Canadian TV in the 1960s

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by John B, Dec 11, 2017.

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  1. Any existing footage of "Right on"? Marty Short was the host
     
  2. GroovyGuy

    GroovyGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Halifax, NS Canada
    Party Game ran on CHCH TV in Hamilton, ON (which reached the Toronto market) from the early 70's. It was a charades type show that was a rip off of the US game show Pantomime Quiz which ran several years earlier. A bunch of 70's folks sitting down on couches playing charades on TV - gotta love it lol ;)

     
  3. GroovyGuy

    GroovyGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Halifax, NS Canada
    "Trouble With Tracy" was an early 70's sitcom produced by CTV. It should have be called "Terrible With Tracy" as it was brutal lol. How bad the show is is funnier than the content of the the show itself. From the bad sets (watch them wobble in the background lol) to the horrid acting to the embarrassing laugh track how bad this show was is what made it good.

    They filmed about 125 of these shows in a season doing 7 shows in a 5 day filming cycle. The scripts were massaged radio scripts from the early 40's. Part of the driving force behind this show was that CTV needed to come up with Canadian Content quickly and cheaply which is exactly how the show played out on TV - fast and cheap. A classic example of you get what you pay for .... but I love it lol

     
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  4. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Back to the ‘60s.....

    Wojeck, the first TV show featuring a forensic pathologist ran for two seasons ‘66-‘68 (2nd in colour). Featured John Vernon pre Animal House and Dirty Harry. Pretty good show that dealt with controversial themes that were widely avoided on ‘60s television.
     
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  5. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
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  6. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    How about Alex Trebek’s first hosting gig (‘63 - ‘64) with Music Hop? It seems that Benny Hill was not the only one to use the theme music.
     
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  7. johnod

    johnod Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada

    I remember for sure, my high school girlfriend was a contestant , I like smart girls.
     
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  8. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Did you see her live?
     
  9. Muddy Holly

    Muddy Holly Senior Member

    Like Young (CFCF Montreal)
    Johnny Jellybean (CFCF Montreal)
    Saturday Date (CJOH Ottawa)
    Shock Theatre (late night horror/thriller show)
     
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  10. johnod

    johnod Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada

    No just watched on the TV. I actually saw a clip with her on the show, a few years ago.
    Can't find it now.
     
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  11. Whizz Kid

    Whizz Kid Forum Resident

    I recall meeting new friends in the UK a few years ago, they talked about watching 'Forest Rangers' on British TV in the 1960s... they said that for the longest time, they seriously believed that all us kids in Canada must live in a cool log fort in the woods and spend their time fishing and paddling canoes and helping the local Mountie in a red coat (who was Gordon Pinsent, btw !) :p

    I suppose I can see how those misconceptions happened... it was a way simpler, much less connected world back then.

    For my part, I thought all the kids in Australia lived in the outback and took their schooling by 2-way radio...
    and had a pet bush kangaroo named Skippy. :cool:
     
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  12. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I was born in Canada and I thought we all lived in cool log forts. Not exactly but I really wanted to.

    Good story! That could be a great thread theme. Misconceptions based on TV/media.
     
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  13. carrick doone

    carrick doone Whhhuuuutttt????

    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    I don't remember this show with Alex but we had a local version with schools from the area. They seemed really really smart.
     
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  14. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    These weren't on my radar though Shock Theatre is familiar. A quick search revealed that Saturday Date had a reunion special in 1991.

    This starts with a youthful Peter Jennings. Check out the interview with the Rolling Stones at 24:45. Embarrassing for the interviewer who got his information from the press!

     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
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  15. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I believe the regional presenters varied. Alex hosted in Toronto.

    I posted this above, 22 seconds long and worth it if you're a fan of Jeopardy:
    Reach for the Top 1960s Alex Trebek Excerpt
     
  16. Double D

    Double D Forum Resident

    Rainbow Country 1969 to 1970 26 episodes only. Shot at Whitefish Falls on the Northshore of Lake Huron near Little Current Manitoulin Island.
    I always liked the boating scenes, they were very real and authentic. The stunning scenery of that area and everything was shot on location, not in studios.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
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  17. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I never thought about that; that it was shot on location but that's clear from this episode, also nice to see Lois Maxwell who was active in between Bonds.:

     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
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  18. BradF

    BradF Senior Member

    Location:
    SW Ontario
    I sure remember Razzle Dazzle, a kids show featuring Howard the Turtle, hosted by Al Hamel, who later teamed up with ubiquitous comedian Billy Van for a saucy late night variety show called Nightcap. Hamel somehow ended up in LA married to Suzanne Somers.
     
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  19. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Thanks for this informative post. I remember a friend who had cable in 1968. I was in awe! IIRC we could get 5 channels on a good day in Toronto, using our roof antenna. Two U.S., 3 local - ish Toronto, Kitchener and Hamilton. Channel 4 (Buffalo I think) and channel 2. Memory hazy. Your post confirms that my memory serves re: CHCH in Hamilton.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
  20. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I understand that the CBC kept most of what they broadcast. In addition to the World Series that you mentioned, a lot of British shows such as some Dr. Who, only survive thanks to the 16 mm copies shipped overseas.

    Do you know if the CBC recorded onto videotape in the ‘60s? Presumably they did. Did they keep the original tapes or merely the kinescopes? Do most of the 1960s’ TV shows survive?

    The Forest Rangers and Wojeck survive in good quality, perhaps in their original recorded format. Had they been produced in the U.K. that would likely not be the case. So much great British TV is lost or only available in poor copies.
     
  21. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Hi Dave,

    Can you tell us more about Shock Theatre? I remember seeing some of the old (old even then!) horror shows such as Dracula on TV when I was 7 or 8 and I was never allowed to stay up late.

    Is Shock Theatre American? If so it would be Shock Theater. ;) American shows were part of life in Canada back then.
     
  22. Muddy Holly

    Muddy Holly Senior Member

    As I remember it, it played late Friday or Saturday nights, horror films with a local host doing spots at the commercial breaks. The host would do some campy horror film character. This might have been a CJOH Ottawa production, early 1960s. It could have been American but it did air on CJOH. In doing a little reading on Shock THEATER , I see there was such an American series with local hosts so we may have used local hosts, too (Les Lye?). Oh no, now I’m flashing back to Uncle Willy and Floyd.
     
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  23. Muddy Holly

    Muddy Holly Senior Member

    Cartoonerville was a local CJOH (CTV) production, hosted by musician Champ Champagne featuring Uncle Chichimus and Hollyhock (previously seen in the 1950s on CBC). As I remember, this ran after school.
     
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  24. Muddy Holly

    Muddy Holly Senior Member

    Oh snap, this has me thinking of Toastmaster Junior Auction, also shot at the CJOH studio. Toastmaster Baked Goods had coupons in their products with varying amounts of points which you would save up and bid on items at the show. We would board a bus and travel to Ottawa to be part of the show - biggest reward was the free boxed lunch!
     
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  25. Jim Pattison

    Jim Pattison Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kitchener ON
    I was a member of my high school’s Reach For The Top team in the mid 70s. We competed against other schools in our region. The programs were taped at our local TV station - CKNX - a CBC affiliate. We won a few games, but not enough to advance to the provincial or national finals. I never did get to meet Alex Trebek.
     
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