EDMONTON BROADCASTERS - Key Persons
It is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of Antonio (Tony) Francesco Biamonte. Predeceased by his parents Joe and Annina, his brother Don, and his loving wife Dorothy, Tony leaves to mourn his three daughters, Nancy (Murray) Sather, Lori-Merle (Bruce) Mohacsy, and Gina (Fred) Albert, and his three grandchildren, Derek Albert, Erin Albert, and Daniel Albert.
Garnet's 32½ years in broadcasting left him with great memories of great times. His career took him variously to CHCA-TV in Red Deer as announcer and Program Director, as well as to CFRN-TV as announcer.
His broadcasting career was centred in Alberta, and it was in Edmonton that Garnet joined the CBC where his work in both radio and television was varied. He was an announcer, a commentator, Producer, and a roving reporter.
Among the highlights of his career, Garnet lists his work with This Land, Country Canada, Points West, and a documentary on the petrochemical industry which he wrote and directed, as well as many radio reports to the CBC Network.
The hobbies which continued to be enjoyed in retirement include blacksmithing, leather work, fly tying, wood carving, fishing, hunting, archery, golf, and black powder shooting competitions. In the latter, Garnet won the black powder muzzle loading championship for Alberta for three out of four years.
A major honour for Garnet was his induction in 1985 into the Alberta Government's Wildlife Hall of Fame, known as The Order of the Big Horn.
George worked 20 plus years in Broadcasting, 14 of those years were with CFRN-TV (now CTV Edmonton) as an Electronic News Gathering Editor. Some of the highlights in his career include: The 1987 Edmonton tornado coverage, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the World Track and Field Games, and the Rick Hanson Man in Motion tour. Previous to that, George co-produced and co-directed Edmonton Alive, an entertainment talk show, and he freelanced for CBC Television, ACCESS (now owned and operated by CHUM), ITV (Global), and Capital Cable (SHAW). Highlights include: The Universiade games 1983, Snowbirds flight 1984, and Operation Maple Flag military exercises near the town of Wainwright, located in east-central Alberta.
Herb August 11, 1936 - June 1, 2010 On Tuesday, June 1, 2010, Herb passed away peacefully after a long and courageous battle with Lung Cancer. Born in Banff, Alberta, Herb was the second son born to Sid and Dora Ashley. He was predeceased by his parents and two uncles, Peter and Paul Kaptey. He is survived by his loving wife, Marguerite; step-daughters, Charlotte Dinelle, Laura (Chris) Skrobot, Theresa (Marcel) Esposito, Patricia (Jerry) Esposito, Michelle Zerr; step-grandchildren, Joseph, Courtney, Nicole, Brandon and Aaron; brother, Cliff (Lillian); nephew, Brad (Lisa) and niece, Christine. He will be sadly missed and remembered by his family and friends. In his youth, Herb played hockey and later was a competitive curler and took a keen interest in race car competitions. As a young boy Herb was an Edmonton Journal carrier which led to a position as the Circulation Editor in 1955. Later, he was recruited by CFRN TV and became a TV Producer and Director, with various television networks across Canada and U.S. His thirty years of service in this industry allowed him to produce and direct "live to air" sports events, educational and commercial programs. His last ten years of television production was with ACCESS Network, in educational programming area. Herb, a toastmaster for 28 years was highly revered in the organization, a valued mentor, educator, and an advocate for the Toastmaster's program. As a volunteer, he produced a television program called "Toastmaster Talk" for twelve years which included interviewing many toastmaster dignitaries from all over the world. Herb was a recipient of numerous awards recognizing his contribution to Toastmasters. He will be fondly remembered by members of the Southern Lights Toastmaster Club and many friends in Toastmasters and the television world. The family wishes to thank all the doctors, nurses and staff at the Grey Nuns Palliative Care Unit and the Norwood Palliative Care Unit for their compassionate and outstanding care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to these organizations. Funeral Service Monday, June 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Park Memorial Chapel, 9709 - 111 Avenue with Reverend Frank Stempfle. Cremation will follow. To send condolences, visit www.parkmemorial.com Park Memorial Edmonton 780-426-0050 Family Owned Funeral Home, Crematorium, Reception Centre
Bio
Herb's interest in the field of communications began early.
From 1954 to 1956, he was the High School Sports Reporter and a News Reporter for the Edmonton Journal. Then he decided to get into the broadcasting business, and went to CFRN-TV, where he remained until 1963. He started out as Audio Operator, and climbed the ladder to reach the position of Senior Television Director.
Biography
A man of many talents, John's broadcasting career encompassed a wide range of positions. He was an announcer, writer, producer, interviewer, book reviewer, cooking show host and men's fashion commentator. After attending Lorne Greene's Academy of Broadcast Arts, 1947-48, he began his career in 1949 at CFGP, Grande Prairie; thence to CFAC, Calgary, CKYL, Peace River, and on to CFRN, Edmonton, in 1955.
Highlights of John's career included interviews with Beverly Sills, Pierre Berton, Harry Belafonte and other notables.
In 1974, after twenty-five years in broadcasting, he moved into Public Relations with the Alberta Government and earned his PR accreditation. His assignments took him all over the world.
Later, he was involved in seminars advising companies on how to deal with the media in emergencies. John retired in 1989. Because of his many satisfying years at CFRN, he still feels his most personal ties to Sunwapta Broadcasting.
A Memorial titled "Tommy Banks - His Life and Legacy Remembered" is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at the Winspear Centre. The program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m.
The man we know in broadcasting as Vik Armen was born Bryan Fustukian in St. Boniface, Manitoba. His love of music became apparent at an early age, and encompassed jazz, big band music, rhythm and blues, classical, country music in its original form, pop music, and in due course, rock.Fustukian began his singing career at thirteen, and combined with other endeavours, continued throughout his working life. It was in Edmonton, when he appeared as a guest singer on an all-night radio show, that he was encouraged to get into radio broadcasting, and to choose his new radio name, Vik Armen.