CBC Television Series, 1952-1982
by Blaine Allan
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CBC Series Index
CARAVAN
Fri 4:30-5:30 p.m., 1 Jul-16 Sep 1960
Fri 4:30-5:30 p.m., 7 Jul-28 Sep 1961
Fri 4:30-5:30 p.m., 6 Jul-28 Sep 1962
For three summers, the CBC presented a weekly, hour-long, bilingual show for
children that used the format of a circus. The two-ring program (to expedite
scene changes) took place under a big top tent that seated seven hundred
spectators. Guy Mauffette played Monsieur Loyal, the ringmaster who introduced
liontamers, trapeze artists, exotic animals, clowns Guy L'Ecuyer and Giani
Scarpi, and other circus acts in both English and French. The show aired
Fridays on the English network and on Saturdays on French stations. Caravan
was produced through the Montreal facilities, but toured through Quebec,
Ontario, and, in the final season, the Atlantic provinces. Fernand Dore
produced the first season, and was succeeded by Maurice Dubois, Pierre
Desjardins, and Guy Leduc.
Wed/Thu 4:30-5:00 p.m., 24 Mar-1 Apr 1976
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 15 Mar-29 Mar 1977
Rena Edgley produced this series of three half-hour programs on occupations
traditionally restricted to males, but which now opened up to women. Alysia
Pascuris introduced the three segments: No, Mary Jane. . . You Can't Be A
Fireman; Yes, Mary Jane. . . You Can Be A Firefighter; and Mary Jane, You Can
Be Anything You Want To Be.
Sat 7:30-8:00 p.m., 2 Jul-24 Sep 1960
Sun 3:00-3:30 p.m., 16 Apr-16 Jul 1967
Tue 9:30-10:00 p.m., 12 Sep-17 Oct 1967 (R)
The first Cariboo Country series was produced in the CBC's Vancouver television
studio, a small, converted garage. The facilities limited the production, but
still Paul St. Pierre's stories of the people of Namko, a fictional community
in British Columbia's Chilcotin Plateau, raised viewers' interest. The
principal character was Smith who, with his wife Norah and their son Sherwood,
had to endure the hardships of running a small, independent ranch in an
unforgiving land. Smith, whose first name was so unimportant that no one knew
it, even his wife, was played by David Hughes. The cast also featured Ted
Stidder, Robert Clothier, Wally Marsh, Frank Vyvyan, and Del Erickson.
Paul St. Pierre created the characters and situations from his observations of
life in the B.C. interior. He commented that Cariboo Country was less an
actual, geographic location than "a condition, a state of mind." He judged
that the show ". . . may be a curious drama series, since almost all the people
are singularly undramatic, given to understatement and to casualness, to
indirection and to private humors. Probably the country makes them that
way--strong, self-reliant, hospitable, individualistic, unpredictable." The
series was produced by Philip Keatley and Frank Goodship.
The thirteen original episodes of Cariboo Country were as follows: The Window
at Namko; Chilcotin Footworm; The Infant Bonaparte; Frenchie's Wife; Justice on
the Jawbone; The White Mustang; The Worries of Henry James; Strong Medicine;
The Duke and the C.L.L. Wobbler; Morton and the Slicks; Who Hunts O'Mara?;
Under the Blanket (which told the story of what happened when a CBC television
crew came to the Namko in search of programming ideas); and The One-Man Crowd.
They were shown locally in Vancouver from l4 June to 8 September, and later on
the network.
The CBC returned to Cariboo Country several years later. With increased
budgets, Keatley and his crew shot further episodes on location for the
network's anthology of limited series, The Serial. The first, a two part
segment called The Education of Phyllistine (l2-l9 March 1964), introducing
Nancy Sandy as Phyllistine and Chief Dan George as Ol' Antoine, attracted
considerable attention, and won a Canadian Film Award as best film for
television. What is a Rancher? and Boss of the Namko Drive were aired the
following two weeks, and repeated only a couple of months later, on ll and l8
June. In the following years, The Serial featured the following Cariboo
Country stories: Who Hunts O'Mara?. Antoine's Wooden Overcoat, and Morton and
the Slicks (6-20 May 1965); Sale of One Small Ranch, The Strong People (a story
of the 19l0s, told in flashback), Frenchie's Wife, Mocassin Telegraph, All
Indian, Cabin Fever, The Hunt on Happy Anne, Sarah's Copper, and The One-Man
Crowd (3 February - 7 March and 7-l4 April 1966). The Education of
Phillistine was repeated on Festival in a one hour block, in 1967, and How to
Break a Quarter Horse, and hour-long episode, also aired on Festival, in 1966.
