This is Citytv. Everywhere.

December 6, 2010 2:33 PM

One of the most distinctive voices in Canadian broadcasting has been silenced. Mark Dailey, longtime announcer, on-air reporter and anchor for Toronto's Citytv, died today at the age of 57.

Dailey was born and raised in Ohio and worked as police officer before working as a police reporter first in Detroit, and later in Toronto. He joined Citytv in 1979 and his grave baritone delivery soon made him the signature voice of the station.

He is survived by his wife, Kim, and his daughter, Nicole.

posted by ricochet biscuit (44 comments total)

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posted by clavdivs at 2:38 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by Pseudoephedrine at 2:38 PM on December 6, 2010

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If you grew up in Toronto, odds are your first porn movie was preceded by Mark Dailey saying "Viewer discretion is advised." 12am Fridays on City.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 2:39 PM on December 6, 2010 [13 favorites]

Very sad news. I will miss you Mark, your voice especially!
posted by Go Banana at 2:39 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by redyaky at 2:40 PM on December 6, 2010

He deserved better. Godspeed, Mr. Dailey.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:43 PM on December 6, 2010

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One of the few pleasures of having our beloved local A-Channel (the original one) in Calgary bought by Citytv, which now doesn't even have a local news broadcast, was hearing Mark Dailey's "This is Citytv- Everywhere" over that mosaic of local video. Also, "Citytv: Proud sponsor of the Calgary International Film Festival" in the pre-film trailers. Made me feel like we were part of Canada.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 2:44 PM on December 6, 2010

He really did have the most distinct voice.

I think those youtube videos need a note. Warning: Crazy Nostalgia Trippin'

East York City Hall! Aaaahhh!
posted by Alex404 at 2:47 PM on December 6, 2010

Sad news indeed. Also of note, prior to joining City, Dailey was a member of the infamous CKLW 20/20 News team in Windsor/Detroit. Watch this excerpt from the documentary "Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of the Big 8" for some jaw-dropping radio news coverage, and Dailey's role in it.
posted by evilcolonel at 2:48 PM on December 6, 2010

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I will always remember his snarky, sarcastic commentary on the announcement track of the late night movies. So great.
posted by patr1ck at 2:50 PM on December 6, 2010 [3 favorites]

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posted by jpziller at 2:51 PM on December 6, 2010

I heard the news on the CBC this afternoon. The announcer made it clear that Dailey was not only respected but loved by his peers.

I've been scouring YouTube for a decent compilation of his v/o snark, and apart from what's linked, it's slim pickings. Hopefully some more will show up soon.
posted by maudlin at 3:00 PM on December 6, 2010

I emigrated from the U.K. to Toronto in 1987 and could only get three TV stations (TVO, CBC and Citytv). Citytv was my favourite (not least because Star Trek TNG had just started airing). Mark's deep, dark, brown voice just seeped out of the telly and absolutely commanded attention. He will be missed. Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. "Heavy traffic on Spadina"...
posted by HarrysDad at 3:02 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by kanuck at 3:21 PM on December 6, 2010

If you grew up in Toronto, odds are your first porn movie was preceded by Mark Dailey saying "Viewer discretion is advised." 12am Fridays on City.

Quoted for bittersweet truth.

Small correction: 12:05am. The news always went five minutes over.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:24 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:33 PM on December 6, 2010

sad.
posted by sety at 3:33 PM on December 6, 2010

Man. That sucks.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:43 PM on December 6, 2010

Found via another blog: "RIP Mark" and "Dailey" are trending worldwide on Twitter. Everywhere.
posted by maudlin at 3:47 PM on December 6, 2010 [2 favorites]

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> I think those youtube videos need a note. Warning: Crazy Nostalgia Trippin'

Those videos are courtesy of my man Retrontario, and crazy nostalgia trippin' is what he's all about.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:48 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by i_have_a_computer at 3:55 PM on December 6, 2010

Time to shut down City-TV. There's nothing left now that Mark's gone.
posted by djfiander at 4:04 PM on December 6, 2010 [4 favorites]

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I'm floored by how much I'm floored by this. He really was the voice of CityTV.
posted by LMGM at 4:05 PM on December 6, 2010

Late Great...Mark Dailey.

