, 1929 in Toronto, 14-year-old Watson began acting as part of CBC’s children’s series The Kootenay Kid. After graduating from the University of Michigan and then the University of Toronto, Watson began working with CBC Television in 1955, before becoming a full-time producer on series such as Close and Investigation.
In 1964, Watson helped develop and launch the CBC series Now there are seven days, A series of political news magazines ran for two years before the CBC ended the show and fired Watson and co-host Laurier Lapierre. Watson worked for a CTV affiliate in Ottawa and in 1981 launched CBS Cable, a 24-hour arts and cultural service that operated for a year in the US network.
In addition, Watson also worked as a screenwriter and director on Jacques Cousteau’s Undersea World, be held Watson Report, Live from Lincoln Center and 50th State for WPBS channel 13 New York. He has also created, produced, and hosted a TV show The fight for democracySold in 30 countries.
In 1989, Watson returned to the CBC, this time as president, a position he held for five years until 1994 and during a period of cost-cutting for the pub. He was made Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and promoted to Companion of the Order in 2002.