David Hughes continued as Smith. Lillian Carlson played Norah, his wife, and
their son Sherwood was played by Greg Davies (l964) and Alan Cherrier
(l965-66). Other regulars included Chief Dan George as Ol' Antoine, Joseph
Golland as Frenchie Bernard, Ted Stidder, and Wally Marsh.
Paul St. Pierre's stories have been collected in book form: Cariboo Country;
Breaking Smith's Quarter Horse (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1966); Boss of the
Namko Drive (Toronto: Ryerson, 1968), and Smith and Other Events (Toronto:
Doubleday, 1983).
Fri 5:30-6:00 p.m., 12 Sep-19 Sep 1952
Fri 5:30-6:00 p.m., 7 Nov-28 Nov 1952
On this weekly half-hour children's show from Montreal, artist Jack Derr
offered illustrated story-tours of different countries.
Sat 5:30-6:00 p.m., 7 Nov 1959-2 Jan 1960
Sat 5:30-6:00 p.m., 9 Apr 1960-25 Mar 1961
Tue 5:30-6:00 p.m., 4 Apr-14 Nov 1961
Tue 5:30-6:00 p.m., 22 May-25 Sep 1962
A program of animated cartoons, introduced by Malcolm the Dog, a puppet created
by John Keogh.
Tue 4:45-5:00 p.m., 7 Apr-23 Jun 1959
Tue 5:15-5:30 p.m., 30 Jun 1959
Each week, Ross Snetsinger and his hand puppet, Foster, introduced European
films to their audience of children.
Wed 10:30-11:00 p.m., 6 Jul-20 Sep 1960
Thu 8:30-9:00 p.m., 29 Sep 1960
Mon 9:30-10:00 p.m., 26 Jul-25 Sep 1961
Mon 7:30- 8:00 p.m., 2 Jul-24 Sep 1962
The CBC proclaimed the authenticity of its summer series, A Case For The Court
by announcing that it was producing the program with the cooperation of the
Canadian Bar Association. Produced by George Dick and written by Alan King,
the series involved the enactment of ficitonal criminal and civil cases by
practicing barristers before actual judges. At the start of the series King,
Dick, supervising producer Eric Koch, and production assistant Milo Chvostek
met with a committee from the Bar Association to plan what cases should be
included/
They ranged from problems involving taxes and wills to a charge of criminal
negligence resulting from a hunting accident to a case of sexual assault on a
girl. In the second season, a special ninety minute broadcast was devoted to
following anarmed robbery suspect from the moment of the alleged offense to the
trial. The third season included cases in which a worker accused a union of
blacklisting him, a murder charge that brings a plea of insanity, and the
question of negligence in not using automobile seat belts.
Host Gil Christy introduced the viewer to the charges and, outside the
courtroom, to some of the principals in the case, such as the defendant, the
plaintiff or the police, and witnesses, all played by professional actors. In
the courtroom, the lawyers examined witnesses and presented their arguments.
King had constructed the story of the case for the performers, but the lawyers
built their own cases and witnesses ad libbed their testimony based on the
facts they had been provided with. After summations, the case went to a panel of
four citizens who, representing the public, discussed the legal merits of the
case and questioned the judge, who made the final decision based on the legal
arguments and the thinking of the public as he heard the panel express it.
Sun 10:00-11:00 p.m., 13 Jun-27 Jun 1982
A series of three. one-hour programs--Suicide; Teenage Sexuality; and
Retirement We Deserve--produced in Edmonton by Jack Emack.
Fri 9:00-10:00 p.m., 7 May-11 Jun 1976
A showcase for up and coming Canadian talent, also featuring established stars,
such as Juliette, Al Waxman, Dinah Christie, Jack Duffy, Julie Amato, Dave
Broadfoot, Barbara Hamilton, Bill Walker, Catherine McKinnon, and Billy Van.
