Former radio host André Arthur died on Sunday at the age of 78.
The news was confirmed late Sunday evening on his Twitter account. Relatives of the family also passed on the information to us. He had announced a few days earlier that he had COVID. The “banal Chinese flu”, he had mentioned on social networks.
As he never did things like the others and he never wanted to be “flat”, here is the message that was sent on his Twitter account late Sunday evening a few days following he was still active in giving his opinions on the news: “Today, May 8, 2022 at Laval Hospital, I died. I leave to mourn my son René (Jade), my 3 wonderful grandchildren, my daughter Pascale (Louis), my sweet Lucy and my brother Louis (Réjane). »
“I have had the privilege of having had a career as a coach driver, a sports referee, elected to the House of Commons as an independent with no party allegiance, a place in the media which I hope left no one indifferent and that I managed to make you laugh,” he added.
To conclude, he recalled a phrase he repeated throughout his career:
” Do me a favor. In gang we know everything!! We need to talk. AA. »
The king
With his outspokenness and his oratorical flights, the controversial morning man outrageously dominated the airwaves and ratings of Quebec radio for a quarter of a century.
Agree or not, a lot of people wanted to know the opinion of André Arthur on the subjects of the day.
His casualness has allowed him to push the limits of the profession and sometimes of good taste. He was the target of numerous libel suits.
His style, which left no one indifferent, brought him to the top on the AM band as much at CJRP as at CHRC, the station with which he was most identified.
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The unveiling of the BLVD 102.1 program in August 2022, André Arthur will share the antenna with Nathalie Normandeau.
He was also co-owner from 1984 to 1995. He weathered it rain or shine with his acolytes Marc Simoneau in sports and Myriam Ségal as a journalist-researcher. It was at this time that he was rehearsing. “A gang we know everything. We need to talk. This sentence will become his trademark.
André Arthur started in radio in 1970 for a summer job. The same year, he abandoned his studies in political science to devote himself to radio. He was an anchor at Télé-4 from 1972 to 1979.
On the radio, he describes himself as the host who defends the little people. In his public affairs program, he often denounces the crass bourgeoisie. He made his reputation.
Highlights
May 8, 1984 will become a significant date for André Arthur and all of Quebec when Corporal Denis Lortie goes to the radio station depositing a cassette there with the information of the acts he was going to commit in the Parliament of Quebec.
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At the courthouse during the appearance of Robert Gilet in the case of juvenile prostitution.
His relationship and his interviews with the owner of the Manoir Richelieu Raymond Malenfant will also mark the imagination. The saga between the businessman and the unionist of the CSN Gérald Larose, Arthur will make his choice. His interview with Walter Sieber for Quebec City’s candidacy for the 2002 Olympic Games is also memorable in the radio world.
Policy
From what he said on the radio, André Arthur had great admiration for his father. René Arthur was a civil servant who became chief of staff for the Liberal Party of Quebec. He hosted on Radio-Canada radio and was considered a person of great distinction. André Arthur’s son is called René. He briefly radioed at CHOI.
André Arthur stood for election in 1994 as an independent provincial candidate and won 29% of the vote. In 1997, at the mayor of Quebec, he obtained 33% once morest Andrée Boucher.
He was finally elected to the federal government twice (2006 and 2008), in the riding of Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier, but he was defeated in 2011. He once once more attracted attention by combining the two functions, that of deputy and radio presenter.
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In 2006, while he was a deputy, he announced that he had prostate cancer.
The last comments that will have reacted, André Arthur will have published them on Twitter. And it was on this platform on May 4 that he wrote that he had COVID.
“A banal Chinese flu becomes a very ferocious blow in the back of the head with the discovery of never-diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Legacy of cigarettes abandoned for over 40 years. »
The next day he was publishing once more. “At the hospital… At the beginning of the evening, I arrive at my 34th “my dear” of the day. Pronounced with the small voice of a daycare worker, it wears down morale. »
Important dates
◆ 1943
He was born on December 21 to a father from Turkey, radio host René Arthur, and a mother from Quebec (Lucie Tanguay). The Arthurs’ real surname was Isakian.
◆ 1970
André Arthur made his debut on Quebec radio at CHRC, the first steps in a long career on this station.
◆ 1972-1979
Anchor at Télé-4 (now TVA Québec).
◆ 1982
He left CHRC for station CJRP, another AM station in Quebec.
◆ 1984
André Arthur buys CHRC and its then sister station, CHOI, along with three businessmen. He also returns as an animator.
◆ 1987
Following the death of former journalist and Premier of Quebec René Lévesque, who hosted the Montreal station CKAC, Arthur was recruited by this antenna to replace him. He also continues to work for CHRC.
◆ 1997
Arthur leaves CHRC.
◆ 2006
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, from which he recovered.
◆ 2015
Arthur returns to CHOI in August. He will be shown the door in April 2016. He then claimed that he was leaving the radio for good.
◆ September 2016
However, he resumes the microphone on the airwaves of BLVD 102.1, in Quebec.
◆ 2018
He was fired from BLVD following remarks deemed homophobic.
Political career
- André Arthur ran for office in 1994 as an independent provincial candidate and won 29% of the vote.
- In 1997, as a candidate for mayor of the former town of Sainte-Foy, he obtained 33% of the votes once morest Andrée Boucher, the winner.
- He was elected federal MP for Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier twice (2006 and 2008), but was defeated in 2011.
– Julie Rheaume
