McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Person
McKenty, Neil, 1924-2012
1924-2012
Neil McKenty was born on December 31, 1924, in Peterborough, Ontario.
He was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and author. He was educated at the University of Toronto (B.A.) and the University of Michigan (M.A. in Communications, 1964). He was a teacher and ordained priest with the Jesuit order (1957-1969). He was on the editorial staff of Jesuit weekly America magazine. In 1970, McKenty left the Jesuits and accepted a position doing public relations with the Special Olympics. In 1972, he moved from Toronto to Montreal to work as a talk show host for CJAD AM radio. In 1977, he began to host his two-hour morning show Exchange. He left in 1985 to focus on his writing career, returning to broadcasting when his television phone-in talk show, "McKenty Live" on CFCF-TV, debuted in September 1987 and ran until 1990, when he decided to focus on writing once again. McKenty is the author of five books, e.g., a biography "In the Stillness Dancing: The Journey of John Main" (1985), a memoir “The Inside Story: Journey of a Former Jesuit Priest and Talkshow Host Towards Self-Discovery” (2017), and a murder mystery, “The Other Key: An Inspector Julian Main Mystery” (2003). Together with his wife, they published the book "Skiing Legends and the Laurentian Lodge Club" (2001).
He was married to Catharine Fleming Turnbull. He died on May 12, 2012, in Montreal, Quebec.