The host was Tommy Hunter and Randy Markowitz produced.
Mon 4:30-5:00 p.m., 11 Sep 1978-26 Mar 1979
Part of the For Kids Only program package, Catch Up. produced by John Ryan, was
a half-hour musical variety show that featured Christopher Ward and his band,
and Margaret Pinvidic.
Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) is the Celtic name for a song exchange, and the
CBC used the title for a series of Celtic music from the Atlantic provinces,
produced in Halifax. In the summer of 1973, John Allan Cameron starred in a
series of thirteen programs by this title offered for regional exchange. When
the series reappeared in summer 1974, the host who, like Cameron, wore kilts,
was singer Alasdair Gillied. He introduced musical guests, as well as series
regulars, the Cape Breton Fiddlers and the Ceilidh Dancers.
Tue 7:300-8:00 p.m., 23 Sep 1975-25 May 1976
Celebration was one of television's rare attempts to put programming that had
devotional roots anywhere other than Sunday. Essentially a musical variety
series, Celebration concentrated on gospel and inspirational music. It also
used filmed interview segments, with people talking about spiritually
meaningful subjects, to anchor the meaning of the songs. Musical arrangements
were by Doug Riley, one of the mainstays of Toronto session work, and a
successful arranger for vocal groups such as Dr. Music. The series' featured
octet was called the Celebration Choir. The show's host was singer Tommy
Ambrose, long ago a graduate of Country Hoedown who had developed a career as a
popular songwriter and session singer. Bill Davis and Sam Lovullo produced the
series for Celebration Productions.
Mon-Fri 5:00-5:30 p.m., 3 Apr-10 Sep 1978
Mon-Fri 3:30-4:00 p.m., 11 Sep 1978-30 Mar 1979
Bruno Gerussi was the host for this popular, half-hour, comedy and cooking
show, which featured Canadian and international figures from the world of
entertainment demonstrating their favourite recipes. Keith Lange and Derek
Smith produced the program in Ottawa for Initiative Productions. Gary Dunford
was the series writer, and Helga Theilmann and Joan Mitchell were the cooking
consultants.
Photo (courtesy of CBC) shows Bruno Gerussi, Alan Hamel.
Fri 8:00-8:30 p.m., 18 Aug-1 Sep 1967
Thu 10:30-11:00 p.m., 7 Sep 1967
Within all the celebration of the country's 's centennial, the CBC produced a
series of four half-hour musical variety programs devoted to the national
groups that comprise Canada's population. The first, which concentrated on
Mediterranean nations, starred Italy's Sergio Franchi, the Greek folk dance
group The Tanets, the Ivan Romanoff orchestra and chorus, and Ahuva Shai, from
Israel. On the second program, which dealt with Britain, George Murray
introduced actor Barry Morse, the pipe and drum corps of the 48th Highlanders,
the Emerald Isle Step Dancers, the St. David United Welsh Choir, and singer
Anne Linden, from Ireland. The third program featured music from the Caribbean
and Latin America, performed by Chicho Valle and his orchestra, the Mexican
trio Los Compadres, the Haitian Chico Simon and his quintet, Jamaican singer
Dick Smith, and Nilda, an Argentinian singer. the host for this segment was
Elwood Glover. The fourth and final program assembled performers from Europe.
Singer and actor Jan Rubes introduced Edita Symonek, from Germany, Isabel
Santos, from Portugal, the Zemplin Slovak Dancers, from Czechoslovakia, and,
once again, the Ivan Romanoff orchestra and chorus.
Drew Crossan produced the series, which was written by Lesia Zubrak, Alfie
Scopp, and Alex Barris.
A series of three half-hour performances by internatonal stars and young
performers of classical music, winners of the INCO Centennial Scholarships in
the Performing Arts. The second show presented contralto Maureen Forrester and
pianist Richard Gresko. The third featured pianist Glenn Gould, soprano Audrey
Glass, and bass Claude Corbeil.
The Challenge of the Lonely Sky
Tue 7:30-8:00 p.m., 2 Jul-23 Jul 1974
A four part series of half-hour programs on civil aviation in Canada, produced,
written, and narrated by Frank Williams.
