Daniel Ellsworth MCAFEE (August 21, 1935 - January 16, 2009)

It's with great sadness that I pass along the news that friend and former colleague Dan McAfee passed away on Friday, January 16th, 2009.   Dan joined the staff of CBC in Prince Rupert as an Announcer on December 15, 1956, transferred to Vancouver and through the years became a familiar voice and face on both Radio and Television.  From 1962 to 1968 Dan was the co-host of the TV series Vacation Time and between 1972 and 1980, he was the Announcer for Dr. Bundolo's Pandemonium Medicine Show.  Bill Reiter, one of the show's stars , shared a reminiscence of how Dan became involved in the series:

"Dan McAfee was the usual C.B.C. staff announcer chosen by radio Producer Don Kowalchuk as part of the long running Dr. Bundolo’s Pandemonium Medicine Show. As the stiff corporate voice of Dr. Bundolo, Mr. McAfee’s mettle was tested during a mid-70’s trip to Prince Rupert when Bundolo cast member Bill Buck got his food allergies mixed up.  While ordering a pre-show meal, Bill told the waitress he was allergic to shrimp.  Bill Buck is allergic to crab.  A couple of hours later, becoming more swollen and agitated than usual, Mr. Buck was carted off to hospital during the show’s half-time break and a nervous Dan McAfee was told by Producer Kowalchuk that it was, 'his turn to tread the boards as a ‘Bun’.'  Always the pro, Mr. McAfee was ready for prime time.  It seems the thespian bottled up in this career announcer’s personality was asked to come to the fore.  Later that night, remarking on Dan McAfee’s comic abilities, Marla Gropper was overheard joking with fellow cast member Norm Grohmann that 'Bill Buck had better not make a habit of taking the night off cuz this McAfee is good!'  After that debut, Dan became an even more integral part of the ten year run of Dr. Bundolo.  This was noted by fans who realized that writers Jeff Groberman and Colin 'D.T.' Yardley were writing McAfee’s announcer bits with more of an appreciation for his actor’s flare.  Bill Buck has never made the crab/shrimp mistake again - some believe it has to do with a Dr. Bundolo performance that added another facet to Dan McAfee’s long and successful career in British Columbia radio and television."

Another story - this one from Dan's pre-working life - has been shared by Jack Bennest (bcradiohistory.com):

"A CBC journalist, a sawmill owner, a pharmacist and a teacher all have one thing in common -- they have all lived on Van Arsdol Avenue in Prince Rupert.  This heritage home was first built at the picturesque site by a minor noble in the 1920s but was not completed because he went off to war and never returned.  'In those days Rupert was suppose to be what Vancouver is today,' said Marjorie Tattersall, a friend of Dan McAfee whose family owned the home from 1936 to the early fifties.  'We had all kinds of people floating around, so he could have been a Count.' It was then sold to Dan McAfee's father, Weldon.  'He was the owner of the sawmill at George Town past Dundas Street,' explained Tattersall.  The McAfee family lived in the home until 1953 when Dan moved to Vancouver to study at the University of British Columbia.  'Danny lived in that house from when he was a small boy until he graduated from high school with me at Booth Memorial 50 years ago.  Dan was a member of the 'Borden bums' gang. Both Dan and his brother were long-time CBC employees.' "

Fellow CBC Announcer and good friend Doug Campbell recalls than Dan served on the ARTEC Union Executive (later CUPE) for some years and worked diligently on behalf of the members.  Tom Robinson, CBC Vancouver's Chief Announcer who hired Dan, adds that Dan was "in charge of grievances for ARTEC and served on the Negotiating Committee" and remembers, "Dan was very fond of the Corporation and from the beginning, wanted to be a top-notch CBC Announcer".  Diana Filer fondly remembers "her old pal Dan" and says, "We used to have great times together when we both worked at 701 (Hornby)".

Dan had been on long term disability with CBC for some years as he coped with the results of brain cancer and officially retired on August 31, 2000. He was a long-time member of the CBC 20 Year Association and although unable to attend events, always said he enjoyed the reading material which kept him in touch with the goings-on of his former colleagues and with the changes at the Corporation. Dan was 73 years of age.

Dan McAfee - March 16, 2006
Photo courtesy Ivan Leonard