George Feyer was stuffing feathers into quilts for $18 a week in 1949 when he sold his cartoon in Canada. It was, by all accounts, a rather subdued gag about a man being fitted for glasses. It was only after its publication that the editors were informed by other immigrants that Feyer’s cartoon contained a [...]

Each week, Torontoist examines the upcoming TV listings and makes note of programs that are entertaining, informative, and of quality. Or, alternately, none of those. The result: Televisualist. Monday Hey, do you want to watch a TV show about a haunted house? “But wait,” you say, “most haunted house movies run out of steam halfway [...]

Remember as a kid when possibilities seemed endless and a cardboard box could transform into a fort, a tank, a mountain, or a Super Mario pipe? (Maybe that last one was just us.) Justin Time is a new animated program for pre-schoolers slated to air in Canada next year that brings that boundless creativity to [...]

In brief: Jack was a musical extravaganza based on the four Jacks in a deck of cards, and it featured Victor Garber embodying hearts. Another Jack, Star TV critic Jack Miller, praised it as fun, melodic, and unpredictable, “a musical experience that flies in several directions without ever losing either itself or its pace.” We’d [...]

In late 1955, Arthur Hailey, an advertising executive for a tractor-trailer company, was returning home to Toronto from a business trip in Vancouver. Aboard a Canadair North Star—among the largest passenger carriers at the time—his mind began to wander. He wondered whether someone like him, who'd flown planes for the Royal Air Force but hadn't been in a pilot's seat since the end of the war, could fly and land this four-engine Trans-Canada Air Lines airliner if catastrophe hit. He began imagining those circumstances.

Twenty-nine hours. That’s how long Jeffrey Caulfield and Willy Klaudusz waited in line to be among the first people to enter the CN Tower when it opened its doors to the general public on June 26, 1976. As many as 12,000 people followed them that day, the first of the daily hordes that still flow into the landmark 35 years later.

Teen pregnancy, teased-out hair, and Joey Jeremiah’s fedoras: Degrassi Junior High had it all. Long before the likes of Drake and other airbrushed teens reclaimed the famous fictional school for the noughties, the first season of DJH changed not only after-school programming but Canadian television. Critically acclaimed for its frank take on social issues (now [...]

“Hundreds of onlookers thought they were witnessing an actual bank holdup and police-desperado gun battle at Yonge and Grosvenor today as these phoney [sic] officers raced onto the scene as part of the filming of a TV drams.” Photo by Madison Sale. The Telegram, September 10, 1958. Wednesday morning, downtown Toronto. As a bank robbery [...]

The partially razed remains of McClear/Digital. Except for twisted lengths of rusting I-beams and small piles of broken concrete, not much else remains of the single-story structure that once stood at 225 Mutual Street. Before being razed in early August, this was the location of a once-venerable recording studio. Visiting the site a few weeks [...]

Photo of last month’s debate, courtesy of CP24. For some reason, selected candidates for the mayoralty of Toronto are having a debate tonight on CP24. Christopher Bird is watching for Torontoist, because you probably aren’t. 7:55 PM: Tonight’s debate topics are supposedly “the environment” and “the arts.” Rob Ford’s team is already complaining that this [...]

Photo by Irene Duma. Canada lost one of its most beloved artists and personalities when author, screenwriter, musician, and teacher Paul Quarrington passed away in his Toronto home this morning. Quarrington, 56, was diagnosed with stage four cancer in May but continued to work on a wide range of projects, including laying down tracks for [...]