Welcome to WendellWilks.com

Date of Birth:	April 1, 1941
Citizenship:	Canadian
Personal:	2 Children

Community and Industry Service | Employment History
Achievements | Special Events | Gallery

View video of Wendell on CH TV April 2004 talking about the CBC
(1.84 MB, Windows Media 9 stream)

Community and Industry Service:

Vice-President of the Television and Film Institute of Canada
Chairman, CBC Network Advisory Rate-Setting Sub-Committee
Past Chairman – Calgary Advertising and Sales Bureau
Past President – Calgary Press Club
Vice-Chairman of CANPRO Awards, Founding Member, Judge on two
Past Director, Banff International Television Festival

Employment History

2002 - Present	TVN Television Niagara Inc., St. Catharines President & CEO
1998 – 2002	WLX Technologies Inc., Toronto, Ontario President
1993 – 1998	Cross Roads Television System, CTS TV Station, Toronto, Ontario General Manager / Executive Producer
1986 – 1993	Alberta Television Network Inc., Edmonton, Alberta President
1985 – 1986	CKWS TV, Kingston, Ontario Executive Vice-President and General Manager
1983 – 1985	Crossroads Christian Communications Inc., Toronto, Ontario Consultant to the President
1977 – 1983	Wendell Wilks Productions, Vancouver & Toronto Broadcast Consultant
	Wilks & Close Productions Inc., Vancouver & Toronto Owner/Producer
1977	Global Television Network, Toronto, Ontario General Manager Reorganized Network
1972 – 1977	CITV, Edmonton, Alberta Founding President and General Manager
1967 – 1972	CFAC-TV, Calgary, Alberta Operations Manager
1964 – 1967	CKRD-TV, Red Deer, Alberta Production Manager and Program Director
1961 – 1964	CBC-TV, Edmonton, Alberta Technician
1959 – 1961	CHAT-TV, Medicine Hat, Alberta Account Executive

Achievements

Managed CKWS-TV, Kingston, Ontario to higher profitability
Managed and created Toronto’s Channel 9 – Canada’s first commercial Christian TV station – led it to profitable operation in only 90 days on air.
Created and managed to profitability CITV Edmonton
Reorganized Global Television Network

In charge of development of dozens of major special events including the following:

"CTS Grand Opening Gala" at the Roy Thompson Hall, Toronto.
Sold the "SCTV" television series to CBC and then again to NBC through Rhodes Productions, L.A. SCTV was the first Canadian television series ever produced in Canada to run weekly on US television. Series also produced at ITV in Edmonton, the TV station Wendell founded, designed and created.
Produced a weekly TV drama series, "The Baxters" co-produced with Westinghouse, USA. Starred Sean McCann and Megan Follows.
Produced a special with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra at the CNE, Toronto. Special guest narrator was William Shatner and the music of Star Wars. Attended by 18,000.
Produced Edmonton’s 8 day "Klondike Days". Performers included the Beach Boys, Chicago, Johnny Cash, Gordon Lightfoot, Charlie Pride, Stevie Wonder, Linda Rhonstadt.
"The Astonishing Odyssey", the largest symphony concert in Canadian history, produced at the Montreal Olympic Stadium with the Montreal Symphony and broadcast on CBC worldwide in French and English.
- created and developed computer images scored live by Academy Award winning composer Michel Legrand, 68,000 tickets sold.
- performers included Louis Jordan and Orson Welles.
- 15 minute standing ovation was received.
Produced 78 major TV concerts recorded at Ontario Place “Live At The Forum” with artists ranging from B. B. King to Tina Turner, including Dionne Warwick, the late Sarah Vaughan, Randy Newman and Kris Kristofferson.
- series sold worldwide with up to 10,000 in attendance.
Produced 4 hours of Michel Legrand Specials at Montreal’s Place Des Artes for CBC Network, performers included Paul Anka, Dizzie Gillespie, Helen Reddy, Jerry Lewis, Juliette Prowse and the 105 piece Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Produced every detail of the Celebrity Concert series at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta – 36 concerts-with Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Roberta Flack, Anne Murray and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Produced "The Palace" – 28 hours – with the Hamilton Philharmonic, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones and hundreds of stars.
Producer of The Galloping Gourmet’s new show "Graham Kerr’s Gathering Place" 130 hours.
Produced HDTV movie "The Rev".

Gallery

WGWilks@TVN.ca