CBC Television Series, 1952-1982
by Blaine Allan
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CBC Series Index
MEDICAL EXPLORERS
Sun 4:30-5:00 p.m., 7 Jan-17 Jun 1973
William Gibson, the curator of Woodward Medical Library at the University of
British Columbia, hosted this thirteen part series. It provided overviews of
medical history but, as the title suggests, it concentrated on individual
contributions to the evolution of health care. Leonardo da Vinci, Sir William
Harvey, who mapped the circulatory system, Charles Sheffington, pioneer in
neurology, Lister and Jenner, the innovators of the smallpox vaccine,
Christopher Wren, Florence Nightingale, Frank Fairchild Wesbrook, the developer
of the ambulance, and Canadian Sir William Osler were all profiled in the
series. Keith Christie produced the series in colour, in Vancouver.
Thu 9:30-10:00 p.m., 17 Jan-10 Apr 1980
Mon 9:30-10:00 p.m., 6 Jul-17 Aug 1981
Mon 10:25-10:55 p.m., 5 Jul-30 Aug 1982
A public affairs show in magazine and documentary format, The Medicine Show
applied investigative technique to reports on developments in health care.
Among the subjects the show covered were: valium addiction, the treatment of
leukemia, agoraphobia, aspirin, health food stores, depression, doctors'
housecalls and Montreal's Telemedic service, emergency wards, sports medicine
and the roles of doctors in training Olympic athletes, folk medicine and the
Salish tribe on the west coast, and cervical cancer. On one show, nurses
offered their perspective on health care in Canada. Each program included at
least two reports and the results of a poll to gauge Canadians' experiences
with doctors and in the health care system. The show's hosts were Ken Lefolii
(l980-8l) and Henry Comor (l98l-82). The Medicine Show was produced in
Winnipeg by Andrew Cochran (l980-8l), Michael Barnes (l982), Morris Karp
(l982), and Paul Kent (l982), with executive producer Duncan McEwan.
Wed 6;30-6:45 p.m., 9 Apr 1958-22 Apr 1959
A musical half hour from Vancouver, produced by Jorn Winther, Meet Lorraine
introduced band singer Lorraine McAllister, with Chris Gage on piano, Stan
Johnson on bass, and Jimmy Wightman on drums.
Tue 5:00-5:30 p.m., 21 Jan-25 Mar 1958
Meet Mr. X was a half hour children's show, produced in Ottawa.
Meeting Place: Canadians At Worship
Meeting Place presented services of varying denominations from churches across
Canada. Along with the broadcast of the service, it presented a short
documentary profile of the church and the activities of its members. Hosts for
the broadcast were Donald Henderson (l973-80) and Bruce Alton (l980- ), and
the producers were Tim Bentley (l973-74) and Garth Goddard (l974- ), with
executive producer Louise Lore.
Mon 10:30-11:00 p.m., 6 Jul-17 Aug 1970
In a series of seven, half hour programs, produced in Ottawa, the CBC examined
museums in Canada, which had recently suffered a degree of neglect because the
federal government had diverted funding from the National Museums of Canada
Corporation to build the National Arts Centre. An introductory program
examined the role of museum and the balance of its activities in public display
and research. Subsequent shows took viewers to the nation's major museums:
the National Gallery, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the
National Museum of Natural Sciences, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Museum of
Man, and the National War and Aviation Museums. Bob Gardiner produced the
series, which was hosted by Brian Smyth and Nelson Davis.
Tue 10:00-10:30 p.m., 19 Mar 1963
Wed 10:00-10:30 p.m., 20 Mar 1963
Mon 8:00-8:30 p.m., 25 Mar 1963
Tue 8:00-8:30 p.m., 26 Mar 1963
Prior to the 1963 federal election, the CBC presented a series of four
interviews with the leaders of the major federal parties: Lester Pearson of
the Liberals, John Diefenbaker of the Progressive Conservatives, T.C. Douglas
of the New Democratic Party, and R.N. Thompson of the Social Credit party.
