Arthur Black, the Canadian humorist and CBC radio broadcaster who chronicled his terminal cancer diagnosis with his signature wit, has died at age 74.
Black died Wednesday in Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement on his website.
Black was with the CBC for three decades, two decades of which were spent hosting the Saturday morning radio program Basic Black. He retired in 2002 but continued to contribute to various programs, including a segment called Planet Salt Spring which ran on CBC’s All Points West.
Black announced in January that he had been diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer and promised his fans he would “chronicle the journey right here for as long as my fingers type.”
In his first blog post, he wrote: “Hardly seems fair that PanCan bellies up to the bar next to me, spoiling for a brawl ... but it’s not news that life — and death — aren’t fair. If they were I’d be signed up for the Old Timers’ Decathlon and Trump would be waving his diagnosis around yelling PANCREATIC CANCER??? FAKE NEWS!!!”
Jo-Ann Roberts, former host of CBC Radio’s Victoria-based All Points West and a friend of Black’s, said it was only natural that Black tackled a taboo subject with his quintessential quirkiness.
“That was Arthur. He used humour to let you digest some of the most difficult conversations. He gave you a spoonful of humour and it made it easier to swallow,” Roberts said.
Black called pancreatic cancer “the Mike Tyson of cancers” and noted that it “took out Pavorotti, Joan Crawford, Count Basie — even Steve Jobs, with all his billions and his brilliance.”
In the statement posted on his website, his family said they are grateful for the messages of support and good wishes received during his struggle with pancreatic cancer.
“It will come as no surprise to those who have been fans of Arthur’s work that he faced it all with his own unique combination of defiance and good humour,” the statement read.
Black was a three-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for his books Pitch Black, Black Tie and Tales, and Black in the Saddle Again.
Black loved life on Salt Spring Island, Roberts said, where he would chronicle the weird and wacky that is human nature.
In his home, Black worked in a sun-drenched office filled with books, newspaper clippings and “odd bits of the unique” that he’d picked up to inspire future writing, Roberts said.
“Arthur’s passing underlines something we are losing in Canada and that is those Canadian icons,” said Ken Kelly, Roberts’ husband and former head of the Downtown Victoria Business Association. “The CBC has been that platform for Canadians to learn about their unique and sometimes quirky country.”
"We called him Art, as in ‘work of,’ ” CBC Radio host Shelagh Rogers wrote on Twitter. “Adored him as a colleague and as a friend. He, and his singular brand of humour, will be deeply missed.” Rogers quoted EB White: “Humour plays close to the big, hot fire which is the truth” and said that’s something Black knew instinctively.
Madeline Green, executive producer of CBC Victoria, wrote on Twitter that the last email she received earlier this week from Black included a joke and “a reminder to go hug someone right now.”
Black leaves behind his wife Lynne Raymond and two children.