Fri 10:00-10:30 p.m., 26 Jan-30 Mar 1979
Fri 8:00-9:00 p.m., 11 Jan 1980
Fri 9:00-10:00 p.m., 8 Feb 1980
Wed 9:00-10:00 p.m., 2 Apr 1980
A series of half-hour programs on dynamic, successful Canadians, produced by
Gabor Apor for Projections Productions, with hosts Alexander Ross and Merle
Shain.
Sat 10:45-11:00 p.m., 4 Jan-17 Apr 1969
A fifteen minute weekly profile of a sports champion, to follow the hockey
broadcast, with Michael Magee, and produced by Rick Rice.
Thu 10:30-11:00 p.m., 3 Nov 1966-8 Feb 1967
Fri 5:30-6:00 p.m., 4 JUl-26 Sep 1969
For the centennial year, the CBC produced a series of thirteen half-hour
programs of folk music, filmed in colour in and around Calgary, Newfoundland,
Lake Louise, Halifax, Victoria, Toronto, Vancouver, Niagara Falls, Montreal,
and Quebec. The stars were filmed singing on location, and they included
Jean-Pierre Ferland, Joni Mitchell, the Travellers, Claude Leveillee, Sheila
Graham, George Walker, Catherine McKinnon, Gordon Lightfoot, Christine
Charbonneau, Pauline Julien, Bonnie Dobson, and Tom Kines.
Anton Vandewater produced and directed the films, and Jim Guthro was the
executive producer of Chansons.
Sun 9:00-9:30 a.m., 4 Jul-19 Sep 1976
Sun 9:00-9:30 a.m., 21 Aug-25 Sep 1977
Sun 9:00-9:30 a.m., 3 Jun-12 Aug 1978
Produced in Winnipeg, this summer series demonstrated barbeque cooking, with
host George Knight and International Inn chef Fernie Kirouac. The CBC set up a
mobile unit in St. Vital Park this outdoors show, produced by Ted Benoit.
Charlie Had One But He Didn't Like It, So He Gave It To Us
Wed 11:40-12:10 a.m., 20 Jul-12 Oct 1966
Produced in Toronto, this late night, half-hour show with the improbable title
consisted of sight gags, blackouts, and sketches. It featured a different
female guest each week. Regulars Paul Soles and Barrie Baldaro, were, along
with David Harriman, the show's writers, and it was produced by Terry Kyne.
Mon 7:30-8:00 p.m., 8 Jul-23 Sep 1963
John Livingston organized this half-hour show on health care over the summer of
l963 for the CBC with the aid of the Canadian Medical Association. Like A Case
For The Court, Check-Up tried to illuminate a professional practice through
demonstration and dramatization, and by taking the place of the viewer in
questioning the procedures and the reasons. Both shows were overseen by public
affairs supervising producer Eric Koch and written by Alan King. Check-Up was
produced by Denny Spence, and the series consultant was Dr. Norrie Swanson,
medical director of the Canadian Arthritis and Rheumatism Association, Ontario
Division.
Each program was devoted to a specific medical problem or diseases. In the
first part, a doctor examined a patient and makes a diagnosis. In the
second part, the program host, Lloyd Robertson, introduced the doctor to a
panel of laymen. Under their questioning, the doctor explained his
observations and his decisions regarding treatment. In a third part, the
doctor and patient are shown in a scene from several days or weeks later, so
that viewers can observe how the treatment has worked or how the malady has
progressed. In a conclusion, Robertson and the doctor discuss the significance
of the disease or problem.
The twelve week series confronted the following issues: accidental poisoning
in childhood; backache; leukemia; pre-natal care; headache; coronary heart
disease; allergy; geriatrics; rheumatoid arthritis; anxiety tension; chronic
cough; and diabetes.