Their panel of interrogators consisted of Robert McKenzie, James McCook, Arthur
Lower, Mark Harrison, and Clive Baxter.
Mon 10:00-10:30 p.m., 25 Apr-16 May 1966
Public Affairs producer James Murray assembled this series of four, half hour
films on contemporary Mexico. The first two programs, called Gunpowder And
Guitars and I Used To Be An Indian, offered a profile of the Mexican people,
the Spanish influence, and the transformation of the Indian image in an attempt
to eliminate the country's own image as a colony. Fiesta Of Bullets, the third
show in the series, outlined the country's political history and its
revolutions. The conclusion, The Lucky Ticket compared Canada to Mexico by
examining its relations to the United States. Harry Makin, Rolf Blakstad, and
Stan Clinton shot the film, with sound by Eric Lindgren and Vic Mackintosh, and
Arla Saare and Moses Weingarted edited. The series was organized by Christina
McDougall and John Irwin. It was written and narrated by Lister Sinclair,
directed by Murray and Sinclair, with the assistance of Bill Banting.
Thu 12:00-1:00 a.m., 27 Feb-26 Jun 1975
A talk show, Midnight starred Laurier LaPierre, with music by a quartet led by
Leon Bernier. (See LaPierre.)
Sat 12:00-1:00 a.m., 6 Oct 1960-24 Jun 1961
Sat 12:00-1:00 a.m., 14 Oct-
Sat 11:30-1:23 a.m., 30 Dec 1961-30 Jun 1962
Wed 11:37-12:30 a.m., 3 Oct
An early attempt at a late night talk show, Midnight Zone was prinicipally for
a Toronto audience. It was produced at the O'Keefe Centre, and, like many CBC
variety and interview shows, relied on celebrity performers who were passing
through Toronto. The program also featured a rundown of current and upcoming
entertainment highlights called "What's In Town." Pitted against Jack Paar's
Tonight Show in the Toronto market, Midnight Zone appeared comparatively sedate
and casual. It was originally produced by Ross McLean and starred Paul Soles,
who more than a decade later took on the duties as host of a CBC late night
talk show, Canada After Dark. Subsequent producers were Drew Crossan
(l96l-62) and Len Casey (l962), and Larry Mann and Al Hamel took over as hosts.
Fri 9:00-9;30 p.m., 25 Jul-5 Sep 1958
Produced by Ken Davey in Montreal, A Midsummer Theatre presented a series of
ten half hour plays, most especially commissioned for the show. They included
The Equalizer and A Dispute Of Long Standing, and Trio, all by M. Charles
Cohen; Monsieur Mac-Greg-Or, by Roy Shields; The Eleventh Hour, by Joseph
Schull; The Colonel, by Roderick Wilkinson; and Mary Ann, by Eugene Cloutier.
Thu 10:00-11:00 p.m., 30 Sep 1971-18 May 1972
Midweek, a companion to Weekend (q.v.), resulted from the popularity of the
Sunday night public affairs roundup, and replaced the Saturday evening segment
of Weekend. By spacing the broadcasts in semi-weekly slots, the producers
could provide more current coverage and analysis. Kay Sigurjonsson, Pierre
Nadeau, Michael Callaghan, Clive Baxter, and Peter Desbarats shared the job of
anchoring the show. Other regular contributors included Parliament Hill
correspondent Larry Zolf, west coast reporter Doug Collins, and, from the
Atlantic region, Michael Maltby. Don Cumming, Peter Kaepple, Ralph Thomas,
Andrew Simon, Pat Ferns, and Barry Callaghan produced features for the show.
Alan Erich also produced for the show, in collaboration with the Financial
Post, an arrangement that had resulted in a Michener Award for The Charter
Revolution, aired the previous year on Weekend. The executive producer of
Midweek was Richard Nielsen.
Mon 7:30-8:00 p.m., 21 Sep 1970-29 Mar 1971
The star of the summer show, In The Round (q.v.), singer and comic Mike Neun
earned a show named after himself for the 1970-7l season. The musical variety
series was produced at the North Vancouver Centennial Centre, with location
work in and around the city. Neun welcomed such west coast stars as Pat
Hervey, Eleanor Collins, Chief Dan George, and Terry David Mulligan. Doug
Parker led the show's orchestra, and Ken Gibson produced.
