My mother, Margaret, turns 92 Wednesday. Her birthday is December 7 — as my dad and FDR used to say, “A day that will live in infamy.” Roosevelt, of course, was referring to another momentous and far less joyous occasion: the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The dawn raid that drew the United States
The question comes up every December: which of the “Holy Three” of holiday specials — Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas or Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas — is best? Really, they’re all great and deserve their evergreen status. When you’re on a radio show with other guests, however, you’ve got
In 1985, TV critics held the first Television Critics Awards. Handing out engraved plaques — “hastily designed at Trophy World” recalled one of the first TCA presidents, Ed Bark — had been a contentious move for the group. Several scribes were wary of creating something that could grow into that ultimate horror — another televised awards show.
The CBC is proposing that it get more funding from Ottawa so it can broadcast without commercials. As hard as it will be to say goodbye to that Canadian Tire guy, it is an idea worth investigating. Nobody wants to watch commercials anymore, on any screen. My thumb is poised over every “skip ad” intro
DARTMOUTH, N.S. — When I first heard CBC was doing a series about Mennonites dealing meth I went, “Whaaat?” That was back in the spring during CBC’s annual upfront presentation in Toronto. Among the talent they had assembled for interviews were the producers of Pure, who described it as an Amish Breaking Bad. At that point,
Ron Glass was often, to borrow a phrase used to describe Reggie Jackson when he was with the Yankees, the straw that stirred the drink on the classic ABC sitcom Barney Miller (1974 – 82). A gifted character actor, he passed away Saturday at the age of 71. Glass added a little edge to one of
It has been a few weeks since I last spoke with Scott Thompson at Hamilton’s CHML. The AM900 host wanted to check in this week regarding the passing of Florence Henderson, the actress who played TV mom Carol Brady on the early ’70s series The Brady Bunch. Henderson died Thursday at 82. Read more about Henderson
Here’s a strange bit of TV trivia: Florence Henderson was born on Valentine’s Day and died on Thanksgiving Day. The actress packed a lot into the 82 years in between. Best known for her five-year run on The Brady Bunch, Henderson died Thursday in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack. She was 82. Her death was