Johnny Lombardi

Johnny Lombardi, (December 4, 1915 – March 18, 2002) was a pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada. He founded CHIN in 1966 His father Leonardo Barbalinardo changed his name to Leonardo Lombardi shortly after moving to Canada because the Anglo-Saxon community of Toronto at the time had difficulty pronouncing his name. Leonardo had come to Canada from Pisticci, in the region of Basilicata.

He was lead trumpet player for the Benny Palmer Orchestra in London, a popular Ontario big band during the 1930s. He enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War II in 1942, and was soon stationed in Europe, participating in the taking of Juno Beach. He was a Sergeant in the army, and during the war he entertained the troops with his trumpet.

CHIN Radio He returned to Canada in 1946, and in 1948 he opened a supermarket named Lombardi's Italian Foods Ltd., or simply Lombardi’s Supermarket, at 637 College Street, an area which came to be known as Little Italy. He began his broadcasting career as a producer for an hour-long Italian music program, first on CHUM and later on CKFH in which he advertised his supermarket.

Another entrepreneur who did not forget the "ethnics" was Johnny Lombardi, who put his creature, CHIN Radio, at their disposal. Not only for Italians, but also Hispanics, Asians, people from the Middle East. All of them found newscasts, talk shows, educational programs in their respective languages. — Antonio Maglio, Tandem with whom he had one son, Leonard (also known as Lenny), and two daughters, Donina and Theresa. and usually wore a baseball cap.

Death

He died in hospital on 18 March 2002 after a brief illness.

The day after his death, York West representative Judy Sgro paid tribute to him in the House of Commons of Canada. Mel Lastman, then mayor of Toronto, stated that "Johnny invented multicultural radio in Toronto". also stating: Johnny was an integral part of the transformation of urban society in post-war southern Ontario. His radio station, home to broadcasting in 30 different languages, gave voice to the marginalized and served to give newcomers a sense of comfort and familiarity in a new and often strange land. Those programs not only served to acclimatize and integrate people into the Canadian mainstream, but they also helped launch Canadian talent in music and the arts. — Joe Volpe EDITED HANSARD|source=Parliament of Canada

Legacy alt=A statue seated on a curved bench, behind which is the trunk of a tree adjacent to the wall of a building.

Lombardi was a recipient of the Order of Canada and was invited by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1994, in which he had originally participated.

Often referred to as the "mayor of Little Italy," Lombardi lived in the neighborhood all his life, and a memorial to him was installed at the southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street, in an area known as Piazza Johnny Lombardi in Little Italy. It is a bronze statue of Lombardi, It will "function as the main focal point for all musical shows and exhibits in Pisticci", The hour-long documentary, produced by his son Lenny and his wife Grace Fusillo-Lombardi, Johnny Lombardi: The Great Communicator about his life contains interview clips from many well-known Canadians, including Jean Chrétien and Ted Rogers.

Lombardi was one of six original inductees into the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, honouring Italians or descendants of emigrant Italians "who have demonstrated an exceptional level of accomplishment within their respective fields". The others were Rudolph Bratty, Phil Esposito, Julian Fantino, Connie Francis and Giancarlo Giannini.

The Ethnic Broadcasting Award in honour of Johnny Lombardi at Toronto Metropolitan University awards to a student in the School of Radio and Television Arts program at the university "who demonstrates a special proficiency in ethnic broadcasting".

In Portrait of the Street: The Soul and Spirit of College, a documentary by Sandra Danilovic of the history of College Street and the surrounding area, Lombardi recounts an anecdote from his youth. He had walked for more than an hour to a pool in Mimico with friends, only to be turned away:

The man at the gate pointed to the sign, "Gentiles Only". Lombardi turned to the man and asked, "What does that mean?" He tells him no Jews, Lombardi says, "but I'm not Jewish, I'm Italian." "That's worse," said the man at the gate, and Lombardi spent the long walk home in tears. — Paul Townend, Take One

His son Lenny and daughter Theresa remain dedicated to continuing the legacy their father left. Lenny is president and CEO of CHIN Radio/TV International. Theresa is the vice president and general manager.

Archives There is a Johnny Lombardi fonds at Library and Archives Canada. The archival reference number is R5389.