Dini Petty
Born15 January 1945
Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England, UK
OccupationHelicopter Pilot, TV & Radio Host, Author
GenreChildren's Literature

Dini Petty (born January 15, 1945) is a Canadian television and radio host. At 22, wearing a trademark pink jumpsuit and working for Toronto radio station CKEY, she became the first female traffic reporter to pilot her own helicopter. She clocked 5,000 hours as pilot-in-command of a Hughes 300.

Three people sitting up on the back seat of a corvette, most likely participating in a parade or procession.
Dini Petty, left, beside fellow broadcasters J D Roberts and Jeanne Beker in a parade in March 1982.

Later, at Citytv Toronto, she worked as a writer, reporter and co-anchor, with Gord Martineau, of evening newscast CityPulse at 6.[1] There she also hosted an afternoon program, Sweet City Woman. Later, on Citytv's daily talk show CityLine, Petty established herself as one of Canada's foremost television talk show hosts.[2][3] She left her evening news anchor position to concentrate on CityLine. From May 1987 to 1989, Petty also anchored Citytv's short-lived 5:30 p.m. news and current affairs program CityWide.

In 1989, Petty moved to CFTO and the Baton Broadcasting System.[4] Her popular hour-long general interest talk show, The Dini Petty Show, aired until 1999.[2][3]

In the 2000s, Petty hosted Weekends with Dini Petty, a syndicated weekly radio program focused on health and wellness for baby boomers. Sheila Copps succeeded her as host of Weekends.

In August and September 2010, Petty returned to guest-host several episodes of Cityline while host, Tracy Moore, was on maternity leave.

In 2016, Petty relaunched a product called Luuup Litter Box, partially through using a Kickstarter platform.[5]

Personal life

Petty is the daughter of Gordon Petty, a film producer, and Molly, a Scottish war bride.[2] Molly Petty ran a talent and modeling agency, Producers' Services in Toronto.[2] In 1980, a documentary camera followed her pregnancy and the birth of her son Nicholas.[6] She also has a daughter, Samantha.

Publications

Petty has written a children's book, The Queen, the Bear, and the Bumblebee, published in 2000.[7] Joanne Findon (professor of English literature at Trent University, Ontario)[8] described the book as "a charming fable about the value of being yourself and recognizing your own strengths."[9] Publishers Weekly was less flattering: "Despite a bumblebee protagonist, there's little to buzz about in this didactic picture book."[10] In 2014, the book was staged at a theatre at the Banff Centre.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "CITYPULSE: Tabloid TV news". Chatelaine. Vol. 58, no. 11. November 1985. p. 12. ISSN 0009-1995. 1715423051 – via Proquest.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McCabe, Nora (February 1990). "Dini's dynamite! As her new morning talk show wins raves I across the country host Dini Petty--bright, funny and down-to-earth--proves it helps to have the common touch to queen it on daytime TV". Chatelaine. Vol. 63, no. 2. pp. 44–46, 48. ISSN 0009-1995. 1715432129 – via Proquest.
  3. 1 2 Zerbisias, Antonia (1989-12-14). "Champions of breakfast fight for early TV audience". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont., Canada. pp. C4. ISSN 0319-0781. 436118877 – via Proquest.
  4. ↑ Zarzour, Kim (1990-01-18). "Dini Petty Stronger than ever Fame has cost her several marriages along with her privacy and safety but the girl with the pink helicopter is flying high with a new TV show". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont., Canada. pp. L1. ISSN 0319-0781. 436114913 – via Proquest.
  5. ↑ "Former TV host Dini Petty is starting a business again … at 71". The Globe and Mail. March 9, 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Bot, Ellen (1987-03-05). "Petty's style more sophisticated than in her helicopter pilot days". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont., Canada. pp. B7. ISSN 0319-0781. 435562142. Retrieved 2023-08-27 – via Proquest.
  7. ↑ "The Queen, the Bear and the Bumblebee (First Edition)". www.isbns.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "English M.A. (Public Texts) Faculty". www.trentu.ca. Trent University. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Reviews: The Queen, the Bear and the Bumblebee". www.quillandquire.com. Quill and Quire. December 2000. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Queen, the Bear and the Bumblebee". www.publishersweekly.com. PWxyz LLC. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Dini Petty enters her 70s, still flying high". The Star. January 15, 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
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