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Robert Weaver remembered

An industry tribute to the late Robert Weaver, who died last Saturday at the age of 87, was held in Toronto’s Massey College last night (see photo below). Though it was a small, closed gathering, many of the biggest names in the industry were there, including Michael Ondaatje, Robert Fulford, and Scott Griffin. (Alice Munro sent word that she had intended to attend, but poor weather in her part of the province made traveling difficult.)

Margaret Atwood took the podium early in the evening, remarking that Weaver was able to achieve so much at the CBC because the network didn’t feel the need to compete with the “so-called entertainment industry” the way it does now. “It was a golden age,” said Atwood, “and like all golden ages, we didn’t know we were in it until it was over.”

Media tributes to Robert Weaver are manifold. There are obituaries in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail (the latter featuring what seems to be Munro’s only public comment on the late Weaver) as well as a first-person remembrance by Robert Fulford in the National Post. And here’s a full Weaver biography.