Denis Grondin, a former announcer at CHOM, CKOI and 98,5fm (or, as some media described him, he’s the father of actor Marc-André Grondin), died suddenly of an apparent heart attack the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. He was 66.
So sudden was his death that it came mere hours after he recorded his weekly show Samedi soir sur la terre for Radio Ville-Marie. The show aired Saturday night as planned, complete with the promise to return next week. You can listen to the final show here: Hour 1, Hour 2.
There weren’t much in the way of formal obituaries in the media, but the French-language news outlets generally offered briefs with tributes that were made on social media:
I’ll do the same below. I’ll also link to this interview in Urbania from last year, where Grondin looks with a critical eye at the state of the industry today.
On Friday, Grondin’s family responded with this:
Special thanks to @CHOM977 @CKOI @le985fm @Radio_VM for yesterday morning. pic.twitter.com/MNixukIUWH
— Marc-André Grondin (@MA_Grondin) March 10, 2017
Denis Grondin était un modèle. Un gars ultra cool qui partageait son amour pour la musique. Un franco qui animait à CHOM. Salut Denis! #rip pic.twitter.com/doE5FKAS7h
— Pierre Landry (@PierreLandry) March 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/imjaywalker/status/839642667885690880
https://twitter.com/manofbird/status/839574863102816256
R.I.P. Denis Grondin, un de nos grands animateurs radio. Sympathies aux proches et à la famille. https://t.co/U9T09tCo5W
— Sébastien Benoit (@sebbenoit72) March 8, 2017
Condoléances à la famille de Denis Grondin. Je me sens privilégiée de l'avoir connu. Un gentleman, un homme bon et un grand animateur. ?
— Patricia Tadros (@tadrospatricia) March 8, 2017
Cogeco a la tristesse de vous annoncer le décès de notre collègue de CKOI Denis Grondin. Quelle tristesse!!!!
— Jeremy Filosa ? (@JeremyFilosa) March 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/menardradio/status/839608053276229632
Denis Grondin était une encyclopédie musicale,un animateur et programmateur au flair rare.Et il était d'une infinie gentillesse.Salut,Denis.
— Annie-Soleil Proteau (@ASProteau) March 8, 2017
Un des plus grands gentlemen de la radio vient de s'éteindre. RIP Denis Grondin. Je suis sans mots…
— Patrick Marsolais (@patmarso) March 8, 2017
Thanks for this. I remember him well from the CHOM-CHOM days and had never made the connection to the incredibly talented star of one of my all-time favorite movies, C.R.A.Z.Y. I feel so sad and send my heartfelt condolences to that wonderful family.
It is with a heavy heart where I lost a true and genuine friend in the radio broadcasting industry here in Montreal. While working at CHOM initially back in 1984, Denis was probably one of the most laid back individuals I ever had the pleasure in meeting with in my radio broadcasting career.
Denis was one of the true inspiring individuals I came across with. He was very professional and most important of all. It did not make a difference what position I would be working at CHOM or at CKGM when we were at 1310 Greene Avenue. He treated me as a friend. He was indeed one of us; a true gem.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to everyone in his family as well as out to all of his friends & colleagues whose lives he has touched. R.I.P Denis Grodin – my good friend!
Sincerely,
Sheldon Eric Fried
Denis Grondin was one of the “french guys working in english” that CHOM had in it’s better days. He, like a number of others, brought the true character and feeling of Montreal to the airwaves. Sad to see him pass so relatively young. RIP!
As a side note Steve: When you quote twitter posts, the formatting on your site in mobile goes to crap. The tweet images are often larger than the page size, which automatically shrinks the text down to mere dots, which require zooming to be able to read.
Denis was a good guy. He loved music and he was very passionate about radio. It was a pleasure to work with him at CHOM over the years.
Denis was my drummer:In a band called ”Oasis” Before ” Oasis” from Liverpool!
Yes! And he was a hell of a good drummer,..Kid.