Born in Niagara Falls and educated at the University of Toronto, Weaver served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.
From 1948 to 1985, Robert Weaver worked at the CBC where he created a series of shows that identified and featured then unknown Canadian writers such as Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, Timothy Findley, Margaret Atwood, and Leonard Cohen.
In order to maintain his direct contact with writers, Weaver turned down his promotions at the CBC.
He accepted the appointment to the Order of Canada in 2000 after declining it multiple times, stating he was critical of the "three-tier" nature of the award.
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