Daniel McCarthy (c. 1926 – January 10, 2013) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

and the former head of

children's programming Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early eveni ...

at CBC Television (CBC). He worked at the CBC for thirty-three years, including a twelve-year tenure as the head of the CBC's children's programming department. McCarthy created, developed and produced such well known Canadian children's television shows as ''

The Friendly Giant ''The Friendly Giant'' was a children's television program that aired on CBC Television from September 30, 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant (mythology), giant named Friendly (played by Bob Homme), who lived in ...

'', ''

Mr. Dressup ''Mr. Dressup'' is a Canadian children's television series, starring Ernie Coombs, a former understudy of Fred Rogers, in the title role. It originally ran on CBC from 1967 to 1996, soon becoming an iconic presence in Canadian media. Producti ...

'', and ''

Sesame Park ''Sesame Park'' is the Canadian version of ''Sesame Street'' co-produced by Sesame Workshop and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named ''Sesam ...

''. McCarthy grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He graduated from the St. Michael's College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

after studying

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1954, he married Mary Sue McGee, with whom he had seven children. McCarthy worked as a radio and television producer at the CBC for thirty-three years. He began his career as a

radio producer A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions: *Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music cho ...

. He created the half-hour-long children's radio show, '' The Rod and Charles Show'', starring

Rod Coneybeare Rod Coneybeare (March 31, 1930 – September 5, 2019) was a Canadian, writer, puppeteer and voice actor, best known for his work on the long-lived Canadian children's program ''The Friendly Giant'', where he performed as both Jerome the Giraffe, ...

and Charles Winter. McCarthy also produced ''How Do You Say Hello?'', a show which asked children about their lives' he visited thirteen nations throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

to interview overseas children for the show. He transitioned from radio to television during the 1950s. McCarthy produced the children's puppet show, ''

'', which aired on CBC Television from 1958 until 1985. The show starred

Bob Homme Robert Mandt Homme, C.M. ( ; March 8, 1919 – May 2, 2000) was an American-Canadian television actor. Homme was best known as the host of '' The Friendly Giant'', a popular children's television program that aired from the 1950s through the 198 ...

as a giant named Friendly, who tells stories to two puppet friends, Rusty and Jerome. McCarthy also created and developed ''

'', starring Ernie Coombs and

Judith Lawrence Judith A. Lawrence CM is a Canadian puppeteer associated with the long-running CBC children's television program ''Mr. Dressup''. Her best known characters were Casey and Finnegan, although she also created other occasional characters, such as Au ...

. ''Mr. Dressup'' debuted on the CBC in 1967 and aired until 1996. McCarthy also partnered with the Children's Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop) to produce a Canadian version of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

''. McCarthy, the Director of the CBC Sesame Street Project, oversaw the creation of '' Sesame Street Canada'', which debuted on the CBC in 1972, combining American and Canadian produced segments. He developed new segments specifically for ''Sesame Street Canada'', which were produced by the CBC with distinctly Canadian themes and set designs. McCarthy also introduced basic French language lessons to the show. He brought in Canadian entertainers and personalities for the show. ''Sesame Street Canada'', which changed its name to ''

'' in 1996, aired until 2002. McCarthy died on January 10, 2013, at the Grove Nursing Home in

Arnprior, Ontario Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located west of Downtown Ottawa, at the confluence of the Madawaska River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Arnprior has experienced sig ...

, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife, Mary Sue, their seven children, and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Daniel 2013 deaths CBC Television people Canadian television producers Canadian radio producers University of Toronto alumni People from Toronto Year of birth uncertain Place of birth missing