Sam Yuchtman
Sam Yuchtman | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 15, 1910 |
| Died | June 26, 1979 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Musician and radio host |
Sam Yuchtman (January 15, 1910 – June 26, 1979)[1][2] was a Toronto broadcaster, entertainer and cantor[3] best known for hosting radio shows in Yiddish and English oriented towards the Jewish community in the city.
Yuchtman was born in Lublin, Poland and moved to Winnipeg around 1917, when he was a teenager, to join his father who had emigrated to Canada earlier.[4][5] He moved to Toronto in 1936, where he became responsible for bringing Yiddish actors to the Standard Theatre on Spadina Avenue where he also produced and directed several productions.[5]
After World War II, he became one of Toronto's first "Jewish language" radio producers,[6] first at CKFH,[3] then at CFGM,[7] and finally at CHIN radio, Toronto's first multilingual radio station.[6]
In 1948, Yuchtman brought The Jewish Hour (known in Yiddish as Di Yidishe Shtunde),[7] to CKFH[3] after originating it at CKTB, a radio station in nearby St. Catharines, Ontario.[5] It was one of several Jewish, and for many years predominantly Yiddish-language radio programs broadcasting under that or similar names in Toronto and in Jewish population centres around North America. Sam Yuchtman's Jewish Hour became the longest-running Jewish radio program in Toronto.[8][4] He brought the show to CHIN when it was launched in 1966 and Yuchtman was hired as the station's first producer.[3] Following his retirement in 1976 the show was hosted by his daughter Zelda Young[3][8] and became known as The Zelda Show and broadcast only in English. Zelda Young hosted the show until her death in September 2023 at the age of 73.[9]
Yuchtman ran for council in North York, Ontario in the 1966 municipal election but was lost to Robert Yuill.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ https://data.jewishgen.org/imagedata/jowbr/CAN-02692/BL03_C69.jpg
- ^ American Jewish Committee Yearbook, 1981
- ^ a b c d e Gottlieb, Sheila, "Zelda Young: Giving it voice", Lifestyles Magazine, undated
- ^ a b "Dad, daughter, works as team on radio show", Toronto Star (1971-2009); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]09 Sep 1976: E3.
- ^ a b c d https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=140571
- ^ a b TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS FOR THE CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, September 20, 2002
- ^ a b "Zelda Young | Ontario Jewish Archives". search.ontariojewisharchives.org. Retrieved Aug 28, 2021.
- ^ a b About Zelda, zeldayoung.com, accessed on December 31, 2007
- ^ "Sign Offs". Broadcast Dialogue. October 5, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
External links[edit]
- "Founder Sam Yuchtman". Zelda Young.
- Canadian radio hosts
- Hazzans
- 1979 deaths
- Jewish Canadian musicians
- Singers from Toronto
- 1910 births
- 20th-century Canadian male singers
- Yiddish-speaking people
- People from Lublin
- Polish emigrants to Canada
- Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent
- Yiddish theatre
- Canadian theatre directors
- Canadian theatre managers and producers
- Ontario municipal politicians