191:" nearly every day, giving hope to the listeners when the war effort seemed to be going badly. And songs of faith like "The Lord's Prayer" inspired and comforted listeners whose sons were fighting overseas. The members also made personal appearances, and participated in benefit concerts to support the war effort. Canadian ships at sea played phonograph records by the Happy Gang during the war years; the members also received a number of awards from the government. In addition, during the war, Happy Gang trumpet player Robert Farnon joined the Canadian army and became the conductor of the
30:
223:, which was still very popular, although its audience was aging. There was no explanation given for his departure, and rumors and speculation swirled in the press that he had a serious illness or perhaps a drinking problem. Neither was true: years later, he explained that the pressure of constantly performing, with little time off for eighteen years, led to a nervous breakdown. He moved to California, where he became the music coordinator for
258:; a record 20,000 fans attended their performance; Bert Pearl came back for that concert. Also performing was Kay Stokes, who was 81 by this time. She received two standing ovations. Some of the Gang, especially Bert Pearl, had expressed concern that so many years later, they would be forgotten, but the positive reaction they received from the audience showed that the Happy Gang had remained an important part of growing up in Canada.
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in 1950 titled "The Not-So-Happy Gang" which revealed that despite their on-air camaraderie, ensemble members did not get along and that "it is possible one half the Gang would cheer happily if the other half was fired" and that host Bert Pearl, while respected by his crew, was frustrated and unhappy
96:
in
Toronto, and was also known in vaudeville and on the air as "Canada's Sweetheart of the Theatre Organ." She was the only female member of the Happy Gang, and she remained with them throughout their 22 years on the air. The fact that Stokes was the Happy Gang's only female member was mentioned in
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The show had an iconic opening which became a catch-phrase for
Canadian listeners: first there was the sound of someone knocking at the door—it was actually violinist Blain Mathé, rapping on his violin. Then a voice asked, "Who's there?" The response, "It's the Happy Gang." And the reply, "Well,
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was canceled in 1959, some of the members continued to perform. In addition to Pearl, who mainly performed in the United States, and Farnon, who had a successful career in
England as a composer and conductor, Bobby Gimby had some success in Canada as a bandleader and songwriter. And Blain Mathé
87:
In 1937, CBC Regional
Program Director George Taggart was given the assignment to come up with a Monday-through-Friday half-hour variety program that would fill the period 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. E.S.T. His tight budget permitted only four musicians. To “lead the band”, and as Master of Ceremonies,
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show was originally broadcast at 11:30 a.m.; it was later moved to 1 in the afternoon. Singer-accordionist Eddie Allen joined in 1938 and stayed with the Gang for the remainder of their history, along with Mathé and Stokes. After Bert Pearl's departure in 1955, Allen became the
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with his role. According to an anonymous CBC producer
Callwood spoke to, "It’s killing him to slosh around with that always-smiling routine.” Regardless of disharmony behind the scenes, the programme continued to be successful with an estimated audience of 2.5 million in 1950.
187:, millions of Canadians regarded the Happy Gang as friends. The show was "corny and wholesome," and during difficult times, the music and the jokes provided some much needed cheer. This was especially true during the war years. For example, the Gang performed the patriotic "
56:
that ran from 1937 to 1959. During the Golden Age of Radio and well into the 1950s, it was one of Canada's most popular programs. In its heyday, it had about two million listeners a day. The show was known for its "spontaneous humor, music, and corny jokes."
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Taggart’s choice was Bert Pearl, whose real name was Bert
Shapira. Credited with coming up with the concept that became the Happy Gang, Pearl's on-air persona was "that slap-happy chappy, the Happy Gang's Own Pappy." His fellow musicians were trumpeter
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in 2005, and remained until the space's closure in 2017. A small display, featuring Kay Stokes' organ, photos and news clippings, remains in the Ivan Harris
Gallery in the lower level of the CBC's Canadian Broadcasting Centre.
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ran for 22 years, totalling nearly 4900 broadcasts, until it was finally canceled in late August 1959. The series also served as the template for CBC's French language service,
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affiliate in
Toronto, later known as CBL. Originally intended as just a summer fill-in, it gained a following, and was moved to the CBC network four months later.
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Herb May, who served his apprenticeship with CBO Ottawa and had been moved to
Toronto, became the show’s first regular announcer. George Temple was appointed the
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the show's signature song: they would sing "It’s the Happy Gang with the boys and Kay Stokes. We hope you’ll like our music and our songs and our jokes..."
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In 1952, Barry Wood took over from Hugh
Bartlett as the Happy Gang's new announcer, and served in that role for the show's final years.
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Canadian Band; he took the band to England and ended up staying, performing patriotic songs on the BBC.
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in the summer of 1959, the troupe (except for Blain Mathé and Robert Farnon), reunited in 1975 at the
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The show's announcers were Herb May until 1938, Hugh Bartlett 1938–1952, and Barry Wood 1952–1959.
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In addition to original members Pearl, Stokes, Mathé, and Farnon, other members of the
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program as well as occasionally writing songs for Durante's guest vocalists.
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saxophonist-clarinetist Cliff McKay - 1943–1952 and returned to replace Gimby
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s first producer, and he remained a producer for the show till 1955.
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Bill Taylor. "Happy Gang's Bert Pearl Dies in Los Angeles at 73."
