''The Elephant Show'' (from the second season onward, ''Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'') is a Canadian preschool television show. The series premiered on CBC on October 8, 1984, and ended on February 26, 1989, after 65 episodes over five seasons.

Summary

''The Elephant Show'' features the adventures of the Canadian singing trio

Sharon, Lois & Bram Sharon, Lois & Bram (also known as Sharon, Bram & Friends, Sharon & Bram or Sharon & Randi) are a Canadian children's music group founded in Toronto, Ontario, 1978. The group's original lineup consisted of Sharon (née Trostin) Hampson, Lo ...

and Elephant (Paula Gallivan in an elephant costume). Elephant doesn't speak but is voiced by a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

(played by

Scott Irvine James Scott Irvine (born 30 December 1953) is a Canadians, Canadian composer, arranger, and tuba player based in Owen Sound, Ontario. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, he has been commissi ...

), which conveys thoughts and mood by its pitch and inflection. The four are usually accompanied by a group of children and a

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

, family entertainer

Eric Nagler Eric Nagler (born June 1, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician and television personality known primarily for his work on Canadian children's television series such as ''The Elephant Show'' and ''Eric's World''. Biography Initi ...

. Every week Sharon, Lois & Bram, along with Eric Nagler, are joined by the curious and fun-loving antics of their pachyderm pal Elephant and such guest artists as

Toller Cranston Toller Shalitoe Montague Cranston, CM (April 20, 1949 – January 24, 2015) was a Canadian figure skater and painter. He won the 1971–1976 Canadian national championships, the 1974 World bronze medal and the 1976 Olympic bronze medal. ...

Louis Del Grande Louis Del Grande (born March 23, 1943) is a Canadian-American television writer and actor. He is best known for starring in the Canadian mystery/comedy series '' Seeing Things''. Early life Del Grande was born and raised in Union City, New Jersey ...

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life Mc ...

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...

and

Jan Rubeš Jan Ladislav Rubeš CM (6 June 1920 – 29 June 2009) was a Czech-Canadian bass opera singer and actor. Life and career Rubeš was born in Volyně, Czechoslovakia, to Ružena (née Kellnerová) and Jan Rubeš. Not long after World War II, ...

. Almost every episode contains a concert segment, featuring Sharon, Lois & Bram, Eric and the Mammoth Band. They sing songs and help children with their problems (including arguments, fear and the failure of plans). In most episodes, the group travels to a new location (such as a hospital, museum or zoo). They occasionally stay home and have an adventure in their yard (like building a tree fort or encountering a grumpy neighbour). The show occasionally includes a social lesson (such as a pro

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

discussion). Sharon, Lois and Bram appeared in advertisements during the show's original run, encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...

and

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

. Each episode concludes with the song " Skinnamarink", which was often performed twice. The show enjoyed top ratings in Canada and had consistently been rated one of the top three programs on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

in the United States. In 1993, a panel of experts at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' rated ''The Elephant Show'' the #2 program for preschoolers, beating ''

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) a ...

'' (#5) and ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorp ...

'' (#9). In the years following the final season, the show remained on Nickelodeon until they removed it from their lineup in 1994. By that time, ''The Elephant Show'' had aired 65 episodes in five seasons (plus the specials ''Live in Your Living Room'' and ''Back by Popular Demand'', which compiled concert performances from the show with some new narration) and had been viewed in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United States, reaching over 100 million viewers. After the series ended, Eric Nagler starred in his own series, ''

Eric's World ''Eric's World'' is a children's sitcom, which aired on a number of Canadian networks in 1990–1995, and was produced by Cambium Productions, running for five seasons. The show starred Eric Nagler, who had previously appeared on ''Sharon, Lois & ...

'', produced by ''The Elephant Shows producer, Cambium Productions.

Credits

* Directed by: George Bloomfield, Michael McNarama * Produced by: Arnie Zipursky, Bruce Glawson * Associate Producer & Production Manager: Charles Zamaria * Concert Directed by: Stan Swan * Music Directors: Joe Hampson, Ray Parker, Paul Mills * Choreographers: Don Calderwood, Paula Gallivan * Art Director: Susan Longmire * Property Masters: Ray Lorenz * Set Dresser: Ane Christensen * On-Line Editor: Bob Doughty * 1st Camera: Simon Darylmple * Lighting Director: Roger Bate * Best Boy: Thomas Bate * Key Grips: Cynthia Darlow * Music Production Assistant: Randi Hampson * Animation: Trickett Productions, Inc. * Multi-Track Remote: Comfort Sound

Home video

The show has not been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in its original form as of yet, although there is a compilation video (along with ''Treetown'') titled ''Nursery Rhymes and Bedtime Songs'', which was also released as part of the ''Kids Learn to 6 Pack'' DVD under the name ''Stories, Rhymes and Lullabies''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elephant Show, The 1980s Canadian children's television series 1980s Canadian comedy television series 1980s Canadian music television series 1984 Canadian television series debuts 1989 Canadian television series endings Canadian children's comedy television series Canadian children's musical television series Canadian preschool education television series Canadian television shows featuring puppetry 1980s preschool education television series CBC Television original programming Television series about elephants Television shows filmed in Toronto