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Michael Magee, an actor, comedian, and horse racing commentator, was born on October 11, 1929, in Toronto. His parents were members of the Ontario Jockey Club. Initially indifferent to horse racing, Magee was encouraged by his father to learn about the sport before forming an opinion. Over time, his interest in horses grew. He attended several private schools in Ontario, a challenging period during which he found solace at racetracks. As a teenager, Magee worked as a money runner for the mutuels department at the original Woodbine track in east Toronto, later taking a similar position at Exhibition Park in Vancouver. In his early years, he held various jobs including janitor, surveyor, hotel desk clerk, and factory line worker.
In 1956, Magee became a partner in Triangle Stable, which owned a single racehorse named Brighton Queen, after an English Channel paddle steamer—though Magee humorously remarked she was even slower than the ship. That year, he began his radio career at CKNW, featuring daily on the It Could Happen Show, which included a simulated fictional horse race. Over nearly five decades, Magee discussed horse racing on various radio stations including CBC Radio, CKEY, CKO, and The FAN, where in 1994 he co-hosted the Saturday racing season program Racing With Magee.
In 1968, Magee introduced the character Fred C. Dobbs on Gerussi: Words and Music—a cantankerous figure skeptical of politicians, bureaucrats, big labor, and big business—named after the greedy prospector in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. He also appeared on Ottawa television as a parliamentary correspondent from Beamsville and made his national TV debut with Don Harron during a 1969 New Year's Eve broadcast titled That's the News??? Good Night!!! Magee married Mabel "Duddie" McDonald, and in 1973 they launched their own show, The Real Magees, while also running a meat market on Church Street in Toronto. Their marriage, however, eventually ended in separation.
In 1980, Magee voiced Cyril Sneer, a cigar-smoking, greed-driven pink aardvark, in the TV special The Christmas Raccoons. He continued to voice Cyril throughout the series, including three more specials and the TV show The Raccoons, basing the character’s voice on a disliked schoolmaster. Although these were Magee’s only voice roles, he vividly brought Cyril and his snickering dog Snag to life.
Magee sparked controversy as an after-dinner speaker for the Writers' Union of Canada, making several sexist jokes, including referring to a fictional wife as "the old mattress" and mocking women who walked out by saying they had mustaches. In 1985, he met Sally Hamilton, with whom he remained until his death. Michael Magee passed away on July 15 at the age of 81, after battling colitis that led to heart failure.
