CBC Television Series, 1952-1982
by Blaine Allan
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Recital
Tue 10:30-11:00 p.m., 19 Feb-11 Jun 1962
Tue 10:30-11:00 p.m., 3 Jul-25 Sep 1962
Recital
Sun 11:00-11:30 a.m., 3 Jul-25 Sep 1966
Sun 11:30-12:00 noon, 2 Jul-17 Sep 1967
Sun 12:00-12:30 p.m., 17 Sep-24 Sep 1967
Recital
Sun 1:00-1:30 p.m., 26 Sep-5 Dec 1976
Franz Kraemer produced the 1962 series of half-hour recitals,
which stressed music over introductions and commentary.
Performers included harpist Lise Nadeau, pianists Ronald Turini
and Marek Jablonski, tenor Leopold Simoneau, soprano Pierrette
Alarie, cellist Zara Nelsova, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, the
Montreal Baroque Trio, and contralto Maureen Forrester,
accompanied by John Newmark. Many of the broadcasts originated
in Montreal, although at least one was produced by George
Robertson in Vancouver.
A series of Sunday morning performances also ran under the title
of Recital in the summers of 1966 and 1967. Produced by Francois
Provencier in Quebec City, the broadcasts included vocal works by
Micheline Robitaille and Leonard Bilodeau, piano duets performed
by Renee Morisset and Victor Bouchard, and Renaissance vocal
works by the choir of Laval University.
Armand Baril produced a series of nine half-hour shows, which
originated in Edmonton, also for Sunday broadcast. Dennis
Woodrow hosted the show, and talked with the performers about the
musical selections, which stressed light classics, and works by
Debussy and Mozart, and modern serious music, such as Scott
Joplin's compositions for brass ensembles.
Fri 8:30-9:00 p.m., 8 Jul-24 Sep 1960
Sat 7:30-8:00 p.m., 1 Oct 1960-24 Jun 1961
Fri 8:00-8:30 p.m., 7 Jul-23 Sep 1961
Sat 8:30-9:00 p.m., 30 Sep 1961-30 Jun 1962
Fri 8:00-8:30 p.m., 6 Jul-21 Sep 1962
Sat 8:30-9:00 p.m., 29 Sep 1962-
Wed 8:00-8:30 p.m., 25 Sep 1963-24 Jun 1964
Wed 8:00-8:30 p.m., 23 Sep 1964-23 Jun 1965
Originally a local Winnipeg broadcast, Red River Jamboree
replaced Country Hoedown in the summer of 1960 and went on to
enjoy a healthy, five year run on the network. More than a
studio-bound program of country and western music, the program
framed music with stories of Canada's Old West, and, produced by
Perry Rosemond, included film sequences shot at a ranch
established at the turn of the century to lend the show
authenticity.
The original host was Stu Davis, formerly host of Swing Your
Partner and the CBC's country music and story show for children,
Rope Around The Sun. He was joined by singer Peggy Neville, by
Andy Anderson, Brian Flye, Olie Alto, and Bert Scinocca, a
quartet called the Altones, by square dance caller Joe Johansson,
and by a troupe of eight dancers, the Valley Beaux and Belles,
under the direction of Sam McConnell. The musical group that
provided accompaniment was called the Selkirk Settlers, led by
Ted Komar on the accordion. Along with Komar, the band
comprised Clelio Retaghatti and Wally Deduck on fiddles, Jim
Pirie, Irvine Wahl, and Monte Levine on guitars, Reg Kelln on
drums, Paul Olynk on bass. The music and tales on each show
revolved around a single theme, such as homesteading, Saturday
nights in the west, the disappearance of the buffalo, or fur
trading.
Stu Phillips, Canada's "Travelling Balladeer," replaced Davis for
the regular season of Red River Jamboree and hosted the show
throughout most of its history. He was replaced by Reg Gibson in
l965 when it was announced that Phillips would host a show
(called Country A Go Go) to be syndicated to stations in the
U.S.A.