Fri 5:00-5:14 p.m., 1 Apr-24 Jun 1960
The Minnow was a canoe in this fifteen minute children's drama, which
originated in Vancouver, and was presented for thirteen weeks in the spring of
l960. It told the story of David and Adam, two boys who sought the treasure
hidden by one of their ancestors in l588 in the region of the river Say. The
story was adapted for television by Peter Statner, and the program was narrated
by Shirley Clothier, and starred Teddy Walker, Bill Duncan, Barbara Tremaine,
and James Lindsey.
Wed 5:30-6:00 p.m., 3 Jul-25 Sep 1968
This half-hour variety show starred Miriam Breitman, a vocal trio of Don Milne,
Henri Enns, and Karen Enns, guitarist Lenny Breau, and an orchestra conducted
by Bob McMullin. Breitman's guests included Maxine Ware, Georges La Fleche,
Ron Halldorson, Reg Gibson, Roy Petty, Imgard Baerg, Yvette, Hector Bremner,
Ray St. Germain, Ted Komar, Laurel Ward, and Arthur Polson. Dale Watson
produced the show in Winnipeg.
Miss Patricia's Phantasmoagorical Presentation Of Songs And Things
"Miss Patricia" was singer Pat Hervey, who starred in this musical variety
show, shot on location in Vancouver. The program was written by Tony Hudz and
produced by Al Vitols, who previously had been responsible for the variety
series A Second Look. Bobby Hales was the show's musical director and
conductor.
Mr. Chips was Bill Brown, who showed viewers how to do home repairs and basic
carpentry projects. With the aid of co-host and neophyte Don McGowan, he
demonstrated how to build a patio or how to construct bookshelves or planters
and such. In the regular television season, the broadcasts were limited to
fifteen minutes, and the projects remained relatively simple undertakings, and
Mr. Chips had to rely more on explanation than on actual demonstration. During
the summer series, when shows ran for a half-hour, Mr. Chips could indulge in
more complex projects and go through more of the motions.
Starting in autumn 1973, Bronwen Mantel replaced McGowan on several shows
devoted the household tasks that were presumed of particular interest to women,
such as upholstery, and hanging curtains and wallpaper.
In the 1978-79 season, Bill Brown had to withdraw from the show because of
illness, and Jon Eakes took his place as Mr. Chips. The program was produced
in the CFCF-TV studios in Montreal by Lou Albert for Champlain Productions.
Just about every local station at one time or another has produced a children's
program in which a local staff announcer or weatherman presented cartoons and
serials in the early morning or late afternoon. If they did not appear on
local Canadian stations, they were certainly accessible to viewers who received
signals from the States. (From my youth in Toronto, I remember a succession of
such shows and hosts beamed across the border from Buffalo: Rocketship Seven,
with astronaut Dave Thomas; the naval Cap'n Mike; the military Commander Tom;
and Jungle Jay, the Kurtz of his time, who later emigrated to Canada to become
Toronto radio's top-rated morning disk jockey.) This type of show also earned
its own level of self-referential parody with such hosts as Soupy Sales in the
U.S.A. and Kiddo the Clown in Toronto. However, a more responsible and
thoughtful strain of this formula also developed. Mr. Dressup, a half-hour,
daily broadcast, formed part of a genre of children's television programming,
which preceded and parallels the Sesame Street revolution of 1969, and included
The Friendly Giant (q.v.), and Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
in the U.S.A. On each of these programs, a soft-spoken man invited young
viewers into his house, where there were always things to do, songs to sing,
toys to play with, and books to read. More than a host who just linked
cartoons and film clips, Friendly, the Captain, and Messrs. Rogers and Dressup
became companions and teachers for the children. They all took the place of
the child viewer's father, who presumably had gone off to work. If there was a
reason for the absence of mothers in such shows, it is probably because the
mother was actually in the house while the child watched television. Women who
presided over such children's shows, such as Miss Frances (or whoever) on the
smarmy and condescending Romper Room, the formula for which was franchised to
local stations, or Helene who taught French on the CBC's highly regarded Chez
Helene, held positions as teachers. These low-cost shows generally restricted
themselves to a small set, and featured a number of secondary characters played
by puppets (which, apart from their traditional appeal to children also meant
that one person could play more than one character). However, they have shown
a high return as participatory entertainment and education for young viewers.
