CBC Television Series, 1952-1982
by Blaine Allan
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CBC Series Index
HOBBY CORNER
Mon 5:00-5:15 p.m., 23 Jan-3 Apr 1958
Thu 5:15-5:30 p.m., 6 Feb-3 Apr 1958
Mon 5:00-5:15 p.m., 7 Apr-30 Jun 1958
Wed 5:00-5:15 p.m., 9 Jul-22 Sep 1958
In Hobby Corner, a fifteen minute broadcast from Winnipeg, Glynne Morris
discussed and demonstrated hobbies such as bird watching, fly tying, judo, and
radio controlled toy boats with guest experts.
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 10 Sep-17 Sep 1952
Produced by Norman Campbell, The Hobby Show provided advice to homemakers, and
lasted only for two broadcasts in the first weeks of television broadcasts from
Toronto.
Mon 5:15-5:30 p.m., 19 Oct 1953-26 Apr 1954
Mon 5:15-5:30 p.m., 3 May-28 Jun 1954
Mon 7:15-7:30 p.m., 4 Jul-20 Sep 1954
Thu 4:45-5:00 p.m., 21 Oct 1954-31 Jun 1955
Tom Martin, who was the assistant supervisor of art for the Toronto Public
Schools system, provided instructions and supervision for children on how to
make things with simple tools. Joanne Hughes and Peggy Nairn produced this
quarter-hour broadcast.
Thu 5:30-6:00 p.m., 4 Jul-3 Oct 1968
Holiday Canada, a thirteen week series during the summer of 1968, consisted of
provincial travelogues and films on travel in Canada produced by the National
Film Board. Each program included two films on different regions of the
country.
Sun 4:30-5:30 p.m., 5 Jul-6 Sep 1959
Sun 3:00-3:30 p.m., 20 Sep-3 Oct 1959
Sun 4:00-4:30 p.m., 3 Jul-4 Sep 1960
Sun 3:00-3:30 p.m., 25 Sep-2 Oct 1960
Sun 4:00-5:00 p.m., 2 Jul-24 Sep 1961
The summer replacement for Junior Magazine, Holiday Edition presented a number
of items, including interviews, cartoons, and films on nature and other
activities in Canada each week. The 1959 version of the show featured host
John Clark, with Doug Maxwell on sports and Hank Hedges on nature. Valerie
Siren and James McCarthy also appeared. The next year, the show was hosted by
Ross Snetsinger and Toby Tarnow, with magician Michael Roth. The show's
producers were Paddy Sampson (l959) and Denny Spence (l960-6l).
See Wayne And Shuster.
Everything about the show spoke economy, particularly the regularity of set,
cast, and format, which not only saved money but also provided viewers with the
opportunity to feel a growing attachment and familiarity with the show.
The set was a ranch house, with a church visible through the window. In the
first part of the show's history, the music was predominantly western, but
later the musical direction took a more eclectic approach. Although the show's
motif was western, the performers were distinctly Canadian, and owed more to
contemporary popular musics, such as big band swing than to cowboy tunes for
their training. Each show had a plot, of sorts, but the program's attraction
could be found in the music and in the selection of beguiling characters who
lived at or visited the ranch. Chief among them was host Cliff McKay, a
bespectacled ringmaster, singer, and saxophone player, whom Canadians had known
as "Tons of Fun" McKay on radio's The Happy Gang. Other regulars on the shows
included singers Frannie Wright, Monique Cadieux, and Lorraine McAllister
(starting February 1956). Instrumentalists included "Bouncing Billy" Richards
on fiddle, "Flying Fingers" Ralph Foster on piano, "Happy Face" Matt de Florio
on accordion, "Dapper Don" McFarlane on mandolin, "Smiling Al" Harris on
guitar, Donnie Johnson, "The Shy Guy," on trumpet, and Percy Curtis, called
"Duke" because he resembled the Duke of Edinburgh, on bass.