Sat 6:00-6:30 p.m., 2 Apr-24 Sep 1960
Mon 3:00-3:30 p.m., 17 Oct 1960-26 Jun 1961
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 7 Jan-30 Sep 1962
A fifteen minute program of music for strings produced in
Halifax, and broadcast on stations in Atlantic Canada, Souvenirs
expanded to a half-hour, changed its name to Reflections, and
graduated to the national network a year after it began. The
hosts were Syd Davidson in 1960 and Pat Napier, starting in 196l,
and the centre of the show was the orchestra, with arrangements
and conducted by Gordon MacPherson of the Maritime Conservatory
of Music. Dave Woods, Lucio Agostini, and Eddie Graf also
contributed arrangements.
The program stressed light classics and standards--in fact
producer Robert Alban announced that the move to the Sunday
afternoon time slot in 1962 provoked the change to an even
lighter, more relaxed format. Regularly featured performers
included Francis Chaplin on violin, Phyllis Ensher on harp, Carol
Hughes on piano, and soprano Jean Marshall, and folk singer Ed
McCurdy was a frequent guest. For the 1962 series, baritone
Clarence Flieger joined the cast, and Peter Donkin became
producer.
Thu 10:30-11:00 p.m., 5 Jun-10 Jul 1975
This series comprised six, half-hour documentaries produced in
and about different areas of the country. The films included
Northwest Quarter, Mike Halleran's production on
industrialization in northwest British Columbia; What's All The
Fuss About?, an Ottawa documentary on drug abuse; Sex And
Sixteen, a discussion on teenagers and sex, produced by Ian
Parker in Toronto; The Other Side Of The River, produced in St.
John's by Ian Wiseman, on the divisions of the Labrador community
of North West River; Truth And Consequences, a segment of the
CBLT program The Rogers Report, with Bruce Rogers, on the use of
lie detectors; and Suicide, a Winnipeg production by Norm
Bortnick.
Mon-Fri 1:30-2:00 p.m., 19 Oct 1981-21 May 1982
Tue 9:30-10:00 p.m., 7 Aug-18 Sep 1956
Percussionist Chuck Skelding was the host of this half-hour
program, and led a band that consisted of Paul Grosney on
trumpet, Bob Nix on trombone, Jim Weber on clarinet, Bob Gross on
drums, Ray Moga on upright bass, Lloyd MacDonald on vibraphone,
Al Mann on saxophone, and Wally Towns on piano. They played
jazz, blues, ragtime, and popular music in this informal show,
produced in Winnipeg.
Thu 10:30-11:00 p.m., 15 Sep-20 Oct 1966
To celebrate--or at least commemorate--the upcoming Centennial
year, the CBC presented this six part series of historical
programs, which pointed to the similarity of current issues and
problems with those that faced the founders of the nation:
Canada-U.S. relations, Canada-Europe relations, the status of
Francophones under Confederation, federal-provincial relations,
and the establishment of an independent economy.
Written by executive producer Eric Koch and producer Melwyn
Breen, in consultation with John Saywell of York University, the
series employed actors to represent the Fathers of Confederation
and other historical figures in a "you are there"-interview
format. Actors Tom Harvey and Arch McDonnell played CBC
television reporters who covered events from the past with modern
technology and the techniques of public affairs television.
Other performers included Robert Christie in his well-known
recreation of Sir John A. Macdonald, Jack Creley as Sir Wilfrid
Laurier, Antony Parr as Premier Andrew G. Blair of New Brunswick,
Caulde Bede as Premier William S. Fielding of Nova Scotia, Paul
Kligman as Premier Oliver Mowat of Ontario, E.M. Margolese as
Premier John Norquay of Manitoba, Robert Goodier as Premier
Honore' Mercier of Quebec, William Osler as W.C. Van Horne,
president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Norman Welsh as
Professor Goldwin Smith, the Oxford don and cynical pro-American
who acted as an observer and commentator on developments
throughout the series.
