Prominent Montreal broadcaster Dave Fisher, who retired from a radio career that spanned three decades at CJAD 800, has died.
Fisher died Wednesday morning of a heart attack, according to his family.
He was 71.
Fisher worked at CJAD for 32 years, retiring in 2016 in front of a live audience for his final show. Before signing off for the final time, his name was added to the CJAD Wall of Fame, marking the end of a remarkable broadcasting career in the community that loved him as much as he loved her.
The longtime Montreal radio personality built a devoted following while hosting the station’s weekly Trivia show, a longtime mainstay of the station that remains on the air and is among the highest-rated shows in the market.
A FAMOUS VOICE ON THE MONTREAL AIR
Veteran radio host Ken Connors told CTV News he was “honored and flattered” when he was announced as Fisher’s replacement in 2016 and called the broadcaster’s sudden departure a “devastating blow” to the Montreals.
“Dave was a radio legend and is still in town. He had that warm, lovely voice for so many years that CJAD, he hosted Saturday and Sunday mornings – the weekend show – and of course the trivia show and he was just a welcome presence in so many homes and so many lives in for decades, really,” Connors said in an interview Wednesday.
Fisher, a familiar voice on the Montreal airwaves for years, connected with the audience instantly during his segments in such a way that you felt like he was part of the family, Connors said.
“He was so good at what he did and just an amazing broadcaster – truly one of the giants of the city.”
Fisher made his radio debut in Lindsey, Ontario. before working in Peterborough, Ottawa and Winnipeg. He made Montreal his home in 1984, keeping the same until his retirement.
He claims that among the major stories he covered as a broadcaster, it was the ice storm of 1998 that really stuck with him. Although CJAD was taken off the air, he went into the office and answered calls from Montreal residents.
“For me, it’s all about the listeners… who really are better than Google. If you want to know something, just ask. They were my motivation,” Fisher said at the time.
FISHER REMEMBERED AS ‘MONREAL RADIO MASTERPIECE’
CJAD morning show host Andrew Carter recalls first meeting Fisher as a young newsroom reporter in the mid-1980s and admiring his innate ability to step in when needed.
“He was never beholden to management. He was himself. At times he could come across as an underdog when it came to dealing with management, but he never budged an inch. I respected that because it’s so hard to do,” Carter told The Elias Makos Show. “This is a difficult day for the CJAD family.”
Fisher’s impact even went beyond the borders of Montreal. Vermont radio host Robert Welch tweeted that he was “saddened” by his death as a regular listener to his shows in the 1990s.
Oh my gosh it makes me sad to read this. Except for the times I wasn’t on that shift at my station, I listened to Dave Fisher on CJAD. As a freshman in Lyndonville, VT in 1998, CJAD was the weekend station. He just sounded like a friendly uncle in Montreal.
— Robert Welch (@Robert_Welch914) July 20, 2022
Former colleagues, friends and long-time listeners also offered their condolences on social media, writing that he was born to be the broadcaster he became and describing him as a “kind, classy and funny man”.
Saddened by the news of the passing of longtime CJAD host, Dave Fisher. A Montreal radio staple for 32 years, he was a CJAD Hall of Famer. He retired in 2016 and was looking forward to it. Dave and I were colleagues during my time at CJAD. Condolences to his family pic.twitter.com/I1yJ6QHBCx
— Terry DiMonte (@TerryDiMonte) July 20, 2022
Some people are born to be broadcasters, Dave was one of them. He made hosting his show and engaging his listeners look almost effortless. Dave Fisher wasn’t the consummate professional, he was the consummate professional. An excruciatingly sad day for Radio Montreal.
— Aaron Rand (@aaronrand) July 20, 2022
Saddened by the sudden passing of an old mentor, Dave Fisher. Like so many other broadcasters in Montreal, I started my career working “behind the board” with Dave on weekend mornings; a learning experience that had a huge impact on my future. Condolences to Dave’s family.
— Mark Bergman (@MarkBergmanMTL) July 21, 2022
Dan Laxer, longtime co-host of The CJAD 800 Trivia Show with Dave, said Fisher was a mentor to him as a young radio announcer. Responding to his death on Wednesday, he said Fisher carved a niche in radio that attracted listeners looking for that “special” dose of Dave on the weekends.
“There’s a certain combination that a radio talker needs — that combination of a sense of humor, a sense of gravity, a sense of friendliness, and he understood that sense of community. As much as I say, he energizes the team around him, he really energizes the weekend listeners who tune in not to hear news and sports and whatever they’re talking about, [but] “let’s listen dave.”
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