Ernie Coombs, a bespectacled fellow with an easy and wide smile, is Mr.
Dressup, the gentle, playful, forthright and informative friend to his audience
of preschool children. In the early 1960s, Coombs moved to Canada from
Pittsburgh, following the example of Fred "Mister" Rogers, who was also working
in children's broadcasting. In fact, one of Coombs's first jobs in Canada was
as Rogers's assistant puppeteer for programs produced at the CBC in Toronto.
Mr. Dressup first appeared regularly on the network on Butternut Square (q.v.),
which started in 1964. In the middle of the 1966-67 season, the program scaled
down, concentrated on Coombs's character, and moved from the town square to Mr.
Dressup's house, which he shares with Casey, a flaxen-haired, rosy-cheeked
puppet boy, and Finnegan, a puppet dog with floppy ears (operated by Judith
Lawrence). Mr. Dressup is the kind of fellow who saves string and yarn and a
lot of other things, because you never know when they'll come in handy.
Crayons and scissors and paper of different sorts are always at the ready for
drawing and painting and cutting and pasting. Most important, though, the
house has a trunk full of costumes so that Mr. Dressup and Casey and their
friends can become the characters in the stories they act out. As his name
suggests, Mr. Dressup is more likely to playact, and consequently is a little
less sober and mediating than Friendly or the Captain, who often let their
secondary characters play out the children's fantasies. While by no stretch of
the imagination a clown, Coombs's Mr. Dressup can stumble a little.
The program is not all song and play. Each show moves casually from segment to
segment. One moment, Casey and Mr. Dressup might be drawing pictures of each
other, and the next, Mr. Dressup might be telling Casey about the stages in his
growth from infancy to his supposed present age, around four years old. As
might be expected in a daily program that has run for years, the themes and
subjects Mr. Dressup has dealt with have ranged widely, from the specific to
the general, such as why adults might want to be alone sometimes.
Mr. Dressup, Casey, and Finnegan have also welcomed a long list of guests to
their house. Semi-regulars have included Susan Marcus, Beth Anne Cole, and,
in 197l-72, Adrian Pecknold as a mime called Poco. The producers of the show
have been Stuart Gilchrist (l967), Bob Gibbons (l967-69), Doug Davidson
(l969-70), Gloria White (l970-73), Hedley Read (l973-8l), Doug Williams
(l980-8l), Lee Richards (l98l-84), and Shirley Greenfield (l984- date).
Sat 6:30-6:45 p.m., 8 Oct 1955-28 Apr 1956
Sat 6:30-6:45 p.m., 6 Oct 1956-26 Mar 1960
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 2 Jul 1960-24 Jun 1961
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 20 Sep 1961-27 Jun 1962
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 3 Oct 1962-24 Jun 1963
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 16 Oct 1963-24 Jun 1964
Wed 7:45-8:00 p.m., 30 Sep 1964-30 Jun 1965
Peter Whittall had been introduced to the television viewer on the evening
series, Living, where he demonstrated crafts and simple home repair. When that
show ended its run, the CBC gave him his own fifteen minute time slot and
christened him Mr. Fixit. In an era when most men seen on television wore
jackets and ties, uniforms, or costumes, Whittall cut a distinctive figure
dressed in plaid flannel shirts and dungarees, ready for work in the shop.