CBC television spread its wings in this series of remote
broadcasts produced by Franz Kraemer, who took a mobile unit into
the streets of Toronto for sidewalk interviews on events of
current interest. The series also included a series of
broadcasts from the Canadian National Exhibition. See Actuality.
Only sixteen years old when he began his network television show,
Rene' Simard had been a singing and dancing star throughout his
adolescence. The show, produced in Vancouver by Alan Thicke, had
high production values and featured Canadian and international
guests, including Salome Bey, Jose Feliciano, Liona Boyd, Andy
Williams, and Peter Ustinov in songs and sketches. In addition,
the show featured sports champions, such as high jumper Greg Joy
and skier Wayne Wong, not to mention what one can only imagine as
a regrettable musical combination--Rogatien Vachon, Marcel
Dionne, and Boom Boom Geoffrion, the Hockey Rockers. Often,
Rene's youth was complemented by other teenage performers, such as
frequent guest, twelve year old trumpet player Robert London.
Sat 4:00-5:00 p.m., 10 Apr-5 Jun 1971
Sat 6:30-7:00 p.m., 18 Sep 1971-24 Jun 1972
Sat 6:30-7:00 p.m., 23 Sep 1972-30 Jun 1973
Sat 7:30-8:00 p.m., 22 Sep 1973-27 Apr 1974
The CBC tested Replay, a sports talk show taped before an
audience, in a series of three, one hour broadcasts, broadcast on
occasional Saturday afternoons over two months. The shows
featured CBC Sports announcer Tom McKee and former Ottawa Rough
Riders quarterback Russ Jackson as hosts and interviewers, and
included film features as well as conversation. Their guests
included writer and perennial amateur sportsman George Plimpton,
boxer George Chuvalo, golfer Doug Sanders, and NHL goaltender
Jacques Plante. The results were promising enough that the
program reappeared in the autumn, with Bob Moir replacing McKee
as Jackson's partner. Producers were John Spalding (l97l),
Claude Baikie (l97l-73), and Bob Smith (l973-74), who taped
programs in various locations across the country.
See United Nations.
Sun 4:00-5:00 p.m., 2/9/16 Aug 1970
This series of three, one hour programs documented the history of
the Royal Canadian Navy in interviews and with footage collected
from European and Canadian film archives. The first segment
included an interview with Rear Admiral Victor G. Brodeur, who
was in the first class of cadets in 19l0, and outlined the navy's
development to the Second World War. The second hour
concentrated on the war to 1943, and the third part described the
concluding years of the war and brought the story up to date with
the unification of the armed forces.
The series was produced in Montreal by Frank Williams, and the
host was Liston McIlhagga, with interviews by Bill Herbert and
Sheridan Nelson.
Thu 8:00-8:30 p.m., 9 Sep-7 Oct 1954
Tue 10:00-10:30 p.m., 22 Jul-28 Oct 1958
Sun 7:30-8:00 p.m., 28 Jun-13 Sep 1959
Sun 10:00-10:30 p.m., 20 Sep-27 Sep 1959
Conductor Ivan Romanoff had been associated with the CBC since
l939, and these summer series of half-hour programs of
traditional music spotlighted him and his orchestra. Hosts
Joseph Furst (l958) and Jan Rubes (l959) introduced folk music
and dances, choreographed by Boris Volkoff, from regions of
Canada and from around the world. Each program featured three or
four segments, each with music, costumes, and settings to evoke a
different area and culture. The producer's job rotated among
Eric Till, Franz Kraemer, Norman Campbell, Harvey Hart, and Mario
Prizek.
Mon 7:40-8:00 p.m., 16 Apr-20 Aug 1956
This twenty minute musical program, with the Rhythm Pals--later
regulars on The Tommy Hunter Show--originated in Vancouver. In
central Canada, it followed The Nation's Business, and ran every
second week to fill a half-hour time slot.
