Mike Halleran on a location shoot near Cranbrook, B.C. in 1973

(Photo courtesy Mike Oldfield)

Mike's working life began as a miner and then cowboy before he was hired by the Forest Service as a lookout man and later as a logger, in both the Kootenays and Quesnel areas of B.C., but a back injury forced him to pursue other career interests.  He wrote commercials for a Quesnel radio station which subsequently led him into broadcasting, first in the newsroom at CKCQ Quesnel in the early 1960's and then to CJOR Vancouver in the mid 1960's where he was News Director.  In 1967, Mike joined CBC Television staff in Vancouver as a News Reporter and in 1969 he transferred to Agriculture & Resources as a Farm & Fisheries Commentator.  In 1973 his status changed from staff to contract but in both capacities and throughout the 1970's he reported on energy and environmental issues for Hourglass, Pacific Report, Pacific Prime Time, This Land, Country Canada, and Take Thirty.  His 1972 Special News Report on the Downtown East Side observed "that many of the men living on social assistance in the DTES are there because they were injured in the resource industry in B.C.".   Mike concluded that, "We know how to grow but we don't know how to provide the services that come with growth".  This 15-minute Special New Report was shown again more recently in the 2007 DTES Film Festival.  Producer Dick Bocking recalls that he and Mike worked together closely on a number of projects in the early 1970's...   "Mike was an excellent writer and a fine narrator and program host.  He narrated at least four hour-long documentaries for me - the Wilderness Award-winning Canada's Water - For Sale? (1970); The Energy Crisis: A Time to Choose (1971); The Cities We Build (1974); and Canada Tomorrow (1974).  I have many good memories of our work together."  Mike frequently also worked with Producer Mike Poole and two documentaries that stood out in their collaboration were Politics of Power, the Fraser and the Future (1972) and The Reckoning, Part I and II (1975).   By 1975 Mike was producing television documentaries, including the program Northwest Quarter which focused on industrialization in northwestern B.C. for the Regional File series which comprised six half-hour documentaries from various parts of the country.  The preservation of B.C.'s wilderness and its wildlife was his lifetime passion.   He continued to narrate and host programs as well and in 1977 was the host for that season's This Land series. After his first ride in a chopper, Mike became addicted to helicopters and would use them wherever possible for aerial photography in his TV documentaries.  Mike was well aware that the standard joke around the office was that he would hire a helicopter first and then think up a show in which to use it!  In 1980, Mike participated in the half-hour National Film Board production Pacific Highliners, produced by John Taylor and directed by Eugene Boyko.  In 1983 he began producing Westland Television, a series centering on natural resources and land use, which was produced and aired on the Knowledge Network and which is also distributed cost-free to schools and post-secondary institutions in British Columbia.  In 1987, Mike was co-recipient of the Bill Young Award of Excellence in Integrated Forest Management; in 2004 he was awarded honourary membership in the Forestry Services' Team for his "outstanding contribution to public understanding of the need for good stewardship of British Columbia's natural resources"; and in 2005,  in recognition of his work as Producer of the Westland Television series over a 22-year period, he received the Volunteer of the Year Award (renamed the Jim Rodney RPF Award) from the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals. 

Mike is survived by his partner Darlene Collins; son Terry (Michele); grandsons Wyatt and Cody (Elyse); great-grandson Will Halleran; brother Terry (Chris); and sister Patricia.  He was 73 years of age.

A celebration of Mike's life will be held July 26th at the Kaslo Legion Hall, beginning at 3:00 p.m.  Mike's family have indicated that in lieu of flowers, donations to the B.C. Alzheimer's Society would be appreciated.