Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song " The Cat Came Back" and his television series, ''

Fred Penner's Place ''Fred Penner's Place'' is a Canadian children's musical television series that aired on CBC Television from 1985 to 1997. It stars Fred Penner as a fictionalized version of himself, as well as an array of puppets, musical numbers, and occasiona ...

'', which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 1997 and in the United States on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Life and career

Early life

Penner was born on November 6, 1946, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, to Lydia Agathe Penner (''née'' Winters, 1913–2005) and Edward W. Penner of

Winkler, Manitoba Winkler is a city in Manitoba, Canada with a population of 13,745, making it the 4th largest city in Manitoba, as of the 2021 Canadian census. It is located in southern Manitoba, surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Stanley, about one hundre ...

. By the age of four, he had begun making up songs while travelling on the bus with his mother. He taught himself how to play the guitar when he was in grade school, and performed in school choirs and pageants. Through his experiences with his sister Susan, who has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual d ...

, he recognized the therapeutic value of music. Penner received his high school diploma at Kelvin High School, where he took lead roles in the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its ...

s. After graduating from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

and

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

, he spent time working with mentally and physically disabled children, using music to comfort and entertain.

Music and television career

By 1972, Penner was a full-time professional musician, performing

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

songs in Winnipeg. In the mid-70s, Penner performed in a number of groups, most notably the folk music group Kornstock, along with

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

, Bob King, both of whom also became well-known children's entertainers, and drummer Mike Klym. In 1977, Penner met choreographer and future wife, Odette Graziella Heyn, with whom he started a children's dance theatre company. Penner accepted an offer to do a recording, which resulted in the album ''The Cat Came Back'', which launched his career and established him as one of Canada's leading children's entertainers. Penner is noted as a pioneer of

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

in Canada. In 1984, he appeared on the children's television show, ''

The Elephant Show ''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 s ...

'', singing " The Cat Came Back" and was given his own show, ''

'' the next year. The show became a hit and aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 1997 and in the United States on

from 1989 to 1992. The show is known for Penner's musical performances, special guests, puppets including Word Bird, and the famous

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...

, which features Penner's entry through a hollow log. The show won or received nominations for several awards including a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

in 1989 and a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

in 1994. Penner recorded more than 900 episodes of the show. Since the show ended, Penner continues to perform and record regularly.

Accolades

Penner has received a

Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year The Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year has been awarded since 1979 in recognition of the best quality children's performance album released in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories ...

four times: in 1989, 2003, 2015 and 2018. In 1991, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

for "using music and song to entertain and educate his young audience". In 2011, he was made a Member of the

Order of Manitoba The Order of Manitoba (french: Ordre du Manitoba) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted Royal Assent to The Order of Manitoba Act, the order is adminis ...

Personal

Currently, Penner splits his time between Winnipeg and

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 ...

. He has four children by his first marriage to Odette Heyn. He remarried in 2016, to theatre director Rae Ellen Bodie. His daughter Hayley Gene Penner is a songwriter. Penner has promoted a number of humanitarian causes with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

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 humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and the National Conference on Down Syndrome.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

* ''The Cat Came Back'' (1979) * ''The Polka Dot Pony'' (1981) (reissued as ''Poco'') * ''Special Delivery'' (1983) (reissued as ''Ebeneezer Sneezer'') * ''A House for Me'' (1985) * ''Fred Penner's Place'' (1988) * ''Collections'' (1989) * ''The Season'' (1990) * ''Happy Feet'' (1992) * ''What A Day!'' (1994) * ''Moonlight Express'' (1996) * ''Sing With Fred'' (2003) * ''Where In The World'' (2014) * ''Hear the Music'' (2017)

Sources

References

External links

*
Biography
on Paquin Entertainment's representation site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Fred 1946 births 20th-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian children's musicians Canadian children's television personalities Canadian children's television presenters Canadian folk guitarists Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian folk singers Canadian male guitarists Canadian Mennonites Mennonite musicians Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year winners Living people Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Manitoba Musicians from Winnipeg University of Winnipeg alumni