Fri 9:00-9:30 p.m., 18 Nov-30 Dec 1955
Produced by Mario Prizek in Vancouver, this musical show had a
different setting each week. One week, for example, it took
place in a western saloon, and the next it was set in a music
hall at the end of the nineteenth century. The half-hour
broadcast starred Eleanor Collins, Don Francks, Pat Kirkpatrick,
Ron Beckett, and the Four Bits.
Wed 5:00-5:30 p.m., 13 Dec 1972-28 Mar 1973
This afternoon half-hour show for teenagers was produced and
directed by Barry Cranston as a live telecast, and featured young
Canadian performers. Among the regulars was Martin Short, then
featured in the Toronto production of Godspell. The band, led by
pianist Gary Gross, included Stan Perry on drums, Bob Edwards on
guitar, Dave Young on bass, Paul Zaza on percussion, and Gene
Amaro on saxophones.
Fri 8:00-8:30 p.m., 19 Sep 1980-20 Mar 1981
Wed 4:00-4:30 p.m., 14 Oct 1981-31 Mar 1982 (R)
A co-production of the CBC, Taurus Films of Munich, and Global
Television of London, Ritter's Cove was a family adventure series
shot in British Columbia. Perceived as a successor to the
network's long-running, west coast series, The Beachcombers, it
was written by Lyal and Barbara Brown, who had contributed
scripts to the earlier series. Hans Conninberg as Karl Ritter,
an elderly pilot whose procrastination over a medical
examination lost him his licence to fly. He was forced to hire
Kate Ashcroft, played by Susan Hogan, as his replacement to keep
his single airplane aloft and his transport business afloat. The
stories generally revolved around the antagonism and mutual
respect of the older man, set in his ways and his sexual
stereotypes, and the younger, strong-willed woman.
Ritter's Cove was produced by David Pears, and the executive
producer was Peter Kelly.
Fri 9:00-10:00 p.m., 3 Jun-24 Jun 1977
The Road Show, a series of four, one hour programs produced by
CBC Winnipeg, replaced The Tommy Hunter Show in June 1977. Hosts
Colleen Peterson and Rick Neufeld, Neufeld's Prairie Dog Band,
and humorist and doggerel writer Peter Paul Van Camp taped shows
in the three Prairie provinces. Ian Tyson was their guest for
the program shot at the Royal Winter Fair in Brandon, Manitoba.
Dick Damron and Len Udow joined them at the School of Fine Arts
at Banff. They returned to Manitoba for a show taped at the
Shilo Armed Forces base, with Buck Evans, and concluded the
series with a program from the maximum security prison at Prince
Albert, Saskatchewan, with special guest seventy-one year old New
Orleans blues singer Roosevelt Sykes.
Executive producer Marv Terhoch devised the series after the
taping of a concert at Manitoba's Stoney Mountain Penitentiary
for the Winnipeg program, Points West.
Wed 10:30-11:00 p.m., 2 Mar-30 Mar 1960
The Road To Adjustment, produced by Murray Creed for the CBC's
Farms Department, interrupted the run of Explorations for a four
part series on the farming and fishing industries. The first of
the half-hour shows, The Old Road, examined the contemporary
situation of the small farmer with a film about Quebec farmer
Earle Hooker and a panel discussion. The Detour: The Farmer Has
Moved Out looked at the cases of farmers who earn significant
portions of their income off the farm. The Throughway included a
discussion of how modern farmers need to adjust. The final
program, The Seventh Wave, examined the problems of the Atlantic
fishing industry through interviews with fishermen at Port
Bickerton, Nova Scotia. The series was researched and organized
by Keith Russell.
Mon 5:00-5:30 p.m., 9 Oct 1967-10 Jun 1968
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 7 Jan 1969-10 Mar 1970
Mon 5:00-5:30 p.m., 28 Sep 1970-30 Aug 1971
Thu 5:00-5:30 p.m., 6 Jul-7 Sep 1972
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 18 Jul-1 Aug 1972
Rocket Robin Hood was a cartoon series, about the adventures of a
futuristic, comic superhero and his band of aides, who lived on
Sherwood Asteroid. The series was commissioned by Steve Krantz
in New York, and all the scripts were written in the U.S.A., but
the animation was produced by Al Guest's Trillium Productions in
Toronto, and sound tracks were recorded in Toronto, and featured
such recognizable voices as Len Birman, Paul Kligman, Gillie
Fenwick, John Scott, Carl Banas, Ed McNamara, Chris Wiggins, and
Bernard Cowan. The series was very successful: it was
syndicated in the U.S.A., and scheduled in the U.K., Australia,
and South Africa, and foreign language versions were prepared for
Radio-Canada and international sales.