Comic Doug "Hap" Masters was usually at the centre of the show's story. He
would run on near the show's opening to introduce the idea for the week (such
as building a television set or convincing himself and everyone else, for St.
Patrick's Day, that he is Irish), reappear at the middle point of the show to
remind viewers of the idea and develop it, and return again at the conclusion,
when whatever he planned to do invariably failed.
Holiday Ranch was written by Fred Diehl and produced by Loyd Brydon and,
subsequently, Bob Jarvis.
For its modesty, its familiarity, and its ultimate popularity, Holiday Ranch
set a pattern for a strain of musical variety show that has served the CBC
well, with such descendants as Country Hoedown, Don Messer's Jubilee, and
Singalong Jubilee, all of which were based on television "families" that
projected to viewers a sense of community in themselves and a familiarity that
extended that community to include the viewers.
Photo (courtesy of CBC) shows Fran Wright.
Sun 9:00-10:00 p.m., 9 Nov-28 Dec 1980
Sun 9:00-10:00 p.m., 27 Sep-15 Nov 1981 (R)
Sun 9:00-10:00 p.m., 22 Nov-20 Dec 1981
Sun 9:00-10:00 p.m., 26 Sep-28 Nov 1982
Home Fires was a commendable achievement for CBC Drama. Like A Gift To Last,
which it replaced in a Sunday evening time slot, it was a family saga, told in
weekly hours, that combined elements of episodic television (for which each
episode is complete and which does not depend on order from segment to segment)
and serial drama (which develops a story or set of storylines over a number of
sequential episodes, as a soap opera does). Created and written by Jim Purdy
and Peter Such, Home Fires was the story of the Lowes, a Toronto family, during
the years of World War II. Purdy developed the idea for Home Fires from a
workshop on the history of a downtown Toronto, working class neighborhood by
NDWT, an experimental theatre group with which he worked. As the show's title
implied, the story remained in North America. Although several important
characters went oversease, the action of the war remained offscreen, and
characters might disappear for weeks at a time except in their letters, news
messages from the front, or the memories and references of the people left at
home.
The family's patriarch was Dr. Arthur Lowe, a family physician who with the
assistance of his nurse, Marge, worked out of an office in his house in a lower
middle class neighborhood in downtown Toronto. He was married to Anna, a Jew
from Eastern Europe, who had given up her career as a nurse to rear the family.
Although the Lowe parents, played by Gerard Parkes and Kim Yaroshevskaya, were
the anchors of the series, the stories more clearly concerned the development
of the Lowe children, who grew up during the years of the war. Terry, played
by Wendy Crewson, was put into situations that practially forced her to mature.
She hastily married her sweetheart, played by Jeff Wincott, before he went
overseas, where he was killed at Dieppe. She worked as a volunteer, and then
went to work as a welder in an aircraft factory, where she became active in
organizing the workers. She fell in love with Bruce McLeod, played by Booth
Savage, a newspaper reporter who threatened her with the loss of a lover for a
second time when he travelled overseas as a war correspondent. However, he did
return and they married. Sidney Lowe, Terry's brother, played by Peter Spence,
studied at school, worked as an usher in a movie theatre, and endured the
anguish of being too young to enlist in the armed forces, until his first
available opportunity, when he signed up in the air corps. The family then
learned that Sidney was missing in action. he had been captured and taken
prisoner. When he returned, it was with a British wife, who was also pregnant.
They learned to love each other under the pressures of living in the
overcrowded Lowe household and sidney's attempt to set himself up in business.
When he was overseas, and absent from viewers' view, sidney's place was
essentially taken by Jakob, a nephew of Anna from Poland that the Lowes had
given refuge. Marge, too, had decided to serve the war effort and shipped out
to Europe. During her absence, Anna returned to work to assist her husband in
his practice. Late in the war, the Lowes faced an even more troubling fate
when Dr. Lowe himself was interned for a period and the family had to carry on.
