We called him “President for Life” of the Television Critics Association, but Eric Kohanik was always really its greatest ambassador, the glue that held the whole thing together. The TCA’s semi-annual press tours, prized by TV critics and editors across North America for unequalled access to executives and talent, would not have lasted as long or run as smoothly as it did without him.
Those tours are gone now and, sadly, so is Eric. He passed away November 8 at 70, taken too soon after a lengthy illness. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Born in Winnipeg and raised in Hamilton, Ont., Eric was a writer/editor at The Hamilton Spectator and was also editor of TV Times magazine, a listings supplement distributed across Canada as part of two newspaper chains. Readers there knew him as “The Watcher.”
I first met him 39 years ago, in 1986, on his first and my third visit to the TCA press tour. As Eric once told fellow reporter and core four golf partner Dave Walker, that first tour was almost his last. A union rep back at the Spectator foolishly advised him to put in for overtime while attending the tour. The editors back home at the Spec were not amused. Kohanik had to sit out the next two years of the press tour.
He learned his lesson, and while he always worked overtime, he never claimed it again. As a result, he probably holds the record for most unbroken press tour appearances over a 35 year stretch. Elected TCA president in 1999, he stayed in charge of hotel matters long after his official board tenure ended, hence, “President for Life.”
Tall and winning, Eric simply looked the part. Not even that moustache could dent his coolness. He had the respect of some of the crankiest groups on earth: TV critics; studio heads and network bosses; resort hotel managers and executives. Even the man who ran the elaborate Audio-Visual set up for almost every tour, Dave Taylor, is as broken-hearted at the news of Eric’s passing as the rest of us.
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On the golf course, one of his favourite places, Eric would successfully negotiate everything from minibar cleanouts to Lanai wing reservations, keeping costs to members ridiculously low. As a board member, he helped steer the TCA Awards beyond its humble, kitchen table beginnings. The tour hit a golden age, with big name hosts such as Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc, Ray Romano, Bob Newhart, Wanda Sykes, Bill Maher and a potty mouthed Drew Carey bringing star power and plenty of laughs, all on a TCA dime.
I benefited first hand from his kindness. When I was blindsided by job cuts at TV Guide Canada in 1997 and started scrambling for freelance work, editor Eric threw 30 or 40 TV Times cover stories my way until I landed at The Toronto Sun.
His attention to detail and personal touch extended to the hard-working hotel staffers, many of whom he knew by name. This came in handy at many a closing time. Eric kept my glass filled on several occasions, and not with my usual ginger ale.
If you were new to the tour, Eric was likely the first one to shake your hand and make you feel welcome. I don’t think he ever lost the wonder that this crazy “Death March with Cocktails” existed, or that a handful of fellow Canadians were invited to work, mingle and experience Hollywood the only way to truly appreciate it — two- to four-weeks of the year.
His passing hits hard for many in and out of the business. My wife Sandra, who headed publicity departments for years for both Global TV and MuchMusic, was struck both by his professionalism and his “Charm-dog” demeanor. She passes along this note:
“I treasure the years with Eric. He was a top-class colleague, good friend and amazing conversationalist. The gifts of his laughter, sparkly eyes, keen wit and his family’s delicious Christmas fruitcake recipe will live on. I was lucky to know him.”
Eric was such a good guy he almost made me wish I played golf. Those that did knew him better. There was Jonathan Storm, who predeceased him by a few months. Dave Walker, another one of the really good guys, was also a patient of “Dr. Green.” Eric’s closest tour pal, however, was Winnipeg Free Press writer and editor Brad Oswald. Eric knew Brad had a gift for performing and would see to it that a guitar could be delivered down to the pool bar at the Beverly Hilton. Singalongs would ensue, as would demands to cease and desist from hotel guests not there on a TCA dime.
Eric knew I had a borrowed talent — imitating my friend Pat Bullock’s dead-on impression of former Maple Leaf Gardens announcer Paul Morris. At one memorable press tour event hosted by Fox at Dodger Stadium, Eric somehow arranged for me to inflict the impression over the PA system. “Toronto goal scored by number twenty-seven, Darryl Sittler…” echoed all over Chavez Ravine. It didn’t matter that only a few Canadian’s got it. Eric thought it was hilarious.
He was also one of three Canadian reporters — the others being me and The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle — called in to a bizarre secret meeting at a west Toronto apartment belonging to a former Canadian late night talk show host. It was a truly strange couple of hours. Before the elevator took us back down to street level, the three of us vowed to never speak of the sad ramblings we had witnessed. That was another Kohanik quality — discretion.
This week, Jimmy Kimmel’s brilliant, heartfelt salute of his best friend and bandleader Cleto Escobara hits hard for those of us on the TV beat because, dammit, many of us wish we could be so eloquent about Eric. His departure makes us think of happier times, and how the tall guy with the moustache always had our backs.
A statue of Eric should be errected in the Horseshoe garden at the Langham, or outside Bullocks in Pasadena. Love and condolences to his wife of 44 years Patti, fellow TCAers and all who mourn the loss of a good friend.