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 5 Jun-28 Aug 1960
A series of thirteen educational films that dramatized the lives
of great scientists, The Romance Of Science was produced by
Niagara Film Productions of Montreal. Subjects included James
Watt and the steam engine; Michael Faraday and induction, with
William Needles; John Dalton and the atomic theory; Christian
Gauss and his contributions to mathmatics; Helmholtz and
electricity, starring Norman Ettlinger; Antoine Lavoisier, played
by Lloyd Bochner, and chemistry; Charles Darwin, portrayed by
Michael Kane; Leibniz and the invention of calculus, starring
Ivor Barry and Mavor Moore; Johannes Kepler; Linnaeus and the
classification of plants; Lord Kelvin; Count Rumford; and Sigmund
Freud.
Fri 9:00-10:00 p.m., 21 Jun-6 Sep 1974
Ronnie Prophet, who had starred the previous season in Country
Roads (q.v.), replaced Tommy Hunter in the summer of 1974 with an
eleven week series of country music, variety, and comedy. His
compatriot in the series was actor Heath Lamberts. Regular
guests included a trio of vocalizing sisters called the Peaches,
and instrumental backing was provided by the Dave Woods Brass.
The show's musical director was Bob Farrar. The writers were
Gerry O'Flanagan and the producer of the series, Bill Lynn.
Wed 5:15-5:30 p.m., 2 Jul 1958-
Wed 5:00-5:15 p.m., 29 Sep 1958-25 Mar 1959
Thu 3:45-4:00 p.m., 5 Oct-
Thu 4:45-5:00 p.m., 4 Jan-28 Jun 1962
Cowboy singer Stu Davis starred in Rope Around The Sun, a fifteen
minute broadcast of country songs and stories of ranches and the
west. The stories were written by Kerry Wood, and Davis, a
writer and collector of songs, selected numbers to fit the theme
and concerns of the tale. Originally scheduled as a summer
series, the show was popular enough that it carried over into the
regular season of afternoon programs for children. Les Weinstein
produced Rope Around The Sun in Winnipeg.
Thu 5:00-5:15 p.m., 7 Jul-23 Sep 1958
Ross Snetsinger and his puppet Foster, both seen regularly on a
number of children's programs on the CBC, demonstrated how a
variety of things can be built in this fifteen minute summer
series. The producer of the show was John Kennedy.
Thu 4:00-4:30 p.m., 27 Nov 1958-5 Feb 1959
Thu 4:00-4:30 p.m., 18 Jun-25 Jun 1959
This half-hour program included a variety of films of interest to
young viewers.
Thu 10:30-11:00 p.m., 8 Jan-19 Feb 1981
Sat 6:30-7:00 p.m., 9 May-13 Jun 1981 (R)
Mon 7:30-8:00 p.m., 24 May-31 May 1982 (R)
Formerly the Irish Rovers and the stars of their own eponymous,
half-hour musical variety show, Will Millar, George Millar, Jimmy
Ferguson, and Wilcil McDowell returned to the network in another
variety show produced by Ken Gibson in Vancouver, partly on the
momentum of a popular special aired in October 1980. Singer
Jimmy Kennedy also joined the troupe each week. Their guests
included other Irish performers and folk singers, such as Tommy
Makem and Liam Clancy, Bob Gibson, and Oscar Brand, as well as
Bruno Gerussi, Jim Stafford, Andy Stewart, and Dennis Day. The
series of seven programs was repeated only three months after the
initial run because of the NABET strike in spring 198l.
