Well-known Winnipeg broadcaster and media personality Larry Updike has passed away at 69 after a brief battle with colon cancer.
Updike died early Thursday morning, just a week after undergoing cancer surgery. He had publicly announced his health struggles on June 13.
“I have received shocking news. I have colon cancer…and spots on my liver,” he wrote on social media. “The last few days I have been at Grace Hospital being tested for unrelenting abdominal pain which I have had in the last few weeks.”
Updike is perhaps best known for co-hosting the “Tom and Larry” show with fellow broadcaster Tom McGouran. The show ran for six years at Power 97 before moving to 92.1 CITI in 1988. The duo relaunched the popular show in a podcast format in 2014.
Updike also spent time on the air at 680 CJOB and CBC Radio One, where he hosted “Up to Speed” from 2010 to 2013. Recognized for his engaging on-air presence, Updike was a notable figure in Winnipeg’s media landscape for many years. In 2009, he briefly stepped away from the mic to become the senior spokesman for Siloam Mission. That same year, Updike was inducted into the Manitoba Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. His other accolades include being awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal for his work with the War Amps.
In 2014, the Saskatchewan native published a book entitled, “My Word! The Larry Updike Story.”
He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Mary-Ann, and his son, Gordon.
“I am far more concerned about her [Mary-Ann] & Gordon than anything else. If you consider me your friend, please remember that,” Updike wrote on social media.