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posted by salishsea at 4:06 PM on December 6, 2010 [3 favorites]

I will always remember his snarky, sarcastic commentary on the announcement track of the late night movies. So great.

I pretty much came in here to say how much I loved his sarcastic comments on the Not So Great Movies bumpers. I am saddened, he was far too young.
posted by biscotti at 4:19 PM on December 6, 2010

oh no.
posted by emeiji at 4:21 PM on December 6, 2010

City TV: Everywhere.

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The disemboweling of that station is one of the saddest things I've seen; I left the city before Moses sold it, and when I came back a couple of years later its absence was palpable.

I realized how bad it was when I witnessed a pedestrian hit by a streetcar at Harbord and Spadina (she was fine); I was expecting the City TV truck to show up second, right after the ambulance: the order was CBC; CTV; Global.
posted by jrochest at 4:29 PM on December 6, 2010 [2 favorites]

Mark was the voice of many of CITY-TV's in house programs including a show called "Speaker's Corner". The show was a compilation of (mostly drunken) rants and questions collected from a video booth they had built into the corner of their building. One episode featured a guy asking something to the effect of "Who's that guy with the voice and why don't we ever see him?"

This was kinda hilarious to me because Mark's name was always in the credits of the show and he was a news anchor at the time so there were plenty of opportunities to see him. What blew me away is that right after the question was asked they broke the convention of the show & cut to a backlit film noir setup (with no light on his face at all) of Mark in smoky room explaining why he could never be seen and that he would always be hiding in the shadows of the city.

I'm truly going to miss his sense of humour.

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posted by No more Mr. Smartypants at 4:36 PM on December 6, 2010 [3 favorites]

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posted by Flashman at 5:10 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by saucysault at 5:22 PM on December 6, 2010

Aw, crap. Hey God, stop taking away the good ones!

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posted by spoobnooble at 5:27 PM on December 6, 2010

City's half-hour tribute to him includes plenty of late-night snark.
posted by avocet at 5:37 PM on December 6, 2010 [4 favorites]

Mark Dailey, for Torontonians, you were everywhere, and now you're gone. It won't be the same without you.
posted by orange swan at 5:54 PM on December 6, 2010

damn - I used to live across the street from city-tv, and I'd see him around the neighbourhood - he was a nice guy.

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posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:19 PM on December 6, 2010

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damn, I've still got old vhs copies of movies like Stand by Me and Commando, taped off of City in the 80's, where he comes on and gives a preview of the top news stories during the end credits. Unforgettable voice, I can hear it in my head right now.
posted by mannequito at 6:44 PM on December 6, 2010

So sad when I heard this today.
Mark Dailey was awesome. He was the soul of that station, as well as the voice.
posted by chococat at 7:24 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by janepanic at 8:15 PM on December 6, 2010

I think the thing I liked best about Mark Dailey is that he took some things very seriously, and some things not seriously at all, and he always knew precisely where the dividing line between those two things needed to be.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:24 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by Tiresias at 8:46 PM on December 6, 2010

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posted by hasna at 9:23 PM on December 6, 2010

I used to stay up all night watching crappy sci-fi movies on City. Mark would come in at every commercial and ask me why.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 10:42 PM on December 6, 2010 [2 favorites]

I used to stay up all night watching crappy sci-fi movies on City. Mark would come in at every commercial and ask me why.

I used to laugh at his playing around with City's "Great Movies".

"Tonight on CITY TV's Great Mov...well, I'll be honest it's not so great. It's Predator II. Enjoy."
posted by generichuman at 1:34 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

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Toronto feels a little less like home without you, Mark.
posted by dry white toast at 3:38 AM on December 7, 2010

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Everywhere.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 8:55 AM on December 7, 2010