Peter Gzowski, 67; Longtime Canadian Broadcaster, Author

Peter Gzowski, 67, a longtime national radio broadcaster in Canada and a prolific author, died Thursday of emphysema in a Toronto hospital, his family announced.

A newspaper columnist, author of 16 books and founder of a golf tournament that raised money for literacy programs, Gzowski was best known to Canadians as the gravelly, smoky voice that hosted the three-hour CBC Morningside program on Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Radio for 15 years, until 1997.

Gzowski smoked for 50 years before quitting in 1999, and recently recorded video footage for a Canadian Lung Assn. anti-smoking campaign.

He also wrote about battling his tobacco addiction.

Born in Toronto, Gzowski was educated at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario, and the University of Toronto. He landed his first journalism job at 19 at the Timmins (Ont.) Daily Press.