Review
“There are several laugh-out-loud moments in Knowlton Nash’s often hilarious account of life behind the mikes at the CBC.…Read it and enjoy.”
–
Toronto Sun“Anyone who thinks of the CBC as a refuge for stuffed shirts will be amazed and amused by the escapades which took place on and off the air during its first 30 years.”
–
Saint John Telegraph-Journal“
Cue the Elephant provides a lot of laughs, a few tears, and a lot of fond memories.…A great spirit-lifter.”
–
Halifax Daily News“The stories themselves…are often hilarious. Nash does a good job of disinterring these nuggets from the memories of his subjects, providing a readable, light-hearted addition to the archive, and a glimpse of what we once had.”
–
Globe and Mail
Product Description
Knowlton Nash’s detailed and widely praised history of the CBC,
The Microphone Wars (1994), provided a superbly researched view of the trials and triumphs faced by Canada’s embattled public broadcaster since its birth sixty years ago. But for most Canadians, the CBC is not its backroom movers and shakers, nor even its boardroom masters. The CBC is its programs and its stars. And now Nash has written their book.
Based on interviews with more than 120 performers, producers, and behind-the-scenes players,
Cue the Elephant is packed to the covers with revelations and surprising anecdotes that range from the serious to the plain ridiculous, from the hilarious to the very poignant.
Goofs, gossip, peeves, and rivalries sprinkle the pages as Nash relates hundreds of memorable incidents: Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau changing his baby’s diaper backstage at “Front Page Challenge”; the professional battles between Wayne and Shuster; Juliette’s struggle to keep cameramen from “shooting up her nose”; Tommy Hunter’s fights with producers; announcer Allan McFee’s creative use of a can of asparagus and his attempt to asphyxiate a producer; Barbara Frum’s devotion to her messy dog, Diva; Peter Mansbridge’s worry about going bald; and the long-mysterious expense account acronym PACR, which was finally discovered to stand for Pissed Away, Can’t Remember.
Whether you’re curious about the real reason for the cancellation of “Front Page Challenge,” “The Beachcombers,” and “Street Legal,” or want to know what Anne Murray, Gordon Pinsent, and Cynthia Dale are really like,
Cue the Elephant provides an engrossing, funny, and nostalgic look at the stars of the CBC – from the radio days of Foster Hewitt, the Happy Gang, and Rawhide to the current hit television shows.