The production combined film, for exteriors, and videotape production, in
studios for interiors. Directors included Herb Roland, Stephen Katz, Ronald
Weyman, F. Harvey Frost, and Eric Till. The show's associate producer was
Duncan Lamb and its executive producer was Robert Sherrin.
Tue 9:30-10:00 p.m., 24 Jun-22 Jul 1975
Homemade Jam was a series of three, half-hour musical programs, starring Bob
Ruzicka, and produced in Edmonton by Lee Livingston.
Mon/Fri 4:30-5:00 p.m., 27 Feb-26 Mar 1976
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 2 Nov 1976-8 Mar 1977
Thu 4:30-5:00 p.m., 2 Jun-11 Aug 1977 (R)
Wed 4:00-4:30 p.m., 5 Oct-28 Dec 1977
Wed 4:00-4:30 p.m., 4 Apr-7 Jun 1978 (R)
A half-hour show for children, Homemade TV featured the Homemade Theatre
Company: Fred Mollin, Larry Mollin, Barry Flatman, and Phil Savath. Each show
included a segment called "The Big Story," which dealt with a particular theme
or experience common to children. Subjects included Sports Day, Me Day, Home
Day, and such. Other stories included Ricky, a parody of Rocky; Ouest Side
Story, a bilingual tale on Quebec separatism, and Rock 'n' Romans, the fable of
Emperor Rollus and his slave Rockullus. Writer Jed McKay was also a member of
the Homemade Theatre Company, and the television show was produced by Don
Elder.
Home Movies: The Great Canadian Film Caper
Wed 9:30-10;00 p.m., 17 Aug-7 Sep 1966
Artist John Gould hosted this series of four, sixty minute programs on Canadian
cinema. The first three programs each concentrated on a different form of
film: documentary, the feature film, animation, In the first program,
filmmakers Donald Brittain, Beryl Fox, and Richard Ballentine discussed the
documentary film, with illustrations drawn from their own films: Ladies and
Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen, The Most, and The Single Woman And The Double
Standard. The second program outlined the state of the contemporary feature
film in Canada, with extracts from Don Owen's Nobody Waved Goodbye, Claude
Jutra's A tout prendre, Larry Kent's Sweet Substitute, David Secter's Winter
Kept Us Warm, Gilles Carle's La Vie heurese de Leopold Z, Julian Roffman's The
Mask, and The Luck Of Ginger Coffey, directed by Irvin Kershner for Crawley
Films. The third program featured animation from the National Film Board, the
CBC, and from independent filmmakers, and included illustrations from My
Financial Career, by Grant Munro and Gerald Potterton, Christmas Cracker, by a
number of Film Board artists, and A Is For Architecture, by Gerald Budner and
Robert Verrall, and works by Michael Snow, Louis de Niverville, and Carlos
Marchiori. The concluding show offered a survey of Canadian film history, and
included l897 newsreels and films from the turn of the century, extracts from
the features, The Man From Glengarry, The Viking, and Carry On Sergeant, as
well as the propaganda produced by the National Film Board during the years of
World War II.
The series was created by Rosalind Farber, who was also responsible for Cine
Club, on which the network aired Canadian and international short films. She
and Wendy Michener, film critic for the Globe and Mail researched and wrote the
show, and Ross McLean produced.
Sun 3:30-4:00 p.m., 28 Jun-26 Oct 1958
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 21 Sep-
A thirteen week, musical variety show for the summer, created and produced by
Neil Harris, Hometown centred on the activities of the citizens of Willowbend,
a fictitious Manitoba town. The network trumpeted the show, "Life in
Willowbend seems to be just one long celebration. If the population isn't
tunefully thumping the town's Golden Jubilee, it's the arrival of summer, the
town fair, a school-house dance, or anything else that's handy to celebrate."
The program featured the James Duncan Singers and the work of musical director
Bob McMullin and composer Don Cowan.
