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The Gouzenko Affair
Gouzenko makes the Front Page
Broadcast Date: Feb. 18, 1958
Igor Gouzenko's defection in 1945 is the biggest media sensation since the war. Fearing for his life, Gouzenko goes into hiding but his revelations generate such interest in Soviet espionage that he is eventually coaxed into a rare media appearance.Thirteen years after his defection, Gouzenko agrees to appear on live television for the first time, as a mystery guest on CBC's Front Page Challenge. For security reasons he wears his signature bag over his head.
Gouzenko makes the Front Page
• Front Page Challenge is Canada's longest-running television program, running from 1957 to 1995.
• Among the guests were Canadian prime ministers Louis St. Laurent, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau and Joe Clark.
• Pierre Berton, who guesses Gouzenko is the mystery guest, has written 46 books (many about Canadian history) and has won three Governor General's Awards.
Gouzenko makes the Front Page
Medium: Television
Program: Front Page Challenge
Broadcast Date: Feb. 18, 1958
Guest(s): Bob Considine, Igor Gouzenko
Host: Fred Davis
Panellist: Pierre Berton, Toby Robins, Gordon Sinclair
Duration: 11:15
Last updated:
April 8, 2008
Gouzenko makes the Front Page.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: April 8, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]