90 Minutes Live
CBC Television convinced journalist Peter Gzowski to front this late-night talk show after the success at the helm of CBC Radio's This Country in The Morning. In 1976, late-night talk shows were new territory for CBC Television, and the show was panned from the start. But Gzowski soldiered on for two seasons, interviewing a host of personalities including Wayne Gretzky, Stan Lee, Iggy Pop and Foster Hewitt. Highlights included Robin William's comedy improv and Karen Kain teaching Gzowski a ballet lift. Created by Peter Herrndorf, the 11:30 p.m. show ended in 1978.
43 television clips
90 Minutes Dead
Broadcast Date: May 12, 1978
"This is it," says a relaxed Peter Gzowski, lighting a cigarette and loosening his tie. The host of the much-maligned 90 Minutes Live on CBC-TV finally looks comfortable as he addresses his viewers. But it's too late. After two years of stinging criticism and dismal ratings, CBC has finally pulled the plug on Gzowski's late-night show. In the closing moments of the last 90 Minutes Live, Gzowski admits the criticisms have hurt but says it was an experience he wouldn't have missed for the world.90 Minutes Dead
• One infamous moment on 90 Minutes Live involved a sliced finger and a whip. Pierre Berton, during a food processor demonstration, accidentally sliced his finger to the bone. He was rushed to the hospital and his finger was saved.• "90 Minutes Live wasn't all bad," Gzowski wrote in his memoir The Private Voice: A Journal of Reflections. Some of Gzowski's "good moments" included: Margaret Atwood revealing her alter ego as cartoonist Bart Gerrard, lifting ballerina Karen Kain, cartoonist Terry Mosher's "shocking" drawing of Gzowski and a young Robin Williams performing an impromptu comedy routine.
• Following the cancellation, Gzowski hit a low point in both his professional and personal life. It was at this time that his marriage ended after 20 years.
• After his disastrous stint on 90 Minutes Live, Gzowski returned to his first love, writing. He often described himself as a writer who was working in broadcast for a while.
• Gzowski wrote numerous books including: Spring Tonic (1979), a collection of writings, illustrations and photographs marking the coming of spring in Canada; The Sacrament (1980), a true story of two airplane crash survivors; and The Game of Our Lives (1981), his account of the hockey season he spent travelling with the Edmonton Oilers and the teenage Wayne Gretzky.
90 Minutes Dead
Medium: Television
Program: 90 Minutes Live
Broadcast Date: May 12, 1978
Host: Peter Gzowski
Duration: 5:03
Last updated:
Nov. 14, 2005
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90 Minutes Live
90 Minutes Dead.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Nov. 14, 2005.
[Page consulted on Feb. 16, 2012.]