Jane Gray (broadcaster)

Jane Gray (1896-1984) was a pioneering Canadian radio and television broadcaster, who was active between 1924 and 1978. She was one of the first women to pursue a career in radio broadcasting in Canada, and was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1988.

She was born in Croydon, England in 1896 and grew up there. She was interested in theater from an early age, but her parents were religious Baptists and did not want her to be an entertainer. However, they did permit her to sing for church groups, and she also did some performances during World War I to entertain the troops. After marrying a British military officer named Earl Gray, she came with him to Canada as a war bride in 1919; they settled in London, Ontario, where they raised their three children, Earl Jr. (nicknamed "Buddy"), Kenneth, and Dorothy. But when the marriage failed and she separated from her husband in 1924, she needed to support her children; jobs in London did not pay very well, so she decided to move her family to Toronto, where she believed she could find more lucrative opportunities for employment.

Gray's radio career began in October 1924. Some sources have stated, erroneously, that she was Canada's first female broadcaster; but researcher Peggy Stewart, in her 2012 book Radio Ladies: Canada's Women on the Air 1922-1975, tells the stories of women who were on the air as early as 1922, including Mary Conquest of CFAC in Calgary and Elizabeth MacAdam of CKMC in Cobalt. But there is no denying that Gray was one of Canada's early women announcers, and she went on to have one of the longest careers of any female broadcaster, a career that lasted for more than five decades. Her radio career had begun when she joined station CJGC in London, Ontario; she hosted a program where she read poetry. She also gave advice to the listeners; by some accounts, this was the first advice program on Canadian radio. At that time, she did not use the name "Jane Gray"—she used her actual name, Elsie Gray. But she met a numerologist who told her that the combination of letters in her name was unlucky; she decided to select a different and shorter name, and chose "Jane Gray."

By 1927, Gray was living in Toronto, where she was hired by CFRB and then CFCA. She also continued her advice show on radio stations in Toronto. She developed a strategy for making money, even in radio's early years when few stations were financially successful: would pay for airtime on a radio station, and then sell commercials on the shows she hosted; her programs were popular, and she quickly began making a profit. By 1928, she had also founded an acting troupe, the Jane Gray Players, which performed both short and long form radio drama. Some of the first presentations she produced were half-hour mystery plays, over Toronto station CFCA, owned at that time by the Toronto Star. She was then hired by CKNC in Toronto. One day, she needed a ride to work and couldn't find a taxi. A young man was driving by and she flagged him down and asked if he would take her to the radio station. He did, and to show her gratitude, she offered him a chance to take part in her radio show as one of the Jane Gray Players. That young man was Ken Soble, who would go on to become a major force in Canadian broadcasting.

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