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From the Editor

Big Red

by Judi McLeod

January 12, 2004

Big Red is dead. So reminiscent of the genuine character he was in life, the obituary of Toronto Sun founding publisher Doug Creighton can be stated in a rhyme. But then everything about Big Red was larger than life. andy Donato’s cartoons always depicted him with a martini and a cigar, and on almost any weekday lunchtime, you could find Big Red at Johnny arena’s former restaurant, Winston’s.

according to a writeup in the National Post the day after his death, "The soul of the Toronto Sun’, Doug Creighton has died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease."

Nicknamed "Big Red" because of his flaming head of hair, Creighton was known among Sun employees for his generosity of spirit. He surprised more than one young intern on the elevator by addressing them by their given names.

a pro-reporter kind of publisher, Creighton, launched a journalism career as a cub reporter at The Telegram in 1948. He went on to a 14-year long stint on the police desk.

a respected reporter in his own right, he made the best kind of boss for spunky Toronto Sun journalists.

Everyone who ever worked for him has a Doug Creighton story, and I remember two that personally affected my career. Once, having quit the paper over a long-forgotten spat with managing editor Les Pyette, Creighton came to my east-end condominium to fetch me back. With his chauffeur waiting behind the wheel of a limousine in the parking lot, he rang the doorbell himself.

"Don’t be silly; you’re coming back," was his only response to the litany of perceived beefs against Pyette as recited by the aggrieved party.

It wasn’t that I knew the publisher particularly well or had any place of privilege in the Sun newsroom. That was the Creighton style with employees, big and small.

The next little anecdote is purely Big Red. Having recently divorced my then husband, Sun staffer John McLeod, Toronto Board of Education trustees Nola Crewe and Ron Marks worried that I might be depressed. In a bid to cheer me up, they reserved a special table at Winston’s for all three of us. The table they booked was the one always held for Doug Creighton. The trustees had heard that the publisher out of town on business.

as things turned out, I arrived at the fabulous restaurant some 20 minutes before Crewe and Marks. The maitre d’ led me to my table. as he was seating patrons a few minutes later, I thought I heard a familiar voice. Idly checking, I spotted the owner of the voice–my boss with two companions–two tables away. Flushed with embarrassment, I immediately called the maitre d’, tried to explain my predicament and asked to be promptly moved to another table. He went away and within minutes returned with a bottle of expensive champagne. attached to the champers was a handwritten note: "any reporter with the temerity to take over my table deserves champagne."

Of course, when Crewe and Marks arrived, they were flabbergasted and it was a story to be repeated many times over the years.

In 1992, only a year before he could have claimed the dignity of retirement, Creighton was forced out of the Sun. The forced retirement was the handiwork of the day’s board of directors. Rumour had it that Big Red’s long martini lunches had been used as ammunition against him, though I never knew if they were based on any real substance.

Impulsively, I shot off a note. "No Doug Creighton at the Sun? Pigs fly, giraffes cry and Paul Godfrey is an expert in the newspaper industry." Creighton’s familiar chuckle could soon be heard on the other end of the telephone when he called to thank me for the note.

Everyone who knew Doug Creighton knew of his love of Marilyn, with whom he celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary last June. The couple had three sons, Scott, Bruce and Donald.

The Sun didn’t shine quite so brightly after Big Red’s departure in 1992.

Meanwhile, there may not be too many reporters in heaven, but right now one of them indulges stogies and sips dry martinis.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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