Mon-Fri 2:00-2:15 p.m., 26 Oct 1959-29 Apr 1960
Mon-Fri 2:00-2:15 p.m., 17 Oct 1960-30 Jun 1961
Mon-Fri 2:00-2:15 p.m., 2 Oct 1961-29 Jun 1962
Mon-Fri 2:00-2:15 p.m., 15 Oct 1962-31 May 1963
Mon-Fri 10:30-10:45 a.m., 14 Oct 1963-29 May 1964
Mon-Fri 11:15-11:30 a.m., 19 Oct 1964-28 May 1965
Mon-Fri 10:45-11:00 a.m., 18 Oct 1965-27 May 1966
Mon-Fri 10:45-11:00 a.m., 17 Oct 1966-26 May 1967
Mon-Fri 10:45-11:00 a.m., 16 Oct 1967-15 Sep 1969
Mon-Fri 10:45-11:00 a.m., 15 Sep 1969-25 May 1973
In this long-lived, fifteen minute show, cheery and enthusiastic Helene
Baillargeon introduced Englsih pre-school children to the French language
through songs and dances, games, and stories. her helpers were her young woman
friend Louise, played by Madeleine Kronby, and Susie, a puppet mouse. The CBC
explained that Chez Helene, in which Helene spoke French almost exclusively,
was based on the Tan-Gau method of language education (named after its
developers, Drs. Tan Gwan Leang and Robert Gauthier), by which children learned
French in the way children initially learn a language.
The program was produced in Montreal by R.s. Lambert(l959-60), Jacqueline
Leveillee (l966-67), Larry Shapiro and Peter Symcox (l967-73), and written by
Raymond Duplantie (l959-60) and Hubert and Charlotte Fieldin.
See Chez Nous.
Mon 5:00-5:30 p.m., 21 Oct-30 Dec 1957
In aautumn 1957, the CBC announced the premiere of a children's show called
Chez Jacques, which was to run every other week, alternating with the Golden
Age Players. Quebec singer Jacques Labrecque, who had made fourteen records of
folk music for Folkways would welcome young viewers and guests into his
fieldstone farmhouse for a half-hour of music and dance. The program appeared
only once, on 7 October 1957.
Two weeks later, Labrecque was replaced with English Canadian singer and CBC
veteran Alan Mills and Quebecoise Helene Baillargeon on a program retitled Chez
Nous. The bilingual broadcast continued, on alternate weeks, until the end of
the year. A Christmas show featured Louise Desparons- Danis--"Tante
Louise"--author of children's books and a storyteller on the French network.
Wed 4:00-4:30 p.m., 20 Apr-29 Jun 1955
A half-hour broadcast on children from other areas of the world, from the
Middle East to the U.S.A. No other information available.
The CBC, produced a series of six half-hour "semi-documentaries" on children in
different areas of the world, in association with UNICEF. One of the programs,
on the children of Brazil, was broadcast separately, in 1968, and won an award
at a Japanese film festival.
The remaining five programs comprised the series, which started with a look at
eleven year old Nicholas Mignawande and his older brothers, Francois, a
teacher, and Hubert, a science student, of Dahomey. Denis Hargrave produced
and direccted the program, which was shot by Ken Gregg and Vic Sarin, edited by
Michael Manne, and included commentary by actor Percy Rodriguez. The second
program concerned two Guatemalan girls, Norberta and Herlinda, who lived in the
village of Patzun. Perry Rosemond produced and directed the film, with
cinematography by Norman Allin and edited by Walter Coombs. The narrator was
Laura Figueroa.
Hargrave produced and directed the third film, which dealt with Ismael, a
twelve year old Somalian nomad who travels to a schoolhouse in Hargeisa. Phil
Auguste edited footage shot by Ken Gregg and Vic Sarin, and Percy Rodriguez
provided commentary. The fourth and fifth programs were both produced by Denis
Hargrave, directed by Jim Carney, and shot by Ken Gregg. For one, the crew
went to Thailand to follow an eleven year old named Lathor, who lives on a rice
barge that carries freight from the north and central regions to merchants in
Bangkok. In the final program, the filmmakers met Uttum Chhetri, a fourteen
year old boy of Nepal. The film editors were David Knight and Philip
Hindsmith, respectively. Pat Cardi provided the voices of the two boys, and
Len Birman the commentary.
Producer Denis Hargrave culled footage from four of the programs--the Dahomey,
Nepal, Thailand, and Somalia segments-- to make a one hour program on four boys
from different lands. The Day Before Tomorrow was introduced by Stanley Burke
and narrated by George McLean, and aired on the morning of l8 December 1969 and
on Christmas night a week later.
