Canadian country star Tommy Hunter dies at 89; hosted long-running TV variety show

Tommy Hunter, a fixture in Canadian living rooms for decades with his long-running CBC TV show, has died at age 89.

The London, Ont., native is best known for hosting his music show “The Tommy Hunter Show,” which started in black-and-white in 1965 and remained on the air until 1992.

His business manager Brian Edwards said the late country star died of natural causes on Thursday in a London retirement home, where he had been living for the past few months.

Edwards said Hunter passed peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by his family and his much-beloved dog.

“As the old saying goes, we’re all heartbroken at the same time,” said Edwards.

“When someone goes peacefully like that and everything, it’s kind of a blessing.”

Hunter’s family is doing well under the circumstances, added Edwards, who spoke throughout the week with them as the country singer’s health began deteriorating.

Edwards said Hunter’s legacy will be his long-running TV career and being remembered as “Canada’s country gentleman” to his supportive fanbase.

“Those fans meant everything to him … he knew that they were the ones that kept him on there (on TV) and he always respected that.”

A well-known musician in his own right, Hunter introduced Canadian audiences to some of the biggest country acts of all time.

Born on March 20, 1937, Hunter learned to play the guitar when he was nine years old and made his professional debut only a few years later. As he honed his skills, he played a series of modest gigs, performing at hospitals, movie theatres and garden parties for paltry sums of money.

He was still a teenager when he earned his first big break, landing a spot on the CBC-TV series “Country Hoedown,” a country music show with a barn-themed set. Hunter began on the show as rhythm guitarist with King Ganam’s band, Sons of the West.

Just as Hunter’s profile began to rise due to his appearances on that show, he also landed his own daily lunchtime radio programme on CBC, during which he played country music alongside pop tunes.

After nine years on “Country Hoedown” and at the age of 28, Hunter received another break: his own TV show on CBC.

He knew immediately that he wanted to stray from the hayseed image propagated elsewhere (including “Country Hoedown”). He wanted to bring legitimacy to country music and also sought to capture a broad audience.

He succeeded. The Gemini Award-winning show was a beloved mainstay on the CBC and also ran later on the Nashville Network, often standing as the country station’s most-watched program.

But in a 2010 interview with The Canadian Press, Hunter pointed out that, when he was first starting out on TV, there wasn’t much else on the dial for viewers to watch.

“There was one network,” he said. “So they didn’t have a lot of choice. (The TV) was either on or off.”

At the time of its cancellation, “The Tommy Hunter Show” was the longest-running music program in North America.

“Tommy Hunter’s incredible legacy has left an undeniable mark on music and at CBC, where he shared his love for country music across our radio and TV programming for decades,” the public broadcaster said in a statement.

“His contributions to the growth of Canadian music and culture are truly remarkable.”

During the nearly 27 years “The Tommy Hunter Show” flickered across Canadian television screens, Hunter welcomed a glittering list of country stars: Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Anne Murray, Trisha Yearwood, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, the Judd family, Hank Snow, Clint Black, Martina McBride and even a young Shania Twain, who then went by Eileen.

“We had the old and the new,” Hunter said of the show’s guestlist in 2010. “I never turned my back on the new performers that were coming along but I never turned my back on the old ones either.”

“I tried to hit a very high quality mark. I wanted it to be a good family show, that familes could sit down and watch together. There were no dirty jokes and there was no smutty language. There was none of that.”

Of course, Hunter was also a fixture on the Canadian country charts while his show was on the air, claiming a series of hits including his most famous tune, “Travellin’ Man” (which also served as the theme song for his show).

He recorded for Columbia and its Harmony label in the 1960s and ’70s, spawning a number of successful singles including “Cup of Disgrace,” “Walk With Your Neighbour,” “Born to be a Gypsy,” and “The Battle of the Little Big Horn.” He won a Juno Award for top male country artist in 1970.

He continued to tour after his CBC show was cancelled (and he returned to the public broadcaster for a 2003 special, which brought in more than 1 million viewers), playing as many as 70 dates per year.

Hunter underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer in 2004. In 2010, he said he was feeling healthy and didn’t have any pressing concerns.

Still, that year he announced he was planning to tour Canada for the final time, splitting the shows between 2011 and ’12. Then 73 years old, he reasoned that he simply didn’t want to overstay his welcome with audiences.

“One of the things that I was always fearful about, and I always said to people around me, is that if I ever felt that I couldn’t hit that mark, I would throw in the towel very, very quickly,” he said at the time.

“Well, I haven’t hit that point yet, but it’s like anything else: you know that you’re getting older and someday it’s going to happen. And I’m in good health, I can still sing, so I want to go out when I can still do the things and not disappoint an audience.”

Hunter was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and was a member of the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.

The country star was also an animal lover, said Edwards, and he supported the Humane Society and various charities for rescue dogs over the years.

Hunter’s dog, who was by his side when he died, was a rescue.

“That was his little heart and soul,” said Edwards.

Hunter is survived by his three children, four grandchildren and one great grandchild.

– With files from Nick Patch

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2026.

Craig Macrae, The Canadian Press