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Bill Taylor. "Happy Gang's Bert Pearl Dies in Los Angeles at 73."
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Bill Taylor. "Happy Gang's Bert Pearl Dies in Los Angeles at 73."
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Tim McDonald. "Robert Farnon, Composer and Conductor 1917-2005."
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Ross McLean. "Bert Pearl: Canadian Superstar Leaves Quietly."
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Morris Duff. "Old Happy Gang Gather to Recall Knock, Knocks."
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Ross McLean. "Bert Pearl: Canadian Superstar Leaves Quietly."
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Morris Duff. "Old Happy Gang Gather to Recall Knock, Knocks."
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James McCready. "Eddie Allen: Moms Always Liked Him Best."
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James McCready. "Eddie Allen: Moms Always Liked Him Best."
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Nadine Jones. "Who Could Ever Forget Radio's Happy Gang?"
630:"Smiles Leave Happy Gang as End of 22 Year Era Looms."
324:"Smiles Leave Happy Gang as End of 22-Year Era Looms."
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Guest Singer Ron Sherman aka Ronald Schuman Late 1950s?
430:"Blain Mathé, Happy Gang Star, With Show 20 Years."
417:"Blain Mathé, Happy Gang Star, With Show 20 Years."
404:Dennis Braithwaite. "Yesterday, When I Was Young."
239:became a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
604:Charles Gerein. "Canada's Centennial Pied Piper."
79:(fr), which was broadcast from 1941 to 1977.
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495:"Imperial Theatre is Sold Out for Tonight."
656:Jack Miller. "Welcome Home to Bert Pearl."
669:"Tears and Laughter with the Happy Gang."
378:"The Leaside Gang that Made Canada Happy."
469:Dick Brown. "Knock, Knock. Who's There?"
363:Frank Rasky. "Happy Birthday, Kathleen."
512:(Vancouver, B.C.), May 31, 1991, p. 61.
135:troupe throughout its history included:
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617:"Happy Gang Star With Show 20 Years."
391:Dennis Braithwaite. "Happy Thoughts."
261:A small exhibit of the show opened at
219:In 1955, Bert Pearl suddenly left the
206:wrote a profile of the Happy Gang for
350:"Kay Stokes, 85, of the Happy Gang."
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149:keyboardist Jimmy Namaro - 1943–1959
63:debuted on June 14, 1937 on station
535:Callwood, June (February 1, 1950).
168:accordionist Les Foster - 1955–1959
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158:pianist Lloyd Edwards - 1950–1959
47:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
155:organist Lou Snider - 1948–1957
36:display at the CBC Museum, 2009
725:Canadian comedy radio programs
246:had left the air, replaced by
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755:1950s Canadian radio programs
750:1940s Canadian radio programs
745:1930s Canadian radio programs
740:Canadian Comedy Award winners
189:There'll Always Be An England
152:bassist Joe Niosi - 1945–1959
735:1959 radio programme endings
354:, December 17, 1979, p. A16.
256:Canadian National Exhibition
730:1937 radio programme debuts
700:Canadian Encyclopedia entry
621:, December 12, 1967, p. 18.
473:, November 1, 1975, p. I28.
434:, December 12, 1967, p. 18.
421:, December 12, 1967, p. 18.
395:, December 13, 1967, p. 29.
193:Allied Expeditionary Forces
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608:, January 14, 1967, p. 26.
673:, August 29, 1975, p. 14.
660:, August 27, 1975, p.F15.
634:, August 28, 1959, p. 37.
408:, June 19, 1975, p. PE13.
328:, August 28, 1959, p. 37.
287:The Canadian Encyclopedia
671:Toronto Globe & Mail
619:Toronto Globe & Mail
580:Toronto Globe & Mail
525:, April 27, 2005, p. S7.
523:Toronto Globe & Mail
486:, July 12, 2003, p. F10.
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460:, July 12, 2003, p. F10.
458:Toronto Globe & Mail
432:Toronto Globe & Mail
419:Toronto Globe & Mail
393:Toronto Globe & Mail
367:, March 23, 1977, p. F1.
339:Toronto Globe & Mail
161:saxophonist-clarinetist
119:s Master of Ceremonies.
705:Biography of Bert Pearl
647:, June 19, 1986, p. F1.
595:, June 19, 1986, p. F1.
562:"Barry Wood dead at 54"
537:"THE NOT-SO-HAPPY GANG"
499:, July 15, 1940, p. 24.
447:, April 8, 1963, p. 18.
315:, April 8, 1963, p. 18.
302:, June 19, 1986, p. F1.
720:CBC Radio One programs
143:- from 1943–April 1959
77:Les Joyeux Troubadours
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582:, July 5, 1986, p. 8.
341:, July 5, 1986, p. 8.
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686:, July 28, 2005, G5.
90:Robert (Bob) Farnon
568:. October 8, 1974.
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242:Long after
199:Later years
165:- 1952–1959
141:Bobby Gimby
83:Early years
714:Categories
682:"Events",
270:References
263:CBC Museum
221:Happy Gang
163:Bert Niosi
139:trumpeter
133:Happy Gang
114:Happy Gang
102:Happy Gang
52:lunchtime
18:Happy Gang
179:War years
546:July 12,
127:Members
229:NBC-TV
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248:The
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