Perry Rosemond
Life and career
Life and career
---------------

Born in [Winnipeg](/wiki/Winnipeg "Winnipeg"), [Manitoba](/wiki/Manitoba "Manitoba"), Canada, Rosemond has created, produced, written and directed international television for over forty years. His efforts, notably *[Royal Canadian Air Farce](/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Air_Farce "Royal Canadian Air Farce")* and *[King of Kensington](/wiki/King_of_Kensington "King of Kensington")*, have been rewarded with the Order of Canada in his home country, and the [George Foster Peabody Award](/wiki/Peabody_Award "Peabody Award") in the United States. Most recently, he executive\-produced *When Jews Were Funny*, which was named ‘Best Canadian Feature Film’ at the 2013 [Toronto International Film Festival](/wiki/Toronto_International_Film_Festival "Toronto International Film Festival").

Rosemond began his fascination with the arts as a stage and television performer in Winnipeg and Toronto. At age 18 he was a founding member of [John Hirsch's](/wiki/John_Hirsch "John Hirsch") [Manitoba Theatre Centre](/wiki/Manitoba_Theatre_Centre "Manitoba Theatre Centre"). He continued his pursuit of the arts as a television producer director and writer. His [A\&E](/wiki/A%26E_%28TV_channel%29 "A&E (TV channel)") production of the Broadway play *Cold Storage* starring [Len Cariou](/wiki/Len_Cariou "Len Cariou") and [Martin Balsam](/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam") earned him the [ACE Award](/wiki/ACE_Award "ACE Award"). This was followed by screen adaptations of *[Breakfast with Les and Bess](/wiki/Breakfast_with_Les_and_Bess "Breakfast with Les and Bess")* starring [Dick Van Dyke](/wiki/Dick_Van_Dyke "Dick Van Dyke") and [Cloris Leachman](/wiki/Cloris_Leachman "Cloris Leachman") and *Some Men Need Help* with [Treat Williams](/wiki/Treat_Williams "Treat Williams") and [Philip Bosco](/wiki/Philip_Bosco "Philip Bosco"). He produced the [PBS](/wiki/PBS "PBS") television series *[Meeting of Minds](/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds "Meeting of Minds")* which earned the [Peabody Award](/wiki/Peabody_Award "Peabody Award").

Work in the United States has included the PBS series, *Freestyle*, a groundbreaking series on androgyny; the four\-hour *[ABC](/wiki/ABC_Television_Network "ABC Television Network") Silver Anniversary Celebration* featuring [Julie Andrews](/wiki/Julie_Andrews "Julie Andrews") and [John Wayne](/wiki/John_Wayne "John Wayne"); the situation comedy *[Good Times](/wiki/Good_Times "Good Times")*; series and specials for [Steve Martin](/wiki/Steve_Martin "Steve Martin"), [Billy Crystal](/wiki/Billy_Crystal "Billy Crystal"), [Tom Jones](/wiki/Tom_Jones_%28singer%29 "Tom Jones (singer)"), [Richard Pryor](/wiki/Richard_Pryor "Richard Pryor"), [Donny and Marie](/wiki/Donny_%26_Marie_%281976_TV_series%29 "Donny & Marie (1976 TV series)"), [Dean Martin](/wiki/Dean_Martin "Dean Martin"), [Howie Mandel](/wiki/Howie_Mandel "Howie Mandel") and [Johnny Cash](/wiki/Johnny_Cash "Johnny Cash"); and Hollywood's Most Sensational Mysteries, including dramatizations of the lives of [Marilyn Monroe](/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe "Marilyn Monroe") and [Ava Gardner](/wiki/Ava_Gardner "Ava Gardner"). Syndicated series include [Norm Crosby's](/wiki/Norm_Crosby "Norm Crosby") Comedy Shop and *Starting from Scratch*, starring [Bill Daily](/wiki/Bill_Daily "Bill Daily") and [Connie Stevens](/wiki/Connie_Stevens "Connie Stevens").

As head of [CBC Television's](/wiki/CBC_Television "CBC Television") School and Pre\-School programs, he created and produced *Through the Eyes of Tomorrow*, a show that featured high school students at every level of production and inspired many teens to enter the field of broadcast journalism, and Children of the World for CBC, PBS and the United Nations. It examined the lives of children in developing nations and was seen by a worldwide audience of 600 million. It won the Japan Prize as ‘Best Children’s Program’ and remains one of Rosemond's proudest achievements.