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 8 May-27 Jun 1965
Sat 6:30-6:45 p.m., 3 Nov-29 Dec 1965
Singer Roy Petty starred in this fifteen minute Winnipeg
broadcast of standards and blues and jazz tunes. He was backed
by the Bobby Jackson Quartet, which featured Bobby Jackson on
bass, Lenny Breau on guitar, Del Wagner on drums, and Bob
Erlendson on piano.
Wed 10:30-11:00 p.m., 6 Oct-29 Dec 1976
Obviously derived in part from Neil Simon's play Plaza Suite,
Royal Suite concerned the various tenants and workers in a luxury
hotel. The eight, half-hour comedy-dramas featured as regulars
three members of the hotel staff: Eleanor, the manager, played
by Maggie Griffin; Riva, the switchboard operator, played by
Wendy Thatcher; and Gino, the bellhop, portrayed by John Evans.
In the premiere episode, written by Tom Hendry, Murray Matheson
played a supposed Hollywood producer, using the suite for
auditions. Other guests included Diana LeBlanc, Charmion King,
Sandy Webster, Saul Rubinek, Sean McCann, Andrea Martin, Nancy
Dolman, Gordon Pinsent, Jack Creley, Elizabeth Shepherd, Patricia
Collins, Jane Mallett, Eli Rill, and Louis del Grande. Among the
directors of individual episodes were Sheldon Larry, Mario
Prizek, Chris Braden, Herb Roland, and Stephen Katz, and the
writers included Rod Coneybeare, Charles Israel, and George
Salverson. The series producer was Jack Nixon-Browne, and the
executive producer was Ron Kelly.
Wed 8:30-9:00 p.m., 12 Jan-27 Apr 1972
Bob Ruzicka was a singer, songwriter, and children's dentist from
northern Alberta, who was familiar in the early 1970s not only
for his records but for his appearances on Peter Gzowski's CBC
radio show, This Country In The Morning. He had most recently
appeared on a summer television series, Homemade Jam, before he
graduated to his own show, produced in Edmonton. His musical
variety show aimed for the same sort of informality he was able
to achieve on radio. The guest list featured almost all the
principal figures in the sub-Lightfoot/Cockburn/McLauchlan
stratum of Canadian singer-songwriters: Valdy, Dan Hill, Sylvia
Tyson, John Allan Cameron, Ann Mortifee, the Good Brothers, Len
Udow, Leon Bibb, Stan Rogers, Colleen Peterson, Buck Evans and
Diamond Joe White, and Brent Titcombe.
Fri 7:30-8:00 p.m., 7 Jan-1 Apr 1972
Tue 7:30-8:00 p.m., 13 Jun-5 Sep 1978 (R)
Sat 6:30-7:00 p.m., 20 Jun-5 Sep 1981 (R)
Denis Ryan, Dermot O' Reilly, and Fergus O'Byrne comprised the
Irish string band, Ryan's Fancy. Their syndicated series, which
also starred Tommy Makem, had run for three years, and was
produced through the independent Hamilton station, CHCH-TV. Each
show in their CBC series, as might be expected, included a
segment of performances in front of an audience, taped in St.
John's. What made the show different, however, was that the band
and the crew travelled to different locations in the Atlantic
provinces to set the themes of the individual programs of songs
of the sea, of Atlantic Canada, and from the Celtic tradition.
Producer Jack Kellum, for example, set shows on a Newfoundland
schooner, in the Dorchester penitentiary in New Brunswick, and on
Prince Edward Island--a place seen all too seldom on the CBC.
The film segments were shot by Douglas Pike, with sound by Bill
Murphy and lighting by Les Button, and they were edited by Joe
Murphy. The production enlisted the services of folklorist Wilf
Wareham for research, and the shows were written by Al Pittman.
Network programs from the Atlantic centres are all too rare, and
Ryan's Fancy was a creditable example of how productions might
advance from the tried and true models of Don Messer's Jubilee
and Singalong Jubilee.
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