Matthew Herrndorf confirmed the news, saying his father died of cancer early Saturday morning “surrounded by family” at Toronto’s Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital.
“He had a big and consequential and important life, and (it’s) hard to put into words what he meant to us and what he meant to Canada,” Matthew Herrndorf said in an interview Saturday.
Herrndorf was born in Amsterdam, raised in Winnipeg, and got a political science and English degree from the University of Manitoba in 1962. He later studied law at Dalhousie University and obtained a master’s in administration from Harvard Business School, his biography on the NAC’s website said.
Herrndorf joined the CBC in Winnipeg in 1965, eventually becoming a vice-president, where he helped develop long-standing series including The Fifth Estate and The Journal.
He later took on roles as publisher of Toronto Life magazine, as well as chairman and CEO of TVOntario.
Herrndorf was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2008 for having “revolutionized Canadian broadcasting, publishing and the performing arts” at the various organizations where he served.
He later received the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award from former Governor General Julie Payette during the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in 2018.
