Year Born: 1934
Year of Induction: 2007
Member of CAB Hall of Fame
Glatt, Harvey (1934- )
Harvey Glatt was born in Ottawa on March 28th, 1934. He graduated from Glebe Collegiate in 1951, and in 1956 from Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam N.Y. with a Bachelor in Business Administration, with a special mention on the Dean’s List.
During his summer vacation in 1952, he was the all-night DJ on CFRA Ottawa where he was not only the sole on-air personality, but also engineer, programmer and newscaster. While studying Business at Clarkson he was a music DJ on the campus radio station. He was also the station’s sports director and many of his play-by-play hockey broadcasts were carried on the Potsdam radio station.
It was in Potsdam that he met and married Louise Jaffee of New York City, who was studying music at the Crane School of Music also in that town.
In 1957, he opened his first record music store, The Treble Clef in Ottawa. It grew to become a chain of 15 record and audio stores.
He became intrigued with the entertainment/music business and with everything it involved, from bringing big names to Ottawa for concerts to helping musicians and singers to get started. The concert company Bass Clef Entertainment Ltd, TCD (Treble Clef Distribution) Ltd. and Bytown Music Publishing Ltd. were some of the many businesses started to help in the development of Canadian performers.
All this led in 1977 to the founding of CHEZ 106 FM in Ottawa. The station would feature more Canadian content than was required, but more importantly for Harvey, these Canadian performers’ works would be heard throughout the day, not just at night. The station did well under his guidance.
In 1979 he sold control of his record stores and in 1985 he sold Bass Clef so that he could spend more time with his radio stations.
In 1984 CHEZ FM bought CKUE and CJET in Smiths Falls, and Harvey came to the rescue of CKIK-FM in Calgary in 1985, with the acquisition of a 75% interest, which he held until 1995.
After selling CHEZ and his Smiths Falls stations to Rogers Broadcasting in 1999, he became a member of the Board of Rogers Media from 1999 through 2005, and the Director of Canadian Music Development for Rogers Media.
One of Ottawa’s foremost philanthropists, Harvey was there to help if indeed he did not start the project himself. In April 1987, Ottawa Magazine noted “He doesn’t say very much, and when he does he says it verrrry quietly, but if it’s true that money talks, then he must be the most vocal booster the city’s entertainment community had. Glatt likes to get involved in projects – and he’s never afraid to dip into his pocket when needed. If you’ve got a good idea you’d like to launch, he’s the one to talk to first.”
He did it with radio.
Harvey Glatt was honoured by his peers by his induction into CAB’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
In December 2008, the CAB publicly applauded the generosity of Harvey and Louise Glatt for having made a substantial donation to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, that enabled the NAC to instal an assistive audio system to enhance the theatrical experiences of up to 50 hard of hearing patrons.
Written by Pip Wedge – October, 2008