Memories of Living in Toronto Revisited

Over the past month, two sad events relating the the Toronto merchandising landscape caused me to remember growing up in "The Big Smoke". Last month, the original - and the best - Sam The Record Man closed on Yonge Street at Gould. For anyone growing up in Toronto in the 60's and beyond, you included Sam's as a sort of right of passage to adulthood. I still remember spending hours clawing my way through old dusty lps on the third floor - my favourite find was a 1958 recording by Nancy Walker of all people, with a picture of her on the cover sticking needles into a male doll - and the title something like "I Hate Men"! Oddly, I didn't buy it...perhaps thinking it, like Sam's itself, would always be there.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Bowing to the pressure of music downloads and a younger population with no idea what buying music really means, the Sniderman family decided to close the venerable musical institution at the end of June. It ends a rich and ultimately sad chapter in Toronto's merchandising history. Who doesn't have stories of 'finds' at Sam's, or attending the annual mayhem known as Boxing Day Sale, which almost rivals the running of the bulls at Pamplona, Spain for sheer exhilaration? I have stories of finding things at Sam's I thought I would never find, and great buys on Boxing Day in spite of the crowds. But, they are only memories now. Perhaps it is just as well, and maybe the Snidermans knew when to fold them and walk away, rather than see a great institution wither and die away. Oh sure, there is talk of saving the famous two-disc facade, but what good is that when the store behind it is no longer there?

I will always have fond memories of visiting Sam the Record Man. My last visit was a few weeks before it closed, and already the stock had been pretty well picked over. Ah well, better to get your music from A Web of Fine Music now, anyway...

My second memory of Toronto merchandising is rather broader-based, as it involves the passing of "Honest Ed" Mirvish last week. Who in Toronto has not been touched in some way by the Mirvish family? I went to Honest Eds years ago and was amazed at the carnival-like atmosphere and what you could find there. It is a lifeline for the poor and newly-arrived immigrants; but also for ex-Torontonians like myself who just want to remember. On my next trip to Toronto, I will visit the gaudy shrine once again.

Ed, of course, almost single-handedly brought quality live theatre to Toronto when he bought the dilapidated Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street West and started to totally revitalize the area, giving theatre-goers some amazing shows over the years. I remember in my early days in radio attending opening nights at the Royal Alex, watching everything from Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in The Gin Game to Peter O'Toole in The Seagull to any number of brash musicals. Every one showed Ed and son David's theatrical acumen - and risk-taking. My greatest memory, however, was meeting Ed and his lovely wife Anne at intermission, as I and other media types were ushered into their private reception room for a drink and some idle chatter. It was here I realized Ed's wife was a regular listener to my show when I hosted the morning show in Oshawa. God only knows why she listened, as I was so green it hurt, and I sounded just terrible on the air back then. But I was a somebody in that room, and I always looked forward to the visit. I know Anne is grieving the loss of her faithful husband of 60-odd years, and I wish I could just reach out and touch her shoulder to show I care. But I can't, so I will simply offer these memories as my salute to a true patron of the arts and a life-long champion of Toronto on the occasion of his passing. Ed will be missed by so many, and this week, the world is all the poorer for the loss of such a great man.

Ed, your prices may be cheep, cheep, cheep, as one sign at Honest Eds says, but you will always remain priceless. You'll be missed by so many.

Mike Saunders
July 19th, 2007.