Wed 5:30-6:00 p.m., 30 Sep 1964-23 Jun 1965
The Wednesday afternoon segment of the Music Hop series (q.v.), Hootenanny
originated in Winnipeg, and featured a seven voice vocal group, members of
which also took turns as soloists, an instrumental trio led by jazz guitarist
Lenny Breau, and host, singer Ray St. Germain.
Sun 10:00-11:00 p.m., 13 Oct 1963-30 Aug 1964
A one hour program, Horizon aired every other Sunday night, alternating with
Let's Face It and Question Mark, both thirty minute shows. It succeeded
Closeup as the network's principal site for in-depth, public affairs
presentations. Under the direction of executive producer Jim Guthro and
program organizer John Kennedy, Horizon presented documentaries on a wide
variety of subjects involving social issues, culture, and science.
The series opened with a critical study of the administration of Canadian
criminal law, called The Presumption Of Innocence, with commentator Frank
McGee. Subsequent programs included Lister Sinclair's examination of knowledge
of the universe, called Denizens Of Outer Space; Price Of A Future, on the
overcrowding of universities and the crisis in higher education, directed by
Jim Carney; Another Canada, filmed interviews with five families who live below
the poverty line, written by Richard Nielsen, directed by George Ronald, and
with host J. Frank Willis; This Time, This Place, about Quebec chansonniers,
produced by Vincent Tovell, with musical direction by Lucio Agostini, and with
host Alex Trebek; and And Then There Were None, Jim Murray's documentary on
endangered species.
Horizon started 1964 with a repeat broadcast of Another Canada, and followed it
the week after with The Age of Renewal, written by Michael Jacot and produced
by Tom Koch, on the contemporary renewal of Christianity in the world; a
history of the Community Party in Canada, called Whither The Party?, produced
by John Kennedy and hosted by J. Frank Willis; and Picasso, a documentary on
the sixty-five years of the artist's life to date.
For its Easter programming, Horizon scheduled what became its best known single
program: The Open Grave. Written by Charles Israel, and produced and directed
by Ron Kelly, the fictional story was made to appear as a documentary on the
disappearance from his grave of a young radical leader.
After an interruption in the schedule for the NHL semifinals, Horizon returned
with a program on Shakespeare, This Was A Man, produced by Vincent Tovell,
written by Lister Sinclair, with musical direction by William McCauley.
Corridors Of Power examined the institution of the Canadian Parliament, with
interviewer Norman Ward. Speed: The Only New Thrill, written and narrated by
Lister Sinclair, and produced by James Murray, surveyed the idea of speed in
the development of transportation in the twentieth century. Written, produced,
and directed by George Ronald, D- Day: The Canadians told the story of the
World War II invasion through the testimony of Canadians who were there. The
Measure Of Morality, which was broadcast on the actual anniversary of D-Day,
tried to determine whether standards of morality had eroded from those of the
past. James Murray produced Down From The Trees, a study of human evolution,
with appearances by Drs. Alfred S. Romer, Elwyn Simons, and John R. Napier,
from a script by Napier, and narrated by Lister Sinclair. The Many Faces Of
Gambling was produced and written by John Kennedy, and The Age Of Wonder, which
looked at how young people were preparing for adult life, was written and
directed by Tom Koch. Clown Of A Thousand Years, written by Bernard Rothman
and produced by Jim Guthro, featured Nancy Wickwire, Don Francks, Jack Creley,
and Ron Hartman in an examination of the modern comedian in the context of the
figure of the clown.
Thu 7:30-8:00 p.m., 19 Sep 1974-13 Mar 1975
Thu 9:30-10:00 p.m., 23 Oct 1975-1 Apr 1976
Sat 6:30-7:00 p.m., 17 Apr-15 May 1976
"House Of Pride" referred to both an Ontario clan, descended from a patriarch
and now scattered across Canada, and to the actual family house. The death of
Dan Pride and the potential sale of the home to a developer for a million
dollars were the two starting points for this half-hour, weekly family
melodrama. It had the form of a U.S. soap opera and the pretensions to be The
Forsyte Saga for Canada. While the different factions of the Forsytes lived in
the relatively small space of London, the Prides had shattered and drifted to
Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Halifax. Although the Pride roots
were unreconstructed WASP, the offspring married into different ethnic
communities, including the Quebecois in Montreal and Ukrainians in Winnipeg,
and classes that provided the writers and producers with a cultural mosaic that
signified "Canada."