With a tousled shock of dark hair, and a pudgy face and frame, Whittall looked
a little like Brendan Behan or Lou Costello. He demonstrated to the show's
host, CBC announcer Rex Loring, how to handle basic tasks in home construction,
carpentry, and repair. In part because of the brief time slot, Mr. Fixit could
not delve into complex projects. Instead, he concentrated on the jobs that
could be done with handsaw, hammer, screwdriver, block plane, combination mitre
square, and level, and stayed away from territory that called for skilled
craftsmen. Whittall answered Loring's questions and demonstrated with the
quiet authority of someone who knew what he was doing. In the era in which
more and more people owned their own homes, and perhaps had to make
improvements either through desire or to provide new rooms and usable space for
the growing children of the baby boom, Mr. Fixit proved an extremely popular
show, and drew more than 35,000 queries from viewers each year.
The producers of Mr. Fixit were Don MacPherson and, from 1963, Bill Bolt.
Thu 4:30-4:45 p.m., 5 Apr-21 Jun 1956
Thu 5:15-5:30 p.m., 4 Oct 1956-4 Jul 1957
A sequel to Let's Make Music (q.v.), Mr. O starred David Ouchterlony in a
fifteen minute broadcast aimed at five to eight year olds. With stories,
songs, and games, such puppet characters as Cellini the violoncello, Clarence
the clarinet, Manley and Whisper, and Mr. O at the piano tried to introduce
children to music. John and Linda Keogh operated the puppets, for whom Len
Davidson and Pegi Loder provided the voices. The series was produced by Rena
Elmer and Bruce Attridge.
Pied Piper Films of Toronto produced this series of thirty-nine half-hour
programs, which they sold to the CBC and ATV in the U.K. Opera singer Alan
Crofoot was the show's host, and he introduced four segments each program. For
Teletune he narrated a fantasy story, illustrated with graphics; Port of Call
presented films about children and events in other lands; Bag of Tricks
featured magic, performed by Crofoot; and Animal Farm told stories with a cast
of characters that included Rupert the cat, Bessie the bunny, Kookie the
kitten, Harriet Hen, Freddie Frog, Calvin (Rac)Coon, Charlotte Cow, and a rat,
name unknown, in miniature barnyard sets. The series was created by Allan
Wargon and Martin Andrews, and produced by Allan Wargon.
Mon 9:30-10:00 p.m., 4 Oct 1954-5 Jun 1955
It may be difficult to believe that the CBC would give such a bold title to any
program or person. However, Canada's "Mr. Showbusiness" was Jack Arthur, whose
career had started in vaudeville, who was a violin prodigy, an entertainer on a
steamboat, a pit orchestra leader, a theatrical producer, and the producer of
the mammoth Grandstand shows at the Canadian National Exhibition. The series,
Mr. Showbusiness, had run on radio in the 1953-54 season, and was adapted a
year later as a television variety show, sponsored by Borden's dairy products
and broadcast live from Toronto's Studio Four.
Arthur acted as the producer and director of a young theatrical troupe and the
show traded on performances in the present and numbers based on Andrew's
showbiz past. Regulars included Robert Christie as the stage manager and
Sheila Billing as a young performer, a troupe of eight dancers directed by Alan
and Blanche Lund, and an orchestra and chorus led by Howard Cable. Other
performers featured on the show included Alfie Scopp, Ben Lennick, Sammy Sales,
Johnny Moreland, Doreen Hume, Joyce Sullivan, Terry Dale, and Wally Koster.
The show's announcer and commercial pitchman was Elwood Glover, and the
producer was Peter MacFarlane.
Mon 5:00-5:30 p.m., 6 Sep-10 Apr 1972
Mon 5:00-5:30 p.m., 26 Mar-25 Jun 1973
Tue 4:30-5:00 p.m., 10 Sep-24 Dec 1974
Wed 5:00-5:30 p.m., 2 Apr-2 Jul 1975
Starting in 195l, Don Herbert, "Mr. Wizard," demonstrated principles of science
with simple experiments that often used items found around the house, for
nearly fifteen years in an NBC-TV show out of Chicago. He returned in a series
produced in Ottawa's CJOH studios, which met CRTC requirements for Canadian
content, even though the show's format and star both originated in the U.S.A.
Mr. Wizard's young assistants were Andrew Galbreath and Margaret Kelly.
