Hundreds of friends assembled to honour the life and death of Pierre Berton, the prolific author, broadcaster and Canadian icon at a public celebration Tuesday night.

It was a veritable "who's who "of the Canadian literary and cultural scene, as well-wishers gathered at the CBC headquarters' atrium in Toronto included: Lloyd Robertson, Knowlton Nash, June Callwood, Margaret Atwood, Allan Fotheringham, Betty Kennedy, Rick Mercer and former prime minister John Turner.

The atrium was filled almost to capacity and some devotees stood outside, mindless of the rain.

Berton died of congestive heart failure on Nov. 30. He was 84.

"He was really a remarkable person and I think of him always as a comrade, an ally, a friend and a colleague," Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson said.

"We were allied in all sorts of battles together, as many of you were, against capital punishment, against the libel laws, but the causes were always many and we were always, I'm happy to say, on the same side."

"You'll never die, Pierre," author June Callwood took the microphone to say, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"You're gone, but you'll never die."

Berton started his career in journalism and went on to write more than 40 books.

"He just couldn't stop writing. It was compulsive, obviously. And he had, luckily for us, the talent to go with the compulsion.'' Clarkson said.

Berton had an illustrious career as a journalist and historian, receiving three Governor General's Awards and numerous honorary degrees. He was also named a companion of the Order of Canada.

But he was most loved for his zest for life.

"If my father were here, he would have leaned over to me about now and said "Boy, this is dragging on, when do we get to the drinks?'," said his son Paul, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Berton welcomed controversy, unabashedly admitting how much he liked to smoke marijuana.

Just a month before his death, he appeared on the CBC satire show "Rick Mercer's Monday Report," offering spliff-rolling tips and quipping that a loosely rolled joint "could leave unsightly toke burns on one's bow tie."

"Pierre was in fact a Peter Pan sort of person. He never grew up, he never lost his sense of wonder and curiosity and his love of adventures. It was what made him a great storyteller," said his sister, Lucy Berton-Woodward.

With files from Canadian Press