Year Born:
1945
Year Died:
2015
Year of Induction:
2007
Member of CAB Hall of Fame
Latremouille, Fred (1945-2015)
Fred Latremouille was born on October 21st 1945 in Nanaimo B.C., and the family moved later to Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, where his father became director of CBC Radio. There, Fred attended West Van High School, and then Kitsilano High School. His first broadcasting job was with CKYL, a country and western station in Peace River, Alberta, where he moved in 1961 to take the job when he was only sixteen, and still in Grade 11. There, he read the news and did a morning show. The General Manager thought Latremouille was a bit of a mouthful for a broadcaster, and suggested a change to Fred Lane – but that didn’t last long, and Fred Latremoullle was to remain a name in Western Canada broadcasting for the next 40-plus years. He was known as a “broadcaster’s broadcaster”, for his constant ability to establish a strong bond with his various audiences. He was also for much of the time in Vancouver known simply as Fred Latremo.
In 1962, after a year of getting his feet wet (so to speak) in Peace River, Fred moved back to Vancouver, and eventually got himself hired by CJOR-AM, where he did the drive-home show from 1962 to 1964, and in the process became the first local DJ to play the Beatles, and the new Motown sound. In 1964 he moved from CJOR to CFUN, where he only stayed a year, leaving after a disagreement with the program director, Red Robinson, who was later to become a very close friend. It was around this time that Fred played drums with a rock group, the Classics – the same group that backed him when he issued his single, Latromotion/Good Lovin’ in 1964.
In 1965, after a brief stint at CFAX Victoria, Fred was hired by CKLG Vancouver, where he stayed for two years. He then spent a brief while away from radio, as co-editor of the Georgia Straight magazine, but by the early seventies he was back on the air, as morning host with CFUN.
As well as being a major radio personality, Fred’s image as a ‘with it’ young DJ had made him in demand for television work. From 1964 to 1966 he hosted Let’s Go for CBC Vancouver; later, in 1968, he was to host another CBC Vancouver TV series, New Sounds, and in the 1970s he hosted CBC Vancouver’s Hourglass news package. He also spent some time as the weatherman for BCTV, the CTV Vancouver affiliate station, where he also hosted their Dance Party show. In the summer of 1977, he hosted Fred and Friends, the latest in a number of summer series produced by the CBC under the umbrella title Summer Of…….
Fred also appeared in several films in the late seventies and early eighties, including a Man, a Woman and a Bank, the Plutonium Incident, The Changeling and Jane Doe.
In 1984 Fred was back at CFUN doing the morning show, where he teamed up with Cathy Baldazzi, who was doing traffic and news, but whose many talents Fred integrated into the program more and more, until it became the Fred and Cathy show. The team stayed at CFUN – and eventually married in 1987 – until 1993, when they moved over to yet another Vancouver station, KISS-FM (CKKS-FM), for what proved to be a seven-year stay with their morning show, Latremornings.
They then took a long break, but after six years dividing their time between their homes in Vancouver and Maui, they decided they were ready to get back to work. They began hosting their revived Latremornings morning show over Vancouver’s Clear-FM (CKCL-FM) on September 5th 2006, which had just changed over to an Adult Contemporary format, and quickly regained their old popularity levels with radio listeners. However, after just over a year the Latremouilles decided in November 2007 that it really was time for them to retire, and they returned to their winter retreat in Hawaii.
From his earliest days as a broadcaster, Fred Latremouille was known for his generosity to fellow broadcasters, as well as his willingness to encourage aspiring young talent wanting to make it in the profession. His work for charity included starting the Pan Pacific Christmas Wish Breakfast, which helped the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau raise funds for needy children, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In November 2007, Fred Latremouille’s exceptional career in broadcasting was recognized by his induction into the CAB Hall of Fame.
Fred Latremouille died on March 19th 2015, at the age of 69, after a short illness.
Written by Pip Wedge –