Jack Dennett

Who was Jack Dennett?

Jack Dennett was a Canadian radio and television announcer. He began his career at the age of sixteen at Calgary's CFAC doing odd jobs such as filing. He began filling in for the regular announcer, when he didn't show up for work. In 1935, Dennett began conducting hockey interviews of players in the Regina Senior Hockey League. He enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1940 but was soon discharged due to suffering stomach ulcers. He returned to radio in Winnipeg at CKRC then shortly moved to Toronto in 1943 to take over newscasts. He eventually took over the full time slots in 1949. He became a regular on the radio and television broadcasts for the Saturday Night Imperial Esso Hockey, later Hockey Night in Canada. He stopped broadcasting NHL radio games in 1962 and continued on in television. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1975 and had surgery in January 1975 and returned to work and left just a month before his death. That month, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He is also notable for having interviewed more Prime Ministers than any other from R.B. Bennett to Pierre Trudeau.

He is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.