Mon 4:45-5:00 p.m., 4 Apr-13 Jun 1960
Dr. Carter B. Store, school inspector with the Ottawa School Board, wrote and
narrated this fifteen minute historical broadcast on people who have shaped the
personality of Canada. Store illustrated his talks about famous Canadians with
his own drawings. The thirteen week series was produced in Ottawa by Marion
Dunn.
Sun 12:30-1:00 p.m., 30 Apr-23 Jul 1967
A series of thirteen, half-hour programs, Modern Canadian Poetry was originally
scheduled for broadcast in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, and was produced by
John Kennedy. The show was organized and hosted by Phyllis Webb, a poet and
producer in the CBC's public affairs department. She introduced readings and
interviews with a healthy selection of writers who represented the span of
poetry in Canada since the 1940s: Irving Layton, Earle Birney, bp Nichol,
Margaret Avison, Al Purdy, Michael Ondaatje, Robert Hogg, Gwendolyn MacEwan,
Joe Rosenblatt, F.R. Scott, Margaret Atwood, Roy Kiyooka, James Reaney, Victor
Coleman, P.K. Page, Harry Howith, George Bowering, Raymond Souster, Miriam
Waddington, bill bissett, A.J.M. Smith, Louis Dudek, Michael Gnarowski, George
Johnston, Leonard Cohen, and Dorothy Livesay.
Mon-Fri 3:00-3:30 p.m., 28 Dec 1964-24 Jun 1965
Mon-Fri 4:00-4:30 p.m., 27 Sep-11 Nov 1965
Mon-Fri 2:30-3:00 p.m., 5 Jul-27 Sep 1965
Mon-Fri 4:30-5:00 p.m., 30 Jun-
Mon/Tue/Fri 4:30-5:00 p.m., 3 Sep-26 Sep 1969
Producer John Trent touted Moment Of Truth as an afternoon, serial drama with a
difference from the typical soap opera, but the difference was marginal. The
daily half-hour revolved around the Wallace family and their friends in an
Ontario college town. The two principal actors, Douglas Watson and Louise
King, were imported from the United States, while most of the remaining roles
were taken by Canadian talent. Watson played Dr. Robert Wallace, an associate
professor of clinical psychology who also maintained a private practice, which
gave the series two venues for drama. King, as Nancy Wallace, anchored the
home, the third main centre for drama. The producers boasted about the show's
complexity, and noted that the series featured nearly sixty characters per
week. Supporting players included Sandra Scott as Nancy's sister, Lila;
Barbara Pierce and Michael Dodds as the Wallace children, Sheila and Johnny;
Robert Goodier as Walter Leeds; Lynne Gorman as Wilma Leeds; Stephen Levy as
Jack Williams; Toby Tarnow as Carol Williams; Peter Donat as Dr. Vincent
Conway; Ivor Barry as Dr. Russell Wingate; John Bethune as Dr. Gil Bennett; Ann
Campbell as Diane; Alan Bly as Arthur; Fernande Giroux as Monique; John Horton
as Eric Brandt; Chris Wiggins as Dexter; Anne Collings as Kathy; Mira Pawluk as
a disturbed girl, and Anna Hagan as her mother. The first shows in the series
were written by Clare Kennedy. The series was taped in Toronto at Robert
Lawrence Productions, and was sold to NBC-TV, where it ran from January to
November 1965.
This daily quarter-hour, produced by John Thorne, succeeded Chez Helene as the
CBC's introduction to the French language for English speaking children.
Gilbert Chenier played Pierre, a playground attendant who told stories and sang
songs for his young viewers. Like Chez Helene, The Friendly Giant, and Mr.
Dressup, Mon Ami aimed to entertain and amuse children as well as deliver
education. Pierre introduced a basic French vocabulary and described French
Canadian culture in story and song. The series ran at different times of the
morning or early afternoon in different parts of the country. Gilbert Chenier
died in September 1975.
