Charles Oberdorf, one of Canada's best-known journalists, died Friday in Toronto at the age of 70, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
For the past 18 years, Oberdorf was a faculty member in the magazine publishing program at the Chang School at Ryerson University. More than two decades before that, he carved out an estimable niche as a writer and editor, specializing in food, gardening, architecture and design.
Raised in Philadelphia, the eldest of four children born to a Coca-Cola salesman and a homemaker, he studied theatre at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University). After graduation, he won a job as a producer for an NBC affiliate in Philadelphia and managed to book, among many other guests, Oscar Peterson, who was then appearing in the city. He lured him with the promise of a tuned piano, on which Peterson played Bach.
Oberdorf came to Toronto in the 1960s, not, as some people surmised, to dodge the draft – he actually served in the U.S. National Guard, helping to protect the gold in Fort Knox – but to join the CBC public affairs show This Hour Has Seven Days as a producer. When that show was cancelled, he worked for Adrienne Clarkson's Take Thirty, then made the segue into print journalism, writing for the Toronto Telegram.
Thereafter, he became travel editor of Saturday Night magazine, then edited by Robert Fulford, and worked for John Macfarlane's Weekend Magazine in the late 1970s.
It was while travelling on assignment in Germany that Oberdorf met his future wife and frequent writing partner, Mechtild Hoppenrath. They married in 1977, after which Oberdorf taught himself conversational German by reading Der Spiegel.
Later, he was among an anonymous quartet of writers who authored Toronto Life's Epicure restaurant reviews. Among his former favourites were the Three Small Rooms at the Windsor Arms Hotel and Noodles.
Oberdorf continued to work as a freelancer for Financial Post magazine, Homemakers, the CBC (he was an occasional co-host of As It Happens) and the Toronto Star, where he wrote a gardening column. At Homemakers, he and Hoppenrath co-wrote columns on architecture and design – a tag-team match, she recalls, that gave them "the world's longest byline."
In the early 1980s, Oberdorf was named executive editor of City and Country Home, a post he held for almost a decade before joining Ryerson.
In 1987, with his wife, he co-wrote First-Class Canada – an award-winning guide to the country's best hotels and restaurants.
Hoppenrath said her husband enjoyed the pleasure of having a vocation that was also his profession. He was a renaissance man, with a wide-ranging curiosity and a keen interest in many things – architecture, design, good food and politics.
But he may have been happiest as a teacher of journalism. "He was a born teacher," Hoppenrath said. "He was a fabulous storyteller. He could make any subject interesting."
In 2008, the National Magazine Awards Foundation conferred its award for Outstanding Achievement on Oberdorf, honouring his teaching and mentorship as co-ordinator of Ryerson's magazine and Web publishing program, as well as his distinguished career as a writer and editor.
Writing about him last week, veteran magazine blogger D.B. Scott said: "You run out of fingers tallying up the magazines he has written for or where he's been an editor."
"He was too modest to say it," Hoppenrath said. "But he was partly responsible for creating that award – to recognize the contributions of people who were not writers or editors, people who would otherwise never get awards."
"I didn't know Charles well and always wished I did," said Ivor Shapiro, chair of Ryerson's School of Journalism. "He was what previous generations simply called 'a gentleman,' with all that it connotes. He had a reputation as a fine editor, a devoted teacher, and a decent human being."
Oberdorf was diagnosed with emphysema a decade ago. Although he'd quit smoking in the early 1990s, the disease often manifests after a long delay. Increasingly debilitated, he nonetheless continued to work and teach, riding a motor scooter to Ryerson and teaching while hooked up to oxygen tanks. As recently as last Wednesday, he participated in a conference call meeting of Magazines Canada's membership committee.
Oberdorf leaves his wife, Mechtild, and their daughter, Anya.
A celebration of his life is planned for Oct. 25 at Glebe Road United Church in Toronto at 3 p.m., followed by a reception at Grano Restaurant.