language, as well as his unique selection of offbeat music and comedy tracks. Long-time announcer McFee, whose programme The Eclectic Circus, preceded Max's show, retired from the CBC in 1989; but he continued to introduce Ferguson's show until failing health forced him to step down in early 1991. Shelagh Rogers, who had appeared fairly regularly starting in the mid-90s as a sort of conversational companion for Ferguson, assumed the announcer's task for the show's final few months. Rogers soon became a top network host in her own right. Max Ferguson retired from broadcasting in 1998, having spent over 50 years at the CBC. Over the years, he garnered many awards, including the 1968 Stephen Leacock Award for humour for his autobiography, And Now...Here's Max. He was appointed an Officer of The Order of Canada in 1970 and in 2001 was chosen as a recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He was the recipient of the John Drainie Award and the Gordon Sinclair Award. He held honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Dalhousie University, the University of Waterloo, Brock University and the University of Saskatchewan. Marriages and Children Ferguson married firstly Norma Georgina "Ginger" Fraser on 9 April 1949; the couple having five children. The marriage with Norma Fraser having ended (she died in 2008), in 1979 Ferguson married secondly former CBC producer Pauline Janitch. The couple had one child, Anthony Ferguson (October 22, 1984). Death Max Ferguson, OC, died of a heart attack on 7 March 2013, at the Northumberland Hills Hospital, Cobourg, Ontario, aged 89 years. His wife, Pauline, and children Scott, Nancy, Anne, Nonie, Bill, and Tony, were by his side. Published works And Now...Here's Max (1967; republished 2009 with new foreword by Shelagh Rogers) The Unmuzzled Max (1971) Has Anybody Seen My Umbrella?, illustrated by Jane Kurisu (1982) References External links Bio on the Canadian Communications Foundation site. audio clips on CBC site archives. Rawhide: Radio Programme at Smithsonian Folkways Publisher's Bio 1924 births 2013 deaths Canadian male radio actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian television hosts English emigrants to Canada Male actors from London, Ontario Officers of the Order of Canada University of Western Ontario alumni People from Durham, England CBC Radio hosts Stephen Leacock Award winners Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Canadian impressionists (entertainers) Canadian Screen Award winning journalists