Although the original drama was spurred by the conflict among family members
about whether to sell off the family house after the death of the father,
played by George Waite, the program fragmented into the isolated stories of the
smaller families in different areas of the country. The House Of Pride
production team similarly branched into units centred in Toronto, Montreal,
Halifax, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, each with its own writer, producer, and cast.
Writers included Alan Oman in Vancouver, Tom Ashmore in Winnipeg, Charles
Israel in Montreal, and Ron McInnis in Halifax, with George Robertson, head
writer for the series, in Toronto. The producers included Herb Roland, who
created the series, and Jack Nixon-Browne in Toronto, Michael Sinelnikoff in
Montreal, and Hugh Beard in Vancouver. Bill Beeton was the art director for
the series. The program coordinator was Diane Higgs, production coordinator
was Grahame McFarlane, and the executive producer was John T. Ross.
The cast for such a broadly defined story was understandably large. The
principal figures of the Toronto family were an MLA, played by Budd Knapp, who
tried to convince family members to sell off the home, and the farmer, played
by Murray Westgate, who had worked the land for fifty-five years. The Toronto
segments also featured Angela Clare, Linda Sorenson, George R. Robertson,
Scott Baker, Lynne Griffin, Scott Carson, and Norma Renault. The Vancouver
family included actors Charmion King, David Stein, Shirley Milliner, Neil
Dainard, Matthew Skynner, and Jann Mortil. The Montreal branch of the family,
the Fortins, included Amulette Garneau, Pierre Dufresne, Sebastian Davhernas,
Norman Bernard, and Julien Lacombe. In Halifax, the Prides were Florence
Patterson, Colin Fox, Dan McDonald, Susan Harrop, and Mary Lou Martin. The
Winnipeg cast featured Steve Pernie, Julie Amato, Doreen Brownstone, Duffy
Glass, and Tracy Dahl.
Tue 10:30-11:00 p.m., 26 Oct 1954-5 Feb 1955
A half-hour talk show, House Party ran fortnightly, alternating with What's My
Line or Make A Match. An offscreen commentator introduced guests over film or
still photographs, and then host Michele Tisseyre interviewed them in a setting
appropriate to their talent or story. Guests were generally from the field of
entertainment, including sports, television, radio, the stage, and could
include international stars or lesser-known talents.
Tue 5:15-5:30 p.m., 4 Nov 1953-29 Jun 1954
CBC weatherman Percy Saltzman starred in this fifteen minute science show for
children. On it, he demonstrated basic principles of physics and demonstrated
how to make scientific instruments, such as an anemometer or a rain gauge, with
readily available materials. The program, which was produced by Joanne Hughes
and Peggy Nairn, who were responsible for most children's programming in the
first few years of CBC television, gained considerable praise.
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 23 Oct-25 Dec 1973
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 2 Jul-3 Sep 1974 (R)
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 8 Jul-9 Sep 1975 (R)
Rena Edgley produced this series of ten, thirty minute shows on science for
young people. The programs approached scientific questions through questions
about everyday occurrences or objects that are taken for granted, such as "How
do jet aircraft avoid collisions?" or "How is spaghetti made?" The show was
hosted by young people, Alysia Pascaris and Danny McIlravey.
Mon-Fri 4:00-4:30 p.m., 28 Aug-8 Sep 1978
The CBC returned to television two stars of its legendary chidren's show,
Razzle Dazzle. For nine programs, Michele Finney and Howard the Turtle
introduced news and historical film, and presented adventure serials, such as
Trail Of The Royal Mounted. The producer and director was Sandy Stewart.
