Fanny Fans Rejoice

Fanny Kiefer is back and better than ever

by JOHN PIFER, photo by Jaime Kowal

All anyone wants to talk about with Fanny Kiefer is the brain aneurysm and the tumour. Yet there is much more history, and much more substance, to this Vancouver media icon than the story of that scary and unpleasant episode in April of 2005.

“Live it to the hilt, sister. This isn’t a dress rehearsal.”
—Fanny Kiefer’s perspective on life,from the Studio 4 website

The event, which included eight hours in the operating theatre after a couple of days of intense, excruciating headaches, proved the exceptional scope of the love that surrounds this affable, intelligent, generous, and insightful woman.

Immediately, and throughout her recovery, there was a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion from strangers, listeners, and viewers who had come to know Fanny over her 35 years in mainstream media in B.C., and especially from viewers of the past five years of her Studio 4 interview program on Shaw Cable TV.

There was genuine, heartfelt, and overflowing love from her friends and family, too, as well as from media colleagues—all of which Kiefer describes as “an extravagant demonstration of love.”

She fondly recalls the gentle reports on CKNW radio by the usually brash sports commentator Neil Macrae, who kept listeners updated on her progress for weeks. She says Macrae, a former romantic interest, “even sounded genuinely choked a couple of times, apparently” in passing on word of her condition. “That is just so sweet.”

That kind of love and support for Kiefer existed long before the aneurysm.

Kiefer roared into the public eye more than 30 years ago, as the first woman to host a radio open-line talk show (on then CJOR-AM). Her style in interviewing and probing into the hearts and souls of her guests developed steadily through stints that included 10 years at CKNW and programs on CBC TV/radio.

She celebrates the fact that the hour-long format of Studio 4 enables her to do more than just skim the surface with the diverse guests—from prominent politicians and influential social leaders to relatively unknown individuals with a great story to tell.

“I have no intention to be deeply shallow. I believe that I can shed light into people’s lives by exploring more intensely into what we are all about and how we, as individuals, can work for change,” she adds fervently. That intensity was recently honoured when Chatelaine Magazine named Kiefer one of the 25 most influential women in Canada.

Leafing through two giant scrapbooks with signatures, cartoons, caricatures, and sentiments of guests who have sat down to chat with her, Kiefer is passionate about being able to make a difference in the world.

She adamantly maintains that it is her generation, the flower children of the ’60s, “who have to step forward now to stop the environmental destruction of our planet. Anything I can do through exploring the ways and means with guests on my show, I will do. It is important now to stand up and be counted, not just for us, but for future generations.”

Kiefer’s passion on the subject is evident, as what had been a laid-back interview between two old colleagues who have known one another for two decades turns into a deep, metaphysical study of how we may effect changes that matter.

This unassuming, intensely curious woman has interviewed anyone who is anyone in Canada (Margaret Atwood, Rex Murphy), as well as some significant international celebrities, such as Salman Rushdie, filmmaker Costa Gravas, and Olivier Picasso (grandson of Pablo).

By venturing into the arts, politics, and social issues, as well as local, national, and international talking points, Kiefer covers the gamut of matters that matter. Oh sure, there are the light, bright chats with old friends, too, but overall, the Studio 4 conversations delve more deeply into the nature of the topic and the guest than the superfluous exchanges on most radio talk shows.

The host’s tenacity is evidenced by her rapid recovery from the life-threatening tumour. She was back in the studio in September, digging deeply into the mindsets of her guests, so soon after surgeons had been digging into her brain.

“I felt like I returned to the womb, during those darkest days,” says Kiefer. “I realized that I had to give up all control and to surrender and trust to the process. It helped me to heal more rapidly than if I had fought it in my normal, resolute manner.”

With hospital visits from dear friends such as Judge Nancy Morrison and veteran broadcaster Vicki Gabereau (who smuggled in some exotic food and wine, but that’s another story), Kiefer says she never got overly emotional about the experience. “I never felt any fear at my deepest level, and I just knew, cranial surgery or not, that I was going to be around for a while yet. I have more to do. I know that I can make a difference.”

Never one to suffer fools gladly, Fanny declines to name any interview subject who was a complete dud, but acknowledges that getting a few of her guests to open up during the almost 1,000 Shaw shows can be a challenge.

“For the most part, however, people seem comfortable with the format. The luxury of time allows more opportunity to delve more deeply into issues and individuals. It allows me and the viewers to get a good measure of the person,” she adds.

Asked whom she has not yet interviewed and would love to, Kiefer immediately says the Dalai Lama. “He is someone I respect and value, and he always seems so happy, always giggling, always loving life.”

The show is like a dance. “Often there is an instant bonding, even with someone I am just meeting for the first time. The storytelling is magical and a vital part of that exploration. I want to keep meeting and dialoguing with visionaries, and to introduce a wider audience to them and their ideas. I love it.”

And that love is reciprocated every day, whether from her family, close friends, or her legion of Fanny Fans.

It really is all about love.

Veteran B.C. wordsmith John Pifer has a big heart and knows how to use it.