''Yes You Can'' 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 ...

children's

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

broadcast on CBC Television from 1980 to 1983. Hosted by singer

Kevin Gillis Kevin Gillis (born 2 February 1950) is a Canadian TV TV writer and producer, a singer-songwriter and a former TV host, mainly known for his work in animation. He is famous for creating the '' Raccoons'' franchise as well as other cartoons such a ...

, and co-hosted by Trevor Bruneau and Tammy Bourne, the half-hour live-action series was

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

-themed and encouraged fitness and good

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

. Also featured were the comedic Coach Cuddles Ford (played by Patrick Ford), and two animated characters, "Harry Hog" and "Body Man", voiced by

Michael Magee Michael Magee (October 11, 1929 – July 15, 2011) was a Canadians, Canadian actor, singer and author. He was known for voicing Cyril Sneer and his pet half dog/half aardvark Snag in the Canadian animated series ''The Raccoons'' and the voice for T ...

. Each show also featured an appearance from a professional athlete, such as

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

and Toller Cranston. The show was written by Jack Hutchinson and Jamie Wayne, produced by Bill Hunt, directed by Ron Piggott and executive produced by Michael Lansbury. Reruns of ''Yes You Can'' aired in the launch schedules of TSN and YTV.

went on to create and produce ''

The Christmas Raccoons ''The Christmas Raccoons'' is the first of four Canadian animated television specials, before the main animated television series succeeding it, ''The Raccoons'', took place. It was first broadcast on CBC in Canada on December 17, 1980 and thre ...

'' animated special - which led to ''

The Raccoons on Ice ''The Raccoons on Ice'' is the second of four animated television specials leading up to the television series ''The Raccoons''. It initially aired on CBC in Canada on December 20, 1981 and in syndication in the United States on November 21, 1982 ...

'', ''

The Raccoons and the Lost Star ''The Raccoons and the Lost Star'' is the third of four animated television specials leading up to the animated television series ''The Raccoons'' and debuted on December 13, 1983. It came after the first two Raccoons seasonal specials, which wer ...

'', '' The Raccoons: Let's Dance!'' and ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985 to March 19, 1991 in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985 to August 28, 1992 in the U.S., with three preceding television specials from ...

'' animated series. Many of the songs Gillis used the ''Yes You Can'' series were later re-recorded and used in the ''Raccoons'' animated series.

References

External links

*
Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series 1952-1982
(archived)

(archived) 1980 Canadian television series debuts 1983 Canadian television series endings Television shows filmed in Toronto 1980s Canadian children's television series CBC Television original programming Canadian television series with live action and animation {{Canada-kids-tv-prog-stub