Mon/Wed/Fri 4:30-5:00 p.m., 15 Nov 1954-26 Jun 1959
In autumn 1954, the CBC built its own Doodyville in a Toronto studio. Most of
the puppet characters, including Phineas T. Bluster, the cranky mayor and chief
killjoy of Doodyville, Dilly Dally, a foolish carpenter who was usually the
butt of Bluster's plots, Flub-a-dub, a beast with a duck's head, cat's
whiskers, and the parts of several other animals, Heidi Doody, Howdy's sister,
and Howdy himself, of course, were retained from the U.S. production. Other
puppets, which were manipulated by Hal and Renee Marquette, included Percival,
a parrot, and Mr. X, who zipped through time and space in his "whatsis box."
Claude Rae provided the voices of Howdy Doody, Phineas T. Bluster, and Mr. X;
Jack Mather spoke for Dilly Dally and Percival; Norma Macmillan was the voice
of Heidi Doody; and Larry Mann--who already had experience working with
puppets, with Uncle Chichimus--was the voice of Flub-a-dub.
With the exception of Clarabell, the clown, and Cap'n Scuttlebutt, a pirate,
most of the human performers differed in the CBC version, and reflected an image
of Canada. The show's host was James Doohan, as Ranger Bill. After the chief
forest ranger called him away to fight a forest fire in November 1954, Timber
Tom, played by Peter Mews, took his place. Clarabell was actually Alfie Scopp,
and Larry Mann played Cap'n Scuttlebutt. Toby Tarnow played Pan, Caryl McBain
was Princess Haida, Jean Cavall played Papa La Touke, Mendel Mason played
Drew Thompson, and Barbara Hamilton was Willow.
In addition to the adventures of the citizens of Doodyville and the Peanut
Gallery, the show also featured film presentation on nature or travel. The
scripts were adapted by Cliff Braggins, who also wrote music for the show.
Quentin Maclean provided organ music. The program was produced by Paddy
Sampson. After nearly five years on the air, the CBC decided to cancel the
show to develop children's programming of its own. The U.S. series ended its
long run on NBC just a year later.
Photo (courtesy of CBC) shows Alfie Scopp, Drew Thompson
(front), Toby Tarnow, Jean Cavall, Peter Mews (rear).
Wed 7:30-7:45 p.m., 19 Sep 1973-13 Mar 1974
Fri 7:30-7:45 p.m., 20 Sep 1974-28 Mar 1975
Fri 7:30-7:45 p.m., 19 Sep 1975-26 Mar 1976
Sun 5:30-5:45 p.m., 19 Sep 1976-27 Mar 1977
Former Toronto Maple Leaf player and coach had gained a high reputation as a
teacher of the game and, on network and international hockey broadcasts, as a
forthright critic of professional players and coaches. His passion for the
game, his direct and unswerving commentary, and his high-pitched voice cut
through the patronizing gabble of most hockey commentary. He brought his
advocacy of hard work and practice, of skating technique, and of hockey
fundamentals to a series of fifteen minute broadcasts to help train young
hockey players, using as examples thirty-six boys age eight to twelve. The
program was produced by John Spaulding (l973-74) and Ron Harrison (l974-77).
Sun 10:00-11:00 p.m., 16 May-20 Jun 1965
Sun 10:00-11:00 p.m., 22 May-26 Jun 1966
A summer replacement for This Hour Has Seven Days, The Human Camera was
produced by Beryl Fox, and presented a selection of one hour documentaries from
U.S., U.K., and Canadian television. Each film was introduced by the
filmmaker, and, as a series, The Human Camera provided viewers with the
opportunity to witness the contemporary developments in the documentary film
form.
In the summer of 1965, the series presented Crisis: Behind A Presidential
Commitment, produced by Robert Drew for ABC-TV; The Tunnel, on an escape from
East Berlin, produced by Reuven Frank for NBC-TV; Allan King's film on life in
Ibiza, Running Away Backwards; Chicago, produced by Denis Mitchell; Television
And The World, produced by Richard Cawston; and Biography Of A Bookie Joint,
produced by Jay McMullen.
