Michael MacMillan is chairman and ceo of Atlantis Communications and has worked with ctv on projects including the TekWar series, Neon Rider, Heck’s Way Home, The Possession of Michael D., Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron, Avalanche, Race to Freedom, The Sound and the Silence, and Adrift.

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I was trying my best to explain the nature of the problem to him. ‘You see,’ I said, ‘Seaton and I assumed that you would want your licence period toŠ’ Before I could finish, Arthur smiled, leaned forward towards me and shook his head. Impeccably dressed as always, Arthur smiled again, ‘You assumed, did you? Well, why don’t you just have a look under that pillow beside you on the couch?’

So, seated in Arthur Weinthal’s very tastefully and proudly appointed office at ctv on Charles St., I slowly turned over the hand-embroidered pillow. On the underside, in gold letters, were sewn the words: ‘Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups.’

I was thus reminded once again that Arthur Weinthal is an organized, planned type of guy. He also has a well-developed sense of order, fairness and humor. To have a cushion like that one (upside down) just waiting for the occasional moments to use it, tell a lot about the man. First, he obviously d’es have a sense of humor. Second, he is able to put disagreements behind him and not confuse the business topic with the people involved. Third, he likes things to be in their properly ordered place. And fourth, he knows our industry well enough to realize he’d have ample opportunities to use the cushion gag.

I believe I first met Arthur in 1981; for many years our relationship occurred primarily in the Italian restaurant near Charles and Yonge St. called Rugantino’s.

Arthur began working at ctv when I was in Grade 5, and even though he had ample opportunity to sample other restaurants in the area, he clearly showed he was a creature of habit. Every lunch I had with Arthur in Toronto from 1982 to 1990 was at Rugantino’s. After Arthur sold his shares in Rugantino’s, he began haunting Hy’s downtown.

Thinking about lunches and also being somewhat a creature of habit myself, it is certainly with some irony that as I write this (Jan. 12, 1996), I’m in New York City, unable to maintain the tradition of eating lunch with Arthur on his birthday (which is today).

It truly has been a great pleasure to continue to work with Arthur in an enjoyable and fruitful relationship over the years. With Arthur, it isn’t merely that we both like to eat and drink and tell stories to each other – it’s also that Arthur has been a straightforward pleasure to do business with. Always, I knew where I stood with Arthur, as he delivers his views with honesty and directness.

Arthur also has never desired to diminish other people’s success – just the opposite. So I wasn’t surprised that the very first congratulatory note I received upon the crtc announcement of the licence for Life Network was from Arthur. It arrived within minutes, literally, of the announcement.

At Atlantis, we have had all the possible program production highs and lows with Arthur – development deals initiated, development projects killed, series and movies ordered, renewed, and canceled. And new ones ordered again. Through it all, Arthur has been an honest, articulate advocate for ctv’s programming requirements, for the need to respect the fact that it’s the viewers who choose, and for the development of opportunities for the Canadian production community.

Many Atlantis programs including Adrift, Race to Freedom, Neon Rider, TekWar and Avalanche found their home on ctv, via Arthur. Arthur’s support for Atlantis and our projects has had a significant positive effect on our growth and success.

It has also been pretty obvious to me that Arthur has been a consistent and dedicated contributor to industry activities and organizations, including, recently, the Banff Television Festival and the Canadian Film Centre. Through it, he has been able to remember what people occasionally forget: that it’s the programs that count – and, it’s also the people who matter because they make the programs.

Notwithstanding my comments earlier about Arthur’s eating habits, he has demonstrated a keenness for and ability to embrace change. I wondered how Arthur would adapt to a new ctv president, John Cassaday, after so many years of doing his job in an established way. Rather than hiding from change, Arthur embraced it, being very supportive in actions and words of the new strategies and leadership which John represented.

Arthur, you have made a real contribution, you’ve participated in tremendous change over the years, you’ve seen an enormous maturation of our industry, and you’ve also witnessed that some of the same basic challenges still bedevil our industry. I know you will keep making your contribution.