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''Witness to Yesterday'' is a Canadian docudrama television series which featured staged interviews with historical personalities. It was first broadcast by
Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
in 1974 then produced by TVOntario to 1976. A 12-episode revival of the series was produced in 1998 for
History Television The History Channel (also known as History) is a Canadian English language specialty channel that primarily broadcast programming related to history and historical fiction. It is owned by Corus Entertainment, with the History branding used under ...
.


Synopsis

Each episode featured a historical person as portrayed by a guest actor in conversation with host Patrick Watson who took the role of an interviewer. ''Witness to Yesterday'' was among the first series to be broadcast by Global. Original episodes were broadcast on Global in a regular Tuesday 10:00 p.m. time slot from 8 January 1974 to 21 May 1974. The debut episode featured
Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she rec ...
as
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
.


Production

The series was produced in Montreal by Look Hear Productions, a division of the McConnell advertising company.
Laurier Lapierre Laurier L. LaPierre (November 21, 1929 – December 16, 2012) was a Canadian Senator, professor, broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Fluently bilingual, LaPierre was best known for having bee ...
conducted research for the series. Scripts were written, but the filming often incorporated ad-lib dialogue. Each episode was produced for approximately $6000 with actors paid from $600 to $2500. Host Patrick Watson earned 15% of the international sales income plus his base $500 per episode. Writers included Patrick Watson, Patrick Withrow and Doug Scott. Global Television Network encountered financial difficulties in its initial months and cancelled most of its original Canadian programming by May 1974. Global owed Look Hear Productions $130,000 for producing 24 episodes of ''Witness to Yesterday''. The last episode filmed prior to Global's cancellation featured Donald Sutherland as doctor Norman Bethune. Global eventually paid 30% of its bill for the series as part of its financial settlement with creditors.
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
considered picking up the series but by then had booked other productions. ''Witness to Yesterday'' was transferred to Toronto educational station CICA-TV (OECA) which planned the production of three new episodes for the 1974–75 season and another 13 for the 1975–76 season, in addition to rebroadcasting the initial 20 episodes.


Episodes


Global Television Network episodes (1974)

Global broadcast the series on a regular 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot.


CICA/TVOntario episodes (1974–1976)

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Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
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Louis Negin Louis Negin (20 October 1929 – 2 December 2022) was a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the films of Guy Maddin."Enchantment". ''In Toronto'', September 2011. Career Born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Ontari ...
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Earl of Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...
, Aux2 = Colin Fox , ShortSummary = {{Episode list , Title =
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
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Marilyn Lightstone Marilyn Lightstone (born 28 June 1940) is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and writer. Biography Early life and education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marilyn Lightstone graduated from Baron Byng High School in 1957. She went on to ...
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Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...
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Alexandra Bastedo Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series ''The Champions''. Bastedo was a vegetar ...
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Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
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Robin Gammell Robin Gammell (born September 22, 1936) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor."Transplanted to Hollywood". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 24, 1981. Career Gammell began acting as a junior ensemble member at the Stratford Shakespeare F ...
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Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...
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Sydney Sturgess Dorothy Anna Sturgess (March 5, 1915 – September 30, 1999), known professionally as Sydney Sturgess, was a British-Canadian actress. She is best known for her work with the Shaw Festival and the Stratford Festival of Canada. Primarily a stage a ...
, ShortSummary = {{Episode list , Title =
Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=亨利·諾爾曼·白求恩, p=Hēnglì Nuò'ěrmàn Báiqiú'ēn) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party ...
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Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...
, ShortSummary = {{Episode list , Title =
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
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Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...
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George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
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Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...
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Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus g ...
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August Schellenberg August Werner Schellenberg (July 25, 1936 – August 15, 2013) was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the ''Free Willy'' film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in '' Black Robe'' (1991), ''The New Wor ...
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Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...
, Aux2 = Marian Waldman , ShortSummary = {{Episode list , Title =
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
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Jayne Meadows Jayne Meadows (born Jane Cotter; September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015), also known as Jayne Meadows Allen, was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards duri ...
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Reception

''Witness to Yesterday'' was sold to broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and on other Canadian stations.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pW1kAAAAIBAJ&pg=2810%2C3108194 , title=Patrick Watson lives it up... , newspaper=Calgary Herald , first=Paul , last=King , date=26 April 1974 , page=TV Times 38–39 , accessdate=26 August 2012 Blaik Kirby of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' deemed the premiere to be "flat and undramatic", noting that French-Canadian actress
Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...
should have been considered for the role of Joan of Arc over the less appropriate performance from American Sandy Dennis. Later, Kirby gave the overall series a favourable review, noting that it "was in almost everyone's opinion, one of the very best of Global's Canadian programs, which were a worthy achievement even as a group."{{cite news , title=Applause, Applause offers lots to look at , first=Blaik , last=Kirby , newspaper=The Globe and Mail , date=24 May 1974 , page=14


