Edmonton TV station Global turned 50 this month. That news may not mean much to anyone outside of Global Edmonton’s reach – and considering the sad state of local TV, it might not mean that much in Edmonton either – but without Global Edmonton the classic sketch comedy series SCTV wouldn’t exist. CITV, later shortened
The issue of Canada’s all-time favourite TV shows has risen again thanks to Canadian History EHx, a podcast from Craig Baird. Mr. Baird, a Canadian history enthusiast living on Treaty 6 land, has over 53,000 followers on Twitter. He set up a playoff format where shows went head-to-head over a number of weeks. There were
Think of Phil Donahue as the Norman Lear of daytime talk shows. The popular daytime talk show host passed away Aug. 18 after a lengthy illness. He was 88. Dating back to when the War in Vietnam was raging and Women’s and Civil Rights movements were prime fodder on evening newscasts, broadcasters generally looked the
He’ll always be remembered as “the master of The Hollywood Squares.” There was, however, much more to the seven decade-long showbiz career of Peter Marshall. Born Ralph Pierre LaCock back in West Virginia in 1926, Marshall’s TV credits date all the way back to 1949 and a forgotten ABC series he co-hosted along with comedy
Bob Newhart made me laugh so many times over the years, especially on his first hit TV sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78). I’ll never forget, therefore, the one time I made him laugh. It was at a Television Critics Association Awards presentation, at least a dozen years ago. I believe our group were bestowing
Judas Priest. Not Lieutenant Hunter as well? The rash of former TV stars who have passed away in the last few days is alarming, especially considering another former reality show star came within a half inch or so of joining them. Passing away Friday, July 13 was James B. Sikking, part of the large and
What to make of Richard Simmons? Born in New Orleans in 1948, he was an overweight teen who shed pounds through diet and exercise. This led to his own weight loss clinic in Beverly Hills, Slimmons. The successful business was profiled on the TV show Real People and Simmons himself became something of a national
As a viewer, my first encounter with Shannen Doherty was on a gentle little NBC drama called Our House. The series aired 1986 to 1988 and starred Wilford Brimley, who specialized in playing grumpy old coots. In this series he played a grandfather who, after his son dies, takes the rest of his son’s family