The life and career of Tommy Hunter, the humble musician and host who defined a generation of Canadian television

Many Canadians of a particular age likely have fond memories of The Tommy Hunter Show. The long-running TV variety show appealed to young and old alike. It featured great country and bluegrass musical acts, launched what seemed like a thousand careers—and did it all with plenty of smiles and subtle touches of humour.

The focal point was the show’s host, Tommy Hunter. He was a talented musician and TV personality who was admired in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. He lived out his childhood dream of becoming a country musician and showcased his favourite musical genre to the Great White North. He seemed thankful that he had been afforded the unique opportunity to walk in the giant footsteps of his musical idols.

Hunter was known as “Canada’s Country Gentleman.” It was the perfect moniker for this humble, down-to-earth man who seemed to genuinely like people just as much as they liked him. That’s why the news of his passing on July 2 at age 89 hit so hard.

Born and raised in London, Ont., Hunter’s path to stardom was an unlikely one. His father was a railroad worker, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia, and he didn’t grow up in a country music hub. Nevertheless, he enjoyed listening to the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts and “idolizing country music performers Roy Acuff, Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow.”

His life was transformed when his father took him to a show in his hometown featuring Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys in 1946. “When we got there and they dimmed the lights, I didn’t know what to expect,” he told his audience during a 2003 CBC TV special. “I’d never seen a show like that before. But when I heard those guitars and those fiddles, and Roy came out singing, I was swept away. As I sat there in that darkened theatre listening to Roy sing, something took a hold of me that never let go. I decided then and there what I was going to do with my life. I was going to try to sing country music.”

That’s exactly what he did.

Hunter took weekly lessons on a “rented guitar,” the Canadian Encyclopedia noted, “and by age 10 was performing in churches, veterans hospitals and in between movie screenings at local theatres.” He dropped out of school at age 16 to do music full-time. He performed on CHML Hamilton’s Main Street Jamboree and with the Golden Prairie Cowboys in Wingham, Ont. He joined CBC TV’s Country Hoedown in 1956 and had his own CBC Radio program, The Tommy Hunter Show, from 1960-65. When the latter shifted to television and took the slot of the former, his career trajectory skyrocketed.

The Tommy Hunter Show appeared on CBC TV from 1965 to 1992. (The Nashville Network also carried it from 1983 to 1992.) “Essentially a Canadian version of the Grand Ole Opry,” the aforementioned Canadian Encyclopedia entry pointed out, “it was extended from a half-hour to an hour in 1970.” The show featured a who’s who of musical talent in North America. David “Stringbean” Akeman, a legendary U.S. bluegrass banjo player and Grand Ole Opry performer who was part of the original cast of Hee Haw, appeared on Hunter’s first episode on Sept. 17, 1965. Gordon Lightfoot made several appearances, along with Anne Murray, Johnny Cash, Grandpa Jones, Al Cherny, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Rhonda Vincent, Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings and many others. A young Shania Twain appeared on the show in 1979. Several of Hunter’s childhood idols like Acuff and Snow joined him, too.

Hunter would win three consecutive RPM Gold Leaf Awards (which later became the Juno Awards) for Best Male Country Singer between 1967 and 1969. He won a Gemini Award for his TV show in 1992. He was inducted into the Canadian Country Hall of Fame. He’s part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Walkway of Stars in Nashville. He was made a member of the Order of Canada. He even has a street, Tommy Hunter Way, named after him in London.

Yet, one of his greatest personal achievements was the joy and pleasure he brought to millions of people. The Tommy Hunter Show was truly a family affair. Parents and children gathered around the TV set to listen to the music, enjoy the commentary and skits and spend quality time together. Hunter, in turn, became a part of our families. His show provided a welcoming, feel-good environment-and created vivid memories that will last a lifetime.

There were also personal stories about Hunter that showed what a kind and decent soul he truly was. Here’s a great one that Tracey Kent shared with me on X:

“He and his wife were our next-door neighbours at our cottage in Penetanguishene,” she wrote on July 4. “A lovely and kind gentleman. My husband would joke that being with Tommy was the closest he’d ever get to Dolly Parton. He’d laugh with a sly smile.”

When you put it all together, Hunter was a once-in-a-lifetime personality in Canadian country music. He used the medium of television to connect with audiences and give them a few moments of pleasure and the ability to briefly escape the harsh realities of everyday life. The country gentleman of our fair country will be greatly missed.

Rest in peace, Tommy.

Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.