1998 revival

{{Infobox television , image = , caption = , genre = , creator = , developer = , writer = , director = Alan Gough
Patrick Watson , creative_director = , presenter = Patrick Watson , starring = , judges = , voices = , narrated = , theme_music_composer = , opentheme = , endtheme = , composer = , country = , language = , channel =
History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, first_aired = {{start date, 1998, 3, 24, df=y , last_aired = {{end date, 1998, 6, 16, df=y , num_seasons = 1 , num_episodes = 12 , executive_producer = , producer = , editor = , location = Fredericton
Toronto , cinematography = , camera = , runtime = 30 minutes , company = , distributor = , picture_format = , audio_format = , preceded_by = , followed_by = , related = New episodes of ''Witness to Yesterday'' were broadcast by
History Television The History Channel (also known as History) is a Canadian English language specialty channel that primarily broadcast programming related to history and historical fiction. It is owned by Corus Entertainment, with the History branding used under ...
in 1998. Watson again hosted the series and was its primary writer with additional writing by Hugh Graham. 12 episodes were completed of a 13-episode plan under a $700,000 budget.{{cite news , url=http://playbackonline.ca/1999/10/04/26783-19991004/ , title=Agenda grows at MIPCOM '99 , work=Playback , date=4 October 1999 , accessdate=8 October 2012 Eight episodes were recorded in December 1997 at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. The remaining episodes were recorded in Toronto. Alan Gough directed this series revival with Watson.{{cite news , title=Witness to Yesterday returns to the airwaves , last=Cameron , first= Amy , newspaper=Telegraph Journal , location=Saint John, New Brunswick , date=21 March 1998 New Brunswick company Cinefile and Toronto's The Film Works co-produced the series revival. Victor Solnicki and Barry Cameron were executive producers from Cinefile and The Film Works respectively. Its budget was supported by History Television,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
which aired these episodes and a $168,500 credit from provincial agency Film NB.{{cite news , url=http://playbackonline.ca/1998/01/12/20357-19980112/ , title=Atlantic Scene: D'Entremont wins Japan prize and develops situation comedy , date=12 January 1998 , first=Andy , last=Hoffman , work=Playback , accessdate=1 September 2012


History Television episodes (1998)

{{Episode table , total_width= , overall=6 , title=30 , titleT=Title / Historical figure , aux2=25 , aux2T=Starring , airdate=20 , aux4=19 , aux4T=Notes / {{Abbr, Refs, References , episodes= {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 1 , Title =
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
, Aux2 = Cynthia Dale , OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 3, 24, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 2 , Title =
Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...
, Aux2 =
David Calderisi David Calderisi (born 21 June 1940) is a Canadian actor with a career in both Canada and the United Kingdom. Early life and education Calderisi was born in Montreal and attended McGill University. Career After training as an actor in Lo ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 3, 31, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 3 , Title =
Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
, Aux2 = , OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 4, 7, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 4 , Title = Genghis Khan , Aux2 =
Gordon Tootoosis Gordon Tootoosis, (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pîhtokahanapiwiyin. He was acclaimed for his commi ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 4, 14, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 5 , Title =
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
, Aux2 =
Martha Burns Martha Burns (born 23 April 1957)"Martha Burns ret ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 4, 21, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 6 , Title =
Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...
, Aux2 =
Raoul Trujillo Raoul Maximiano Trujillo de Chauvelon (born May 8, 1955) is an American and Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. A former soloist with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, he is the original choreographer and co-director for the ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 4, 28, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 7 , Title =
Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
, Aux2 =
Charmion King Charmion King (July 25, 1925 – January 6, 2007) was a Canadian actress. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she was part of the country's burgeoning theatre and television industry in the decade of the 1950s. Fresh out of the University of Toronto's ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 5, 5, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 8 , Title =
Mary Ann Shadd Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (October 9, 1823 – June 5, 1893) was an American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer. She was the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher i ...
, Aux2 =
Sylvia Sweeney Sylvia Sweeney, C.M., (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian executive television producer and Olympian. In 2017, Sweeney was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada "for her long-standing commitment to and creative leadership at the nexus of a ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 5, 19, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 9 , Title =
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
, Aux2 =
Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 5, 26, df=y , Aux4 = {{cite news , title=Hasselhoff tops the bill as Nick Fury , date=26 May 1998 , page=C7 , first=Bonnie , last=Malleck , newspaper=
The Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...
 {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 10 , Title =
William Stephenson Sir William Samuel Stephenson (23 January 1897 – 31 January 1989), born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of the British Security Coo ...
, Aux2 = John Neville , OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 6, 2, df=y , Aux4 = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 11 , Title =
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, Aux2 =
Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross OC (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and musician born in Calgary, Alberta. Gross is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the popular Canadian television series ''Due So ...
, OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 6, 9, df=y , Aux4 = {{cite news , title=Yesterday's man returns to TV Fine Tuning , last=Allemang , first=John , newspaper=The Globe and Mail , date=31 March 1998 , page=C2 {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber = 12 , Title =
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
, Aux2 = , OriginalAirDate = {{Start date, 1998, 6, 16, df=y , Aux4 =


See also

* ''Titans'' (Canadian TV series), a similar series (1981–1982) in which Watson also starred *''
Meeting of Minds ''Meeting of Minds'' is a television series, created by Steve Allen, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981. The show featured guests who played significant roles in world history. Guests would interact with each other and host Steve Allen, discus ...
'', a similar series created by
Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
in the late 1950s, aired locally to critical acclaim in 1971 and nationally on PBS from 1977 to 1981. Allen appeared on a 1976 episode of ''Witness to Yesterday'' as
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
.


References

{{reflist


External links

* {{IMDb title, 0168437 (1974–76) * {{IMDb title, 0274299 (1998) * {{cite web , url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/programming_popup.php?id=2065 , title=''Witness to Yesterday'' , publisher=Canadian Communications Foundation , first=Pip , last=Wedge , date=January 2008 1970s Canadian drama television series Canadian television docudramas Culture of Fredericton Global Television Network original programming History (Canadian TV network) original programming Television shows filmed in New Brunswick TVO original programming 1974 Canadian television series debuts 1976 Canadian television series endings 1998 Canadian television series debuts 1998 Canadian television series endings 1990s Canadian drama television series