During the decade of the 1970s one of the busiest and most-watched actors on television was John Amos. Not a bad trick considering the New Jersey native did not start out in television as an actor. He was writing for a local news show when singer-actress Leslie Uggams started working on her variety show. She
Nineteen sixty-four was a good year to be a TV tot. I was seven-years-old that October and remember all these cool, black-and-white witches, vampires and severed hands invading our living room via network premieres of such sitcoms as The Munsters, The Addams Family and Bewitched. Besides the shows themselves, there was the monster merch. At
“If scandal is to your taste, Miss MacKay,” I shall give you a feast!” Over the years I have heard Maggie Smith’s memorable line from “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” proclaimed regularly in our house. This quote is a particular favourite of Sandra’s, especially as Sunday brunch is served. Smith, of course, had a
For about as long as I’ve been opening emails I’ve faithfully checked one on-line source for daily dives into the culture of television — Marc Berman’s The Programming Insider. Marc, also a long-time member of the Television Critics Association, just has never lost his zest for television, especially for the shows that many of us
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