Three additional programs were produced in 1974, on children in Chile, Peru,
and Jamaica.
Mon-Fri 10:00-10:30 a.m., 22 Dec 1969-2 Jan 1970
Sat 11:00-12:30 p.m., 3 Oct 1970-18 Jul 1973
Sat 1:00-2:00 p.m., 3 Oct 1970-17 Apr 1971
Sat 1:00-2:00 p.m., 2 Oct 1971-8 Apr 1972
Sat 1:00-1:30 p.m., 15 Apr 1972-30 Jun 1973
Sat 1:00-2:00 p.m., 15 Sep 1973-6 Apr 1974
Sat 1:00-1:30 p.m., 6 Apr-6 Jul 1974
Sat 1:00-2:00 p.m., 5 Oct 1974-28 Jun 1975
On weekday mornings for the Christmas holidays, then on Saturday mornings or
afternoons, Robert Homme, "The Friendly Giant," welcomed viewers to the movie
room of his castle and introduced award-winning feature films from around the
world and from Canada.
Fri 4:30-5:00 p.m., 17 Dec 1976-25 Mar 1977
The CBC's department of children's television commissioned four half-hour film
documentaries for and about children from different regions of Canada. Rodeo
Boy, produced and directed by Jack Emack of Edmonton, dealt with a teenager who
decided to become a professional rodeo cowboy. Sandy Lumsden, of CBC Halifax,
produced a film about children who live in a lighthouse on Mosher Island, off
Nova Scotia. Maple Syrup, produced by John Thorne of Montreal, concerned
children who live on a farm in Quebec's Eastern Townships. Ray Hazzan, of
Toronto, constructed a film based on children's ideas on Canada.
Children's International Newsreel
Sun 12:00 noon, 13 Jan-3 Feb 1957
Fri 5:15-5:30 p.m., 8 Feb-27 Sep 1957
Thu 5:15-5:30 p.m., 10 Oct-26 Dec 1957
Mon 5:15-5:30 p.m., 6 Jan-20 Sep 1958
Wed 5:15-5:30 p.m. 29 Sep 1958-25 Mar 1959
Mon 5:15-5:30 p.m., 30 Mar-29 Jun 1959
Tue 5:15-5:30 p.m., 5 Jan-19 Apr 1960
Thu 4:45-5:00 p.m., 7 Apr-30 Jun 1960
In December 1955, members of the European Broadcasting Union constructed a film
exchange agreement. The participating countries included the U.K., France,
Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland,
West Germany, Austria, and Canada, and their broadcasting organizations
circulated two films, about five minutes in length, each month. The filmed
features and news items formed the Children's International Newsreel.
Sun 5:00-6:00 p.m., 2 Oct 1955-26 Nov 1956
For Children's Magazine, an hour-long, after school precursor of Junior
Magazine, John Clarke introduced filmed items for young people.
Fri 5:30-6:00 p.m., 23 Oct 1953-1 Jan 1954
Wed 5:30-6:00 p.m., 30 Dec 1953-3 Feb 1954
For the 1953 television season, producers Joanne Hughes and Peggy Nairn
assembled a lineup of afternoon programming for children, which included a
half-hour broadcast of films.
Wed 9:30-10:30 p.m., 24 May-7 Jun 1967
Wed 9:30-10:30 p.m., 10 Sep-24 Sep 1967 (R)
Wed 9:30-10:30 p.m., 3 Jul-10 Jul 1968 (R)
The CBC announced this three part series as a consideration of the future on
the special historic occasion of Canada's centennial. The hour-long programs
projected time to come through a documentary, an essay, and a fantasy drama.
The first program, whose title, The Earth Is A Very Small Spaceship, echoed
Buckminster Fuller, provided an ecological view of the earth, and considered
the future use of the planet's land, sea, and air resources with a spaceship as
the model of limitations and efficiency. The broadcast also speculated on the
prospects for lunar and undersea colonies. Vincent Tovell produced and
directed from a script by William Whitehead, who also narrated the program.