Mon 10:00-11:00 p.m., 26 Jun-25 Sep 1961
On Monday nights in summer 196l, the network aired an eclectic selection of one
hour programs. The series included documentary profiles, interviews, drama,
and dance produced by the CBC, the National Film Board, and the BBC. The
series started with a Camera Canada (q.v.) documentary on Upper Canada Village,
the replica of an early Canadian settlement near Cornwall, Ontario. Subsequent
Camera Canada presentations profiled the Banff School of Fine Arts and
Newfoundland. The National Film Board contributed two films from the
Comparisons series (q.v.): Courtship And Marriage and Of Sport And Men. The
documentaries, Goom Sahm (A Portrait Of A Chinese Community) and Man Against
Nature, came from Vancouver. The series included a ninety minute special
presentation of the CBC show, A Case For The Court (q.v.). A BBC program,
After Supper, featured Peter Ustinov in conversation with three interviewers.
Dramatic productions included a BBC adaptation of a Schiller play and the CBC
production of Joseph Schull's play, The Long Night. The series also included
performances by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and, from London, England, the Royal
Ballet.
Sun 12:30-1:00 p.m., 5 Oct-
Sun 1:00-1:30 p.m., 18 Jun-28 Mar 1976
Sun 12:30-1:00 p.m., 26 Sep 1976-5 Jun 1977
Sun 12:30-1:00 p.m., 25 Sep 1977-
Sun 4:00-4:30 p.m., 2 Apr-7 May 1978
Sun 12:30-1:00 p.m., 1 Oct 1978-25 May 1979
Fri 9:30-10:00 a.m., 5 Jan-25 Mar 1979 (R)
The CBC combined the concerns of two programs, Payday and Dollars And Sense
(q.v.), to produce this Sunday afternoon half-hour devoted to business,
finance, and economics. The magazine format combined film features,
interviews, and discussions, and the show was assembled on the Saturday for a
Sunday air date for maximum topicality. The show's reporters for the first
season were Arthur Vaile, Sheldon Turcotte, and Irv Lutsky. They were replaced
in 1976 by David Tafler and Judy Waytiuk. For the final season, 1978-79, the
hosts were Phil Mathias and Harry Mannis, and the show's title was changed to
Money Magazine. Brian O'Connor (l975-76) and Eric McLeery (l976-79) produced,
and Peter Kaepple was the executive producer.
Sun 2:00-5:00 p.m., 25 Jan-15 Feb 1981
For four Sunday afternoons in winter 198l, host Harry Brown presented a
selection of films collected by theme. The first week featured four films
about war: Bravery In The Field, a drama set in World War I; For King And
Country, a documentary about Canada in World War II from the series, The Days
Before Yewterday (q.v.); The Last Corvette, about The Sackville, a forty year
old escort ship; and Six War Years, based on Barry Broadfoot's oral history,
originally produced for the CBC series, Performance (q.v.). The second show
concerned women writers in Canada. It included a documentary drama, Lucy Maud
Montgomery: The Road To Green Gables; a film about the production of the
musical, Anne Of Green Gables; and The Garden And The Cage, a profile of two
authors, Gabrielle Roy and Marie-Claire Blais. On the third program, Flight Of
The Snows, about the migration of the Canadian snow goose, Man Aloft, a history
of aviation, and Whiskey Whiskey Papa, a film about interesting pilots,
combined to explore the theme of flight. The final program concerned winter,
and included live action from Ottawa's Winterlude festival and the film The
Dawson Patrol, about the journey of a NWMP patrol from Fort MacPherson to
Dawson City in the winter of 19l0.
Sat 1:00-2:00 p.m., 12 Jul-23 Aug 1969
For eight weeks in the summer of 1969, the network presented concerts by the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra from Salle de Wilfred Pelletier at Place des Arts.
