''Opportunity Knocks'' was a

talent competition A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

show that aired on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

from 1947 until 1957. It was created and directed by John Adaskin. The show featured a variety of performers hoping to break into the entertainment industry, including singers, instrumentalists, composers, announcers, and actors. Notable performers brought to notice by the show include

Lois Marshall Lois Catherine Marshall, CC (January 29, 1924 – February 19, 1997) was a Canadian soprano. Her husband, Weldon Kilburn, had been her early coach and piano accompanist. Early life and studies; awards Born in Toronto, Ontario, Marshall "began ...

Jon Vickers Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a s ...

Maureen Forrester Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, (July 25, 1930 – June 16, 2010) was a Canadian operatic contralto. Life and career Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in Montreal, Quebec, one of four children of Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmak ...

, and

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

Format

The show was broken into three series per season, each running around 10 weeks. Weekly winners were chosen initially by studio audience response and mail-in voting, and later by a panel of judges. Those winners would compete at the end of the series for three Grand Awards, which came with contracts to appear in the 13-week summer series ''Opportunity Winners''. Runners up received cash prizes. Auditions were usually held in the CBC Toronto studios, though Adaskin would also occasionally travel the country to hold out-of-town tryouts.

Winners

Grand Award

One Grand Award winner was chosen per series, hence there were typically three awarded per year. The winners were: * 1947: Bernard Johnson (baritone), Wilfred Reed (tenor) * 1948: Billy Meek (pop singer), Gratien Landry (tenor),

Doreen Hume Doreen Hume (July 14, 1926 – July 2, 2022) was a Canadian soprano soloist who performed in North America and Europe from the 1940s through to the 1970s. Biography Born Edith Doreen Hulme in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, she was a student of John ...

(soprano), Les Neal (pop singer) * 1949: Betty McCaskill (soprano), Marthe Létourneau (soprano), Kalle Ruusunen (baritone) * 1950: Marie-Germaine Leblanc (soprano), Charles Rush (baritone), Joseph F. Rainer (tenor) * 1951: Fernand Martel (baritone), Morris Kronick (piano), William Blaine Williams (baritone) * 1952: Angela Antonelli (soprano), Sylvia Grant (soprano), Marguerite Lavergne (soprano) * 1953: Roma Butler (soprano), David Brewster (piano), Paul Norrback (accordion) * 1954: Lesia Zubrack (soprano), Janine Gingras (pop singer), Anne McCahey (piano) * 1955: François Auffray (pop singer), Jeannette Franklin (pop singer), Gordie Fleming (accordion) * 1956:

Ruth Watson Henderson Ruth Louise Watson Henderson (born 23 November 1932) is a Canadian composer and pianist. She was the accompanist for the Festival Singers of Canada under Dr. Elmer Iseler for many years, where she developed her ear for composing mixed-choral wor ...

(piano)

Composers

Separate awards for composers were given starting in 1950, replacing the announcers category. The following composers won first prizes or honorable mentions:

Other notable contestants

The following individuals competed on ''Opportunity Knocks'' and did not win, but went on to significant music careers:

References

{{reflist CBC Radio programs 1947 radio programme debuts Talent shows