Victor Malarek

Canadian journalist and author

Victor Gregory Malarek (born 26 June 1948) is a Canadian journalist and author, known for his book Hey, Malarek! and his tenure as one of the hosts of CBC's The Fifth Estate, as well as his depiction in the movie Target Number One (known as Most Wanted in the United States). He retired as senior investigative reporter for CTV's W5 in 2017.

Victor Malarek was born on 26 June 1948 in Lachine, Quebec. Malarek attended the High School of Montreal, where he had a hard time. He also experienced the child protection system in his youth. He gives a colourful account of his early days in his book Hey, Malarek! (1984), which was a popular success and was made into a film. Malarek entered the world of journalism in 1968 as a copy boy for Weekend Magazine, and joined The Montreal Star as a police reporter in 1970. His first major assignment was reporting on the Quebec October Crisis. He became a writer for The Globe and Mail in 1976. In 1989, he was portrayed by Elias Koteas in the movie Malarek, based on his first book Hey, Malarek! These works depict the journalist's turbulent youth. The 16 part CBC fictional drama series Urban Angel in the 1991–1992 season was also inspired by Malarek's life. From 1990 to 2000, Malarek was one of the hosts for CBC's The Fifth Estate. In The Fifth Estate episode "The One That Got Away", Malarek exposed police and prosecutorial misconduct that resulted in Calmar man Jason Dix's wrongful accusation of double murder. After the episode aired, Dix was awarded a judgment of almost $765,000. In 1997, he won a Gemini Award as Canada's top broadcast journalist. Malarek also received four Michener Awards, three of these during his tenure with The Globe and Mail and the other at The Fifth Estate. In 2020, his 1980s investigation of the arrest of Canadian drug addict Alain Olivier in Thailand was dramatized in the film Target Number One (known as Most Wanted in the United States), in which he was portrayed by Josh Hartnett. Malarek worked as the senior reporter for CTV's investigative program W5. Malarek is the author of seven books. His most recent book, Orphanage 41, was released in 2014.