The first four one hour programs were produced by Jean-Yves Landry and the last
four by Pierre Morin for Radio-Canada. The French network broadcast the
programs a few days before the English network. The first program featured
operatic selections, with guest conductor Alexander Brott and vocalists Clarice
Carson, Richard Verreau, and Robert Savoie. In the second show, Brian
Priestman conducted the orchestra in classical selections for the first half,
and Claude Leveille sang popular songs while Neil Chotem took the baton to
conduct jazz pieces for piano and orchestra for the second. In the third
program, Jean Deslauriers conducted, with guest vocalists Claire Gagnier and
Yoland Guerard. Boris Brott and Leon Bernier shared conducting duties for the
fourth show, which also featured popular singer Ginette Reno. Franz-Paul
Decker, the Montreal Symphony's resident conductor, took over for the fifth and
sixth shows; the Yvan Landry Jazz Group also performed on the former, and
Colette Boky, Perry Price, and Claude Corbeil were featured vocalists on the
latter. Conductor Pierre Hetu and vocalists Louise Lebrun, Huguette
Tourangeau, Andre Turp, and Claude Corbeil were guests on the seventh show.
The series concluded with return engagements by conductors Alexander Brott and
Neil Chotem, and a special appearance by chansonnier Gilles Vigneault.
Sun 2:00-2:30 p.m., 3 Mar-30 Jun 1968
Jim Johnson and Harry Aoki starred in this musical program produced in
Vancouver. Johnson, a singer and guitar player, had emigrated to Canada from
St. Louis, Missouri, and taught in Prince George, B.C. Aoki played bass and
doubled on harmonica. They had played the local circuit, had a radio show
called Wandering, and appeared regularly on the CBC radio program, Parade Of
Choirs. Their eight week television series presented a wide range of music,
including folk, blues, and classical selections. The initial show, on songs of
trouble and hope, included a chain gang song called Long John, a blues called
I'm Troubled, and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and a Bourree, both by Bach.
Subsequent shows used such themes as songs of the loved and loveless, songs for
young people, songs of hoboes, railroaders, waywarers, and lonesome wanderers,
and songs for Easter.
Johnson and Aoki were backed by Bud Henderson on piano, Ray Moga on guitar,
Stan Johnson on bass, and Al Johnson on drums. Johnson directed the choral
groups who appeared on the show. Their guests included Eleanor Collins, Ann
Mortifee, Doug Parker. During the show's run, the stars kept their day jobs:
Johnson as a schoolteacher and Aoki as a systems analyst for B.C. Hydro.
Wed 8:30-9;00 p.m., 26 Jun-18 Sep 1957
A variety show that featured music and songs from "the old days," Moonlight Bay
replaced Cross Canada Hit Parade for the summer of 1957. It starred Jack
Creley, Carol Starkman, and the Don Wright Singers, with host Bruce Smith, and
was produced in Toronto by Stan Harris.
More Stories From Inside Quebec
Tue 10:30-11:00 p.m., 11 Jul-29 Aug 1967
A year after Eight Stories Inside Quebec (q.v,), executive producer Paul Wright
and director Dennis Miller followed up with another six half-hour documentaries
about Quebec culture for English speaking audiences. The programs concentrated
on young women from rural Quebec who moved to Montreal to build careers;
Brother Andre, the founder of Montreal's St. Joseph's Oratory; a young Montreal
musician and discotheque owner; and Jean Marchand, Minister of Transport, and
Eric Kierans, president of the Quebec Liberal Federation.
Sat 7:30-9:00 p.m., 3 Oct 1959-16 Apr 1960
Movies With Manings preceded the hockey broadcast on Saturday nights. Writer
Allan Manings introduced a selection of Hollywood feature films from a living
room set, occasionally with the help of special guests, such as Manings's later
colleague on Flashback, Elwy Yost.
Thu 10:00-10:30 p.m., 28 Jun-20 Sep 1973
The CBC had begun production of a talk show called All About Women (q.v.), but
adverse reaction to the show's reputed concentration on sex caused the
network's head of public affairs, Knowlton Nash, to cancel it before it ever
reached the air. The replacement, Ms!, appeared the next summer, and dealt
less with sex and more with other issues relating to women. Subjects included
cosmetic surgery, abortion, and housewives who leave their homes. The format
of the show set a woman and a man in debate. The host of the show was Margo
Lane.
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Ms!