Rosemond was executive producer of the landmark children's shows *[Mr. Dressup](/wiki/Mr._Dressup "Mr. Dressup")* and *[The Friendly Giant](/wiki/The_Friendly_Giant "The Friendly Giant")* and when CBC was allowed to alter the look of *[Sesame Street](/wiki/Sesame_Street "Sesame Street")*, he produced and wrote a Canadian edition of the series that included segments reflecting bilingual Canadians and First Nations Canadians. He created and wrote the very first telecasts for [TVOntario](/wiki/TVOntario "TVOntario") and directed several episodes in the first season of [Jim Henson's](/wiki/Jim_Henson "Jim Henson") *[Fraggle Rock](/wiki/Fraggle_Rock "Fraggle Rock")*.

In the area of documentary and Public Affairs, he produced the CBC flagship series *[The Way It Is](/wiki/The_Way_It_Is_%28TV_series%29 "The Way It Is (TV series)")*, and the [ACTRA award\-winning](/wiki/ACTRA_Award "ACTRA Award") three\-part documentary series *Centennial*. He directed profiles for CBC's *[Telescope](/wiki/Telescope "Telescope")* series of [Oscar Peterson](/wiki/Oscar_Peterson "Oscar Peterson"), [Arthur Hailey](/wiki/Arthur_Hailey "Arthur Hailey"), [Gordon Pinsent](/wiki/Gordon_Pinsent "Gordon Pinsent"), [Glenn Gould](/wiki/Glenn_Gould "Glenn Gould"), [Ray Bradbury](/wiki/Ray_Bradbury "Ray Bradbury") and [Donald Sutherland](/wiki/Donald_Sutherland "Donald Sutherland") among others. [NBC](/wiki/NBC "NBC") documentaries include "The Silver Ghetto" on the problems of aging in America, and "No Place To Die", on overpopulation. He also scripted "Outer City: Inner Conflict" for the US [Commission on Civil Rights](/wiki/Commission_on_Civil_Rights "Commission on Civil Rights") and "A White House Salute to Agriculture". As president of Molstar Productions, Rosemond oversaw the production of *[Hockey Night in Canada](/wiki/Hockey_Night_in_Canada "Hockey Night in Canada")*, the [Molson Indy](/wiki/Honda_Indy_Toronto "Honda Indy Toronto") and the [Molson Grand Prix](/wiki/Honda_Indy_Toronto "Honda Indy Toronto").

Perry was asked to create a new comedy series for CBC and developed *King of Kensington*. He cast [Al Waxman](/wiki/Al_Waxman "Al Waxman") in the title role and chose [Fiona Reid](/wiki/Fiona_Reid "Fiona Reid") to play his wife. The [ACTRA Award](/wiki/ACTRA_Award "ACTRA Award") winning series ran for five seasons and became part of Canadian television history. On [CTV's](/wiki/CTV_Television "CTV Television") *[The David Steinberg Show](/wiki/David_Steinberg "David Steinberg")*, he gave television debuts to many performers, including: [John Candy](/wiki/John_Candy "John Candy"), [Andrea Martin](/wiki/Andrea_Martin "Andrea Martin"), [Martin Short](/wiki/Martin_Short "Martin Short"), [Joe Flaherty](/wiki/Joe_Flaherty "Joe Flaherty") and [Dave Thomas](/wiki/Dave_Thomas_%28actor%29 "Dave Thomas (actor)"). Perry was a writer\-story editor on both series and has written in excess of two hundred scripts.

He has executive produced the [Juno Awards](/wiki/Juno_Award "Juno Award"), the [Genie Awards](/wiki/Genie_Awards "Genie Awards") and *A Tribute to Gilda Radner* in aid of ovarian cancer research. He received an ACTRA Award nomination for *A Gala Evening at Expo* with the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance and an ACE Award nomination for the CBC/[Showtime](/wiki/Showtime_%28TV_network%29 "Showtime (TV network)") special *[Mike MacDonald](/wiki/Mike_MacDonald_%28comedian%29 "Mike MacDonald (comedian)") in Concert*. In 1988 he produced The Calgary Olympics Arts Festival starring [Anne Murray](/wiki/Anne_Murray "Anne Murray"). One of the most popular programs on Canadian television is *Royal Canadian Air Farce* and Rosemond directed it for fifteen seasons.


How does Rosemond's work on TV reflect broader societal issues in Canada?