Therefore Choose Life, the second program, produced and directed by Tom Koch,
embodied a more pessimistic thesis, and examined the ways technology developed
by humans provide the means of destroying the earth as well as improving it.
The broadcast attempted to demonstrate how that thesis must be turned around,
and how as we approach the new century people must confront the choice of
preserving life instead of eliminating it.
l999, a television play written by Eric Koch and directed by Melwyn Breen, and
the third program of the series, set the future in fictional terms. The drama,
set in the last hour of New Year's Eve 1999, addressed Canada's place in the
political world, through the character of Prime Minister Robert Ghiberti,
played by John Colicos, as the repercussions of student revolt affect a
possible four-way arms control agreement.
Vincent Tovell was executive producer for the series.
Sun 7:30-8:00 p.m., 28 Jun-13 Sep 1964
Each episode of this half-hour performance by a twelve voice male chorus and
their guests revolved around a specific theme, such as "campfire songs," or
"songs of the sea." John Avison served as choir director, and also performed
with Hugh McLean at twin pianos. Guest soloists in this summer series included
Bernard Turgeon, Ernie Prentice, Jan Rubes, Roma Hearn, Robert McGrath, and
bagpiper Neil Adam. Eric Nicol wrote the show, and Edward Greenhalgh was the
host. Chorus Anyone was produced in Vancouver.
Sun 6:30-7:00 p.m., 4 Jul-5 Sep 1965
Fri 8:00-8:30 p.m., 24 Jun-29 Jul 1966
Sun 2:00-2:30 p.m., 8 Jan-9 Apr 1967
Sun 2:30-3:00 p.m., 16 Apr-30 Apr 1967
Chorus Gentlemen, probably more accurately titled than its predecessor a summer
before, Chorus Anyone, was a singalong program produced in Vancouver by Neil
Sutherland and directed by Ken Gibson. It featured an male chorus, led by
Bobby Reid (l965) and Brian Gibson (l966-67). Along with guest soloists, they
sang popular music of the period from World War I to the 1940s, and in later
seasons from the Gay Nineties to the present. Chorus members also sung
specially written introductions to the musical numbers.
Other regulars included ragtime pianist Ralph Grierson, bandleader Bud
Henderson, and host David Glyn-Jones.
Wed 10:00-11:00 p.m., 14/28 Nov 1956/23 Jan/20 Feb/20 Mar/17 Apr 1957
On six occasions in 1956 and 1957, the CBC replaced Folio with the Chrysler
Festival, a spectacular one hour variety show broadcast live before an audience
of two thousand from the stage of Toronto's Loew's Uptown Theatre. Elaine
Grand and Hume Cronyn introduced a wide range of Canadian and international
performers.
Guests on the first show included the Winnipeg Ballet, singer Eartha Kitt, the
Dave Brubeck Quartet, baritone Edmund Hockridge, and Broadway actress and
singer Shirley Jones. The second program featured Canadian-born orchestra
leader Percy Faith, Spanish soprano Pilar Lorengar, Italian co-vocalist Tito
Gobbi, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler, the U.S. dance troupe, the Bob Hamilton
Trio, and British comic genius Peter Sellers. Swiss soprano Lisa Della Casa
and U.S. tenor Richard Tucker sang opera on the third show, which also
presented U.S. pianists Ferrante and Teicher, flamenco dancer Jose Greco, and
legendary singer Edith Piaf. The fourth show included Canadians Glenn Gould
and Maureen Forrester, U.S. singer and actress Dorothy Dandridge, comic actress
Kaye Ballard, and the dance team of Mata and Hari. The fifth show presented
the Four Lads, the Goerge Shearing Quintet, Melissa Hayden, and Andre Egleosky.
The sixth and final broadcast gave Canadian audiences the Oscar Peterson Trio,
baritone George London, and U.S. contralto Marian Anderson.
The musical director for the series was Lucio Agostini. Don Hudson directed
the extravanganza, Franz Kraemer produced, and the executive producer of the
Chrysler Festival was Stuart W. Griffiths.
Return to CBC Series Index
THE CHRYSLER FESTIVAL
Mon-Fri 3:30-4:00 p.m., 15 Sep 1975-2 Apr 1978
Chez Helene
