In Conversation with Frank Cavallaro

For more than four decades, Frank Cavallaro has been one of Canada's most recognizable media personalities. His broadcasting career has taken him from Montreal to Ottawa, Sherbrooke, Timmins, Winnipeg, Fredericton, and beyond, following the opportunities that define life in Canadian media. Along the way, he's interviewed everyone from rising country star Shania Twain to politicians and athletes, worked in television and radio, even ran for federal office, and packed his belongings into the back of more than one tiny car.

For this edition of Movers & Shakers, we spoke with Frank about the realities of moving for work, memorable roommates, cross-country drives, and why, after a lifetime on the road, home is ultimately about family.

TSM: What's the first place you ever lived on your own?

Frank Cavallaro:

"I went to University of Ottawa in '78."

Leaving Montreal for university was the first time Frank truly lived independently.

"That was the first time I actually left home."

He shared a house with three law students while he pursued communications.

"I was the only guy taking communications."

Unlike his roommates, Frank's evenings weren't spent studying.

"I was working as a DJ in Ottawa at a nightclub. I'd go out and get home at two in the morning and these guys would still be reading."

Today, all three became successful lawyers.

"They were kind of jealous of me. Here's the guy who's having fun."

TSM: Did you have anything in that first place that you'd be embarrassed to own today?

Frank Cavallaro:

"My turntable and microphone."

While everyone else buried themselves in textbooks, Frank's apartment looked more like a radio station than a student residence.

"I had a turntable and a microphone."

He also remembers one constant companion.

"I had this small 12-inch colour TV that I brought along with me."

That little television would end up travelling across Canada with him.

TSM: Who was your most memorable roommate?

Frank Cavallaro:

"When I first got the job in Sherbrooke... my roommate, believe it or not, was John Cordick."

Not many people can say they shared an apartment with a National Hockey League enforcer.

Cordick had been sent down by the Montreal Canadiens to play for their farm team in Sherbrooke, while Frank was covering the team for local radio.

"He asked if I knew anybody that had a place to rent. I said, 'I've got a spare bedroom.'"

Despite his fearsome reputation on the ice, Frank says the reality was completely different.

"He was miserable because he didn't want to be sent down."

But living together was easy.

"Nicest guy you could meet."

"On the ice he could beat anybody up, but off the ice he was one of the nicest guys."

The only roommate who came close to causing trouble?

"One of the lawyers would use everybody's milk."

TSM: Is there something you've carried through almost every move?

Frank Cavallaro:

"That small 12-inch colour TV."

Because Frank moved so frequently early in his broadcasting career, portability mattered.

"It fit in the back of my car."

Before hiring professional movers, almost every relocation followed the same routine.

"I had a small Mercury Capri. I'd put the seats down and jam-pack it with all my stuff."

TSM: Is there something you wish you'd never left behind?

Frank Cavallaro:

"I'm one who keeps stuff."

Unlike many people who purge belongings during moves, Frank admits he's the opposite.

"I have a storage unit... I have stuff in there I haven't used in four or five years."

The hardest things to part with are tied to his broadcasting career.

"Especially radio memorabilia."

"I've got 45s, I've got albums, I've got a turntable."

Looking back, he suspects a few pieces disappeared over the years.

"I might have left behind some 45s and albums."

TSM: Did you ever move because of a relationship?

Frank Cavallaro:

"No."

Like many broadcasters, every major move was career-driven.

"I always moved because of my career."

When he eventually returned to Montreal, it was because of an opportunity in television.

"I got a full-time job doing weather on television."

That move also changed his personal life.

"That's when I met my wife that I was married to for over twenty-five years."

TSM: Did you ever have a move where everything went wrong?

Frank Cavallaro:

"The one move I particularly remember..."

Frank laughs before recalling a solo drive from Montreal to Winnipeg.

"My car was jam-packed."

The tiny Mercury Capri was so full of belongings that visibility became an issue.

"I could barely see through the rear window."

Then came northern Ontario.

"I remember driving around Lake Superior and I thought it was never going to end."

"It was tiring."

"I think I drove like eighteen or twenty hours in a row."

He still remembers thinking one thing.

"I didn't think Canada was this big."

Another memorable move came when he hired professional movers for the first time.

"They kind of smashed up my dining room table."

Fortunately, the insurance covered the damage, but it remains his only truly negative moving-company experience.

TSM: What place has felt most like home?

Frank Cavallaro:

"I really liked Sherbrooke."

Although Montreal has always been his hometown, Frank speaks fondly about several places his career took him.

"I miss it because it's a small town."

"It's a university town."

"It's still affordable to live there."

Another favourite?

"I really love Fredericton, New Brunswick."

"A lot of greenery."

He also has warm memories of Winnipeg.

"I loved the people."

"The city... too cold."

TSM: If you had ten minutes to pack one box that represented your life, what's going in it?

Frank Cavallaro:

"My son's baby pictures."

The answer comes immediately.

Then come the reminders of his heritage and career.

"My record collection."

"Some 45s."

"My Italian memorabilia."

"My family memories—my brothers, my mom, my dad."

Asked where his family is from, Frank smiles.

"Napoli."

"The region where they mastered the Margherita pizza and espresso coffee."

TSM: Is there a city you ran away from?

Frank Cavallaro:

"I'd say Timmins."

Frank enjoyed his time there professionally.

"I interviewed Shania Twain in Timmins before anybody really knew who she was."

But living that far north wasn't for him.

"It's in the middle of nowhere."

He laughs before adding that he'd happily visit—but probably wouldn't move back.

TSM: What does home mean to you now compared to when you were twenty?

Frank Cavallaro:

Frank pauses before answering.

"My mom's still alive. She's 88."

"My son's here."

Although he's candid about his frustrations with modern-day Montreal, family is what keeps him rooted.

"I come back for my mom and my son and my family."

If circumstances were different, he'd happily spend more of his time elsewhere.

"I leave for Florida usually in mid-October and come back in mid-April."

He explains that, after living across nearly every region of Canada, his priorities have changed.

When he was twenty, home was wherever the next broadcasting job happened to be.

Today, it's wherever the people he loves still need him.

Frank Cavallaro continues to work in broadcasting, hosting weekend radio in Sherbrooke while taking on freelance radio and commercial voice work. A veteran broadcaster, former television weather presenter, and one-time federal political candidate, he remains one of Quebec's most familiar voices—and after a lifetime of moves, still has plenty of stories left to tell.