Jane Gray

Elsie Gray (1896-1984), known professional as Jane Gray was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster, who was active between 1924 and 1979. 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. Early years 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. Radio career 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.