Tommy Hunter

Thomas James Hunter CM OOnt (March 20, 1937 – July 2, 2026) was a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, Country Hoedown. The Tommy Hunter Show began as a CBC Radio program in 1960, replacing the long-running variety show The Happy Gang, and went on to replace Country Hoedown on CBC Television in 1965; Hunter's show was picked up by TNN in 1983 and ran on CBC until 1992. Performers on the show included singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in the early years of his own musical career. People who performed on The Tommy Hunter Show early in their careers include: Garth Brooks Shania Twain, then known as Eileen Twain The Judds Yvonne Murray After his show was cancelled by the CBC, Hunter continued to tour with his band, The Travelling Men. He retired after his final tour in 2012. Hunter was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1986, Hunter was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He received three Canadian Juno Awards and one Gemini Award. In 1990, he was given a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame's "Walkway of Stars". A street ("Tommy Hunter Way") was also renamed in his honour in his hometown of London, Ontario, in the late 1990s. He became a member of the Order of Ontario in 1996. In 2005 he was honoured with a GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is handed out annually by the Gospel Music Association of Canada. Tommy Hunter received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Hunter died of natural causes at the age of 89 in a retirement home in London, Ontario. Family members and his rescue dog were at his bedside. RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 7 October 15, 1983 - Page 16 Watch for yet another YVONNE MURRAY guest appearance on the Tommy Hunter Show, October 21st, 8:00 pm EST, CDC. Saxberg, Lynn (January 27, 2009). "Canada's country gentleman a long way from done". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2009. Dixon, Guy (January 9, 2011). "Tommy Hunter hangs up his guitar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 16, 2023. Stevenson, Jane (July 3, 2026). "'Canada's Country Gentleman' Tommy Hunter, host of long-running TV show, dies at 89". Toronto Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2026. Weaver, Jackson (July 3, 2026). "Tommy Hunter, 'Canada's Country Gentleman,' dead at 89". CBC News. Retrieved July 3, 2026. Official website Tommy Hunter at IMDb The Canadian Encyclopedia: Tommy Hunter Tommy Hunter discography at Discogs