The next season included Beryl Fox's own film on Vietnam, Mills Of The Gods;
Frontiers Of The Mind, produced by Alan Landsburgh; The 700 Million, on China,
produced for Document (q.v.) by Patrick Watson; A Sense Of Captivity, part 2,
produced by Ross McLean; One Man's Hunger, produced by David Windlesham for
Associated Rediffusion; and Douglas Leiterman's film, Youth: In Search Of
Morality.
Sun 5:30-5:59 p.m., 3 Oct 1965-26 Jun 1966
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 23 Oct 1966-9 Jul 1967
Sun 5:30-5:59 p.m., 1 Oct 1967-30 Jun 1968
Sun 5:30-5:59 p.m., 6 Oct 1968-29 Jun 1969
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 5 Oct 1969-28 Jun 1970
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 4 Oct 1970-27 Jun 1971
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 3 Oct 1971-25 Jun 1972
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 1 Oct 1972-24 Jun 1973
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 30 Sep 1973-16 Jun 1974
Sun 5:30-6:00 p.m., 22 Sep 1974-15 Jun 1975
Sun 5:00-5:30 p.m., 26 Sep 1976-26 Jun 1977
Sun 5:00-5:30 p.m., 25 Sep 1977-1 Jan 1978
Sun 4:30-5:00 p.m., 8 Jan-
Sun 1:30-2:00 p.m., 1 Oct 1978-21 Sep 1980
Sun 1:30-2:00 p.m., 28 Sep 1980-27 Sep 1981
Sun 1:30-2:00 p.m., 2 Oct 1981-3 Oct 1982
Sun 1:30-2:00 p.m., 10 Oct 1982-8 May 1983
In its Sunday afternoon time slot, Hymn Sing has continually been buffeted
about in the broadcast schedul by sports programming. However, it remains one
of the longest lived shows on the network. Originating in Winnipeg, it was
from the start a simply produced, elegant half-hour of hymns, spirituals, and
inspirational music sung by a sixteen voice chorus. It was used in a 1967
report as an example of a CBC show which gained a relatively small
audience--fewer than a million viewers--but an extraordinarily high enjoyment
index, on a percentage basis, eighty-seven.
The show's musical director from 1965 to 1978 was Eric Wild, and from 1978,
Winnifred Simm, who had previously worked as the show's organist. Mitch Parks
played piano, harpsichord, and celeste, and Paul Olynyk played bass. The
show's hosts have been: Hector Bremner (l965), Don Brown (l965-67), Sharon-Ann
Evans and Barry Stilwell (l967-68), Claude Dorge (l968-69), Ken Smutylo
(l969-79), and Judy Pringle and Cynthia Laird (l979-date). The show has been
produced by Don Williams (l965-68) and David Waters (l968- date).
Return to CBC Series Index
HYMN SING
One of the most popular shows in Canadian television of the 1950s, Holiday
Ranch was a simple variety show that seemed to be designed for fans of country
music. It started its five year run on weeknights, but settled into a slot in
the early evenings on Saturdays. (The weekly NHL broadcast attracted viewers
to the CBC on Saturday nights. Apart from that factor, Holiday Ranch ran
opposite programming usually devoted to news on the U.S. stations, particularly
important to a city such as Toronto, which received signals from Buffalo, New
York.) The show's sponsors, Aylmer (starting January 1954) and Nabisco (as
co-sponsor, from February 1956), both manufacturers of food products,
underwrote sixty per cent of the program, which cost under five thousand
dollars a week to produce.
Howdy Doody originated in 1945 on a New York radio show called Triple B Ranch,
hosted by Bob Smith. There, a character called Elmer introduced himself with
the catchphrase, "Well, howdy doody!" The marionette Howdy Doody first
appeared on television two days after Christmas 1947, on a show called Puppet
Playhouse, hosted by Smith, later named "Buffalo Bob" by the Sycapoose Indians.
