Herrndorf started out as a reporter in Winnipeg. Later, he became the director of the National Arts Center
Peter Herrndorf, a well-known Canadian journalist and news programmer who later ran the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, has died at the age of 82.
Matthew Herrndorf said that his father died early Saturday morning at a hospital in Toronto, surrounded by his family. It was cancer that did it.
Matthew Herrndorf said, “He lived a big, important, and significant life, and it’s hard to put into words what he meant to us and what he meant to Canada.”The Canadian Press on Saturday.
Herrndorf joined the CBC in Winnipeg in 1965 and worked there until he became a vice president. He helped create long-running shows likeThe Fifth Estate and The Journal.
He later became the publisher of Toronto Life magazine and the chairman and chief executive officer of TVO.
Then, in 1999, he started a nearly 19-year job as president and CEO of the National Arts Centre (NAC), where he also helped start the National Arts Centre Foundation and the Indigenous Theatre Department.
Christopher Deacon, who took over as head of the NAC in 2018 after Herrndorf’s retirement, said that Herrndorf’s love of telling stories was what tied together his long and varied career.
“The common thread was the way we tell stories to communicate, to find meaning, and to share that meaning and sense of community,” Deacon told the CBC on Saturday.
Deacon said that Herrndorf was a “brilliant” arts administrator, but that what made him really stand out was how friendly and open he was. He said that Herrndorf was always in the NAC’s “green room,” or mess hall, talking to everyone from stagehands to performers.
“He saw it as a place where everyone could meet on equal footing,” Deacon said. “I really liked getting to see how he did it.” Peter used his people skills to help the institution reach its goals.
Love of deep conversation
Steve Paikin, who hosts The Agenda, TVO’s most popular news show, said that he owed his long career at TVO to Herrndorf and that he’ll miss Herrndorf’s love of “deep conversations.”
Paikin told the CBC, “He once gave me one of the best lines.”
” He said, “If I want a thrilling sporting event to attack my senses, I’ll take my son to a basketball game.” “But if I want to know what’s going on with my daughter, I’ll take her to a baseball game.”
Paikin also liked that Herrndorf had an open-door policy and talked about the “chairman’s breakfasts,” where everyone could say what they thought.
“When Peter Herrndorf was in charge, you never had to worry about whether or not he cared.” “You could tell he cared,” Paikin said. “He was the real deal when it came to journalism, art, and culture.”
Journalism came first, then the arts
Herrndorf was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Winnipeg. In 1962, he got a degree in English and political science from the University of Manitoba. His biography on the NAC’s website said that he went on to study law at Dalhousie University and get a master’s degree in administration from Harvard Business School.
He told the CBC that after the Second World War, his parents moved from Europe to Winnipeg.Sunday EditionIn a wide-ranging interview in 2018, not long after he left the NAC,
He said, “I learned that I was Canadian in part by reading Canadian books and listening to CBC Radio.”
Listen to Herrndorf talk about his long and interesting life and career in 2018:
Herrndorf first worked for the CBC in Winnipeg as a reporter. He worked his way up the corporate ladder until he was almost at the top. From 1979 to 1983, he was vice president and general manager of English radio and television.
He helped make programs like90 Minutes Live: The Fifth Estate and The JournalHe also changed the time of the national TV news from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“Peter Herrndorf’s impact on and passion for Canada’s public broadcaster were profound,” Chuck Thompson, the CBC’s head of public affairs, said in an emailed statement. “He had a big impact on programming, but he also made a difference in a lot of other fields, always with kindness, wisdom, and a great spirit.”
Mark Starowicz, who was one of the top producers,The JournalSaid that many Canadians probably haven’t heard of Herrndorf during his time at the CBC.
Mark Starowicz said, “But he changed our lives through what we saw on TV during its best years and through his tireless support of singers, writers, poets, orchestras, and theater.” “He was the best person of his time to fight for and defend Canadian culture.”
Herrndorff helped TVO change its image of being a “very pedagogical kind of teacher’s aide in the classroom,” Paikin said.
“He is the one who said that TVO should do a live, prime-time public affairs show every day in prime time. So, we did just that.
“I will keep his last letter to me as a treasure,” says the artistic director
Herrndorf served on the boards of about 60 arts groups over the course of his career. These groups ranged from the National Magazine Awards to the Stratford Shakespearean Festival.
Antoni Cimolino, who is the artistic director at Stratford, said that Herrndorf was always cutting out articles and sending them to his friends.
“I will always remember the last letter he sent me just a month ago. “The encouraging words there will stay with me forever,” Cimolino said via email.
By the time he took over the NAC, North America’s only bilingual performing arts center, in 1999, Herrndorf had a deep love for the arts and a deep Rolodex.
“As we traveled across Canada, we found that he had ties to a number of cities.” “Everywhere he worked, it was clear that he built bridges,” the deacon said.
Herrndorf oversaw the creation of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, the National Creation Fund, which helps support the production of new works across the country, and the NAC’s scene festivals, where the center celebrated the culture and arts from different parts of Canada.
“Any one of those would be enough to make a career stand out,” said Deacon. “The fact that he has six on his record is what makes him stand out.”
In 2008, Herrndorf got the Order of Ontario for “revolutionizing Canadian broadcasting, publishing, and the performing arts” at the different places he worked.
In 2017, he was given the highest rank in the Order of Canada for his “visionary leadership” in Canada’s cultural scene.
Later, the former governor general, Julie Payette, gave him the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award at the 2018 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
In honor of him, the NAC flags will be at half-staff for the whole month of February, the group said in a news release.
