The Golden Age of CBC
Famous for telling young viewers to "look up, look waaay up," this gentle giant shared a castle with a giraffe named Jerome.
The Friendly Giant (Bob Homme)
This smooth Ottawa-born teen idol sang "Diana" for Ed's American audience in 1957 before launching a massive global songwriting career.
Paul Anka
In 1977, this team played their very first regular-season game in a snowstorm at Exhibition Stadium, wearing blue and white.
Toronto Blue Jays
Instead of asking for whole milk at the grocery store, you looked for this long word on the carton.
homogenized (or homo milk)
Famous for shouting "Hi-yo, Silver, away!", this masked rider and his faithful partner Tonto first hit the airwaves on the radio in 1933.
The Lone Ranger
Before hosting a famous American quiz show, a young Alex Trebek presided over this high school academic competition on CBC.
Reach for the Top
This folk icon from Orillia brought his acoustic storytelling to the show in 1969, singing "If You Could Read My Mind."
Gordon Lightfoot
This famous baseball movie from 1992 featured a women's professional league and starred Tom Hanks shouting, "There's no crying in baseball!"
A League Of Their Own
This old-fashioned word for a living room sofa was found in almost every Canadian front room.
chesterfield or davenport
Long before Hollywood tackled the frontier, this iconic federal police force was the star of early Canadian and American radio adventure serials, always "getting their man."
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP / "The Mounties")
This foot-tapping, Saturday-night musical variety program from Eastern Canada starred a famous fiddler whose jubilee was a massive ratings hit until its controversial 1969 cancellation.
Don Messer's Jubilee?
This legendary Canadian comedy duo made a record-breaking 67 appearances on Ed's Sunday night stage.
Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster
This beloved, bright red mascot entertained baseball fans at Jarry Park and Olympic Stadium before becoming the first mascot ever kicked out of a Major League game.
Youppi
Before buying a winter jacket or down coat, people threw on this traditional, fur-trimmed hooded jacket.
parka
Set in fictional Crocus, Saskatchewan, this beloved CBC Radio series by W.O. Mitchell followed the frontier adventures of a young boy and an eccentric, storytelling hired hand.
Jake and the Kid
Al Waxman played the warm-hearted corner store owner Larry King in this hit 1970s CBC sitcom set in Toronto.
King of Kensington
Ed famously introduced this iconic 1960s rock group from Oshawa/Toronto that gave us "Born to Be Wild."
Steppenwolf
This beloved broadcaster called Toronto Blue Jays games for decades and famously exclaimed, "Touch 'em all, Joe!" when Joe Carter hit his World Series-winning home run in 1993.
Tom Cheek
Americans call them gutters, but Canadians traditionally use this eleven-letter word to describe the channels that collect rain from the roof.
eavestroughs
Famous for his booming voice, this Nova Scotia-born country legend, known as "The Singing Ranger," found massive success on North American radio waves with hits like "I'm Moving On"
Hank Snow
This groundbreaking 1950s live CBC television drama anthology series launched the careers of famous directors like Norman Jewison and Arthur Hiller.
CBC Television Theatre (or Folio)
Ed Sullivan frequently welcomed this squeaky-voiced, Italian puppet mouse co-host to the stage, much to the delight of Sunday night families.
Topo Gigio
Known as "The Hawk," this Hall of Fame outfielder won the 1987 NL MVP with Chicago, but played his prime years from 1977 to 1986 patrolling the outfield for the Montreal Expos.
Andre Dawson
This old slang term was widely used by older generations to describe a small, pocket-sized flask or bottle of alcohol.
a mick (or mickey)
This real-life, Alberta-bound cowboy and former slave arrived in Canada in 1882, introduced steer-decorating to the Calgary Stampede, and became one of the most legendary ranch cutters in Canadian history.
John Ware
This beloved radio program ran from 1943 to 1962 and shared the funny daily life of the mythical Wakeham family in Joplin.
The Happy Gang
This Montreal-born jazz piano legend wowed Ed's audiences with his incredible speed, trios, and brilliant technique.
Oscar Peterson
This Canadian-born Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher won 284 games and pitched a famous perfect game for the Cleveland Indians in 1981.
Fergie Jenkins
In Atlantic Canada, people laid off from the fish plants or trades lined up to collect this financial aid, also called EI today.
pogy (or pogey)
This real-life, American-born train robber became a folk hero in British Columbia after staging Canada’s first-ever train heist in 1904, inspiring numerous radio dramas and the 1982 film The Grey Fox.
Bill Miner