''Canada After Dark'' was

Canada's Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

first late-night comedy/variety

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

. It was hosted by

Paul Soles Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian actor and television personality. He led the voice cast in such series as ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966), voiced the title character in '' Spider-Man'' (1967), and portray ...

and aired on CBC Television from September 18, 1978, to January 26, 1979. The show was repackaged from the failed, more informational ''

90 Minutes Live ''90 Minutes Live'' was a Canadian television late-night talk show, which aired on CBC Television from April 19, 1976, to May 12, 1978. The program aired weekday evenings at 11:30 p.m. Hosted by Peter Gzowski, the program was patterned afte ...

''. Executive producer Alex Frame and producer Bob Ennis decided to try a show that would be comparable to ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' instead, changing the name of the show to ''Canada After Dark'' and replacing host

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

with veteran comedic actor Soles. The new show would last for less than half a season.

The Royal Canadian Air Farce The Royal Canadian Air Farce was a comedy troupe that was active from 1973 to 2019. It is best known for their various Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series, first on CBC Radio and later on CBC Television. Although their weekly radio series ...

parodied the show with skits called "Clark In The Dark", featuring then-Prime Minister

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

(played by Don Ferguson) acting as "host" from the gallery of an empty House Of Commons. The skits were revived after Clark returned to politics in the late 1990s.

External links

Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series
via archive.org) 1978 Canadian television series debuts 1979 Canadian television series endings 1970s Canadian television talk shows CBC Television original programming Canadian late-night television programming {{Canada-comedy-tv-prog-stub