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Celebrity Cooks

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Celebrity Cooks
Genrecooking/variety
Created byDerek Smith and Kent Anthony
Developed byDerek Smith and Keith Large
Written byGary Dunford
StarringBruno Gerussi
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons12
No. of episodes478
Production
Executive producersDerek Smith and Keith Large
Production locationsVancouver, Ottawa, Toronto
Production companiesCarleton Productions, Initiative Productions
Original release
NetworkCBC Television (1975-79)
Global (1980-87)

Celebrity Cooks is a Canadian cooking show independently produced by Carleton Productions and Insight Productions and aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1979 and on Global from 1980 to 1987. It was syndicated throughout Canada and the United States from 1980 to 1987. In the early 1990s, it continued in syndication in Canada. Barrie, Ontario-based CKVR later ran episodes in the 1990s that were also available in Toronto and surrounding areas for at least one season.

Bruno Gerussi hosted 478 episodes in total. He introduced celebrities, saw guests perform and chatted with them while preparing dishes for the audience.

The show began a successful run with the CBC and then moved to Global in 1980.[1] In addition to the daytime programming, Global also developed 26 prime time episodes.[citation needed] The show continued to air in Canada with Global and on a few CBS owned-and-operated stations in the US until 1987.[citation needed] At that point, Initiative Productions and partners had produced 478 episodes.

Among the guests who appeared on the show was a pre-stardom David Letterman.[2][3] Other guests included Margaret Trudeau (aired 3 February 1978),[4] Jean Beliveau, Barry Morse and Elayne Boosler.

An episode featuring guest Bob Crane was recorded on 28 January 1978. The show first aired on CBC on 23 June and Crane was murdered on 29 June, making this his last TV appearance. The episode was scheduled to air on WCBS-TV in July 1978, however given the circumstances it did not air at all in the U.S.. The episode did air five times in Canada, beginning in February 1978. WCBS's Jeff Erdell claimed that Crane was distraught and joked about sex and death during the show, claims repeated in Robert Graysmith's book The Murder of Bob Crane and dramatized in the film Auto Focus, [5][6] but this has been denied by the show's producers and production staff.[7]- [8]

Hermione Gingold was the guest for the program's first broadcast on 15 September 1975.[9]

In 2012, Derek Smith, the creator of Celebrity Cooks, tried to bring back the show in a new version as The New Celebrity Cooks with a new host, actress and improv comic and actress Ellie Harvie in much the same format as the original show. The show was to be produced by Smith's Upside Right Media Inc.[10]

The show also led to the creation of Celebrity Cooks cookbooks:

  • 1977: Celebrity Cooks, Recipe Book II (Fforbez Enterprises/Initiative Productions) ISBN 0-08-897602-5, ISBN 0-08-897602-1
  • 1979: The New Celebrity Cooks Cookbook (Methuen) ISBN 0-458-94280-4

Key people

[edit]
  • Creator: Derek Smith
  • Developed by: Derek Smith and Keith Large
  • Executive Producers: Keith Large and Derek Smith
  • Host: Bruno Gerussi
  • Musical Duo:Jim Walchuck and Henri Lorieau
  • Cooking Consultants: Helga Theilmann and Joan Mitchell (Season 1 & 2, Ottawa), Sue Morton & Chuck Norris (Seasons 3 to 12, Vancouver and Toronto)
  • Talent coordinator:Anne Kear
  • Executive Assistant to Derek Smith: Sharyn Manuel
  • Series writer: Gary Dunford

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Downey, Donn (13 February 1979). "Global planning five new shows". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Celebrity Cooks: David Letterman". IMDb. 1975. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  3. ^ David Letterman on Celebrity Cooks, late November 1977 on YouTube
  4. ^ "Maggie's Tempura (photo)". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 24 January 1978. p. 15.
  5. ^ "Bob Crane". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. 3 July 1978. p. 14. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  6. ^ Slotek, Jim. "Sex, murder and videotape". Jam!/Canoe/Sun Media. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  7. ^ Ford, Carol; Groundwater, Linda. "Flipside: The True Story of Bob Crane (09. Bob Crane's 1978 Appearance on 'Celebrity Cooks')". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  8. ^ Ford, Carol M.; Young, Dee; Groundwater, Linda J. (2015). Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography. AM Ink Publishing. ISBN 9780991033072. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ Kirby, Blaik (6 September 1975). "Information packs the channels in bountiful new television season". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. 31.
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223825/http://www.upsiderightmedia.com/data/COOKS/cooks_hostbio.html
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