The Bob McLean Show

The Bob McLean Show
Genretalk show
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
Production
Executive producersBill Casselman (1976–1977)
Jack Budgell (1978–1981)
ProducersJack Budgell
J. Edward Shaw (1976–1977)
Robert Smith (1979–1980)
Nigel Napier-Andrews (1980)
John Johnson (1980–1981)
Production locationsToronto, Ontario, Canada
Running time55–60 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
Release1 September 1975 (1975-09-01) –
22 May 1981 (1981-05-22)

The Bob McLean Show was a Canadian talk show television series which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1981.

Premise

CBC Television created this series in 1975 to replace Elwood Glover's Luncheon Date whose host had left the network for another Toronto-based broadcaster. Bob McLean hosted this new talk show from the lower floor of the Cumberland Terrace, a small downtown Toronto shopping centre at Yonge and Bloor.

From the second season, the series featured an increasing proportion of Canadian guests and subjects. In 1979, the series travelled from its normal Toronto studio with episodes produced in various Canadian cities such as Halifax, Ottawa and Vancouver.

The Royal Canadian Air Farce's Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson were frequently seen on the series as were comedians Howie Mandel and Monica Parker. Jimmy Dale was the series musical director.

Scheduling

This series was broadcast as follows (times in Eastern), normally an hour duration except as noted:

Time Season run Notes
12:00 p.m. 1 September 1975 2 July 1976 55 minutes duration
12:00 p.m. 6 September 1976 1 July 1977
12:00 p.m. 5 September 1977 3 April 1978 55 minutes duration
1:00 p.m. 3 April 1978 4 August 1978
1:00 p.m. 4 September 1978 1 April 1979
3:00 p.m. 2 April 1979 29 June 1979
3:00 p.m. 10 September 1979 27 June 1980
12:30 p.m. 8 September 1980 22 May 1981
12:30 p.m. 25 May 1981 28 September 1981 rebroadcasts

Highlights from the series were compiled as The Best of Bob McLean which was broadcast on Saturdays in 1976 and 1977 between regular television seasons.

  • Allan, Blaine (1996). "The Bob McLean Show". Queen's University. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  • The Bob McLean Show at CBC Digital Archives
  • The Bob McLean Show at IMDb