A Niagara At Large News Brief
Whether it was Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Sunset Boulevard, the Marx Brother’s Night At The Opera, or any one of a number of those black and white flicks from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, he had generations of Ontario and Western New York television watchers – young and old – rediscovering the magic of classic films.
Elwy Yost
Elwy Yost, the ever ebullient host of TV Ontario’s Saturday Night at the Movies for more than two decades from 1974 to 1999, died this July 22 at age 86.
“It is with great sadness that we extend our condolences to the family and friends of Elwy Yost,” said TVO’s CEO Lisa de Wilde. “As creator of Saturday Night at the Movies, Elwy started a long-standing Saturday night tradition for viewers across the province. And as TVO’s longest-running primetime series, Saturday Night at the Movies continues to have a loyal following today.
Yes it does continue to have a loyal following, but it has never been as engaging as when Elwy would first come on the screen in his sofa chair, with that look of the movie fan he was on his face and speak a few words about whatever the first of the two movies of the night was. I remember him introducing the film Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton, as if he was there while they were shooting it, back in the early 1950s above the rapids of the Falls.
Then he’s ask you to ‘put your feet up and turn the lights down low’ for the first movie before he engaged in interviews with some of the best film directors and actors of the time. If Marilyn Monroe had still been alive, leave it to Elwy to get an interview with her too.
Rest in peace Mr. Yost, and thank you for the great entertainment.
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Niagara At Large 
Lovely man. Loved to watch him educate us to really good films we might otherwise have overlooked. And his enthusiasm. It was catching … not a mean bone in his body. He justloved films.
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He truly did love movies, and I loved watching him on Saturday nights (when I had television). He was a good interviewer too, always doing his homework on the film and its stars. If it weren’t for Mr. Yost, I never would’ve given a lot of black & whites a chance. Thanks Elwy!
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So sad to hear, we’ve had a big void on Saturday nights without him….as you say, he introduced me to Sunset Boulevard and Niagara when I was still young and many other great and interesting films. You nailed him perfectly in your description…he was fun to watch and his enthusiasm was so contagious. Well done Elwy.
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I loved Elwy Yost. He was so enthusiastic about movies. Like a little kid, he was so excited to meet and talk about the great movies with the people who made them. Learned a lot about movies from watching his show every week. Long before the ease of movie rentals, Elwy brought us the best of the best. RIP, Elwy. Finis.
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I remember having a conversation with him late at night on the subway in Toronto 25 years ago. He was in person the man we saw on television!
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