55 North Maple

*55 North Maple*
55 North Maple
Created by	Elsa Franklin
Starring	Max Ferguson; Joan Drewery;
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
Production
Executive producer	John Ross
Producer	Elsa Franklin
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	CBC Television
Release	7 September 1970 (1970-09-07) –; 15 September 1971 (1971-09-15)

55 North Maple is a Canadian afternoon television series which aired on CBC Television in the 1970-1971 television season. The programme was a fusion of talk show, how-to and situation comedy.

Premise

A magazine author (Max Ferguson) lives in a house at 55 North Maple with his sister (Joan Drewery) and her husband who was not cast but whose presence is implied. This premise provides a pretext to host various guests to demonstrate food preparation, redecoration or other how-to topics. In one episode, Ferguson described how to make carrot whiskey for guest Harry Freedman, while Drewery hosted other guests to illustrate interior decoration and fashion. A CBC statement described the production as "an information show in semi-dramatic form."¹

Production

55 North Maple was produced by Elsa Franklin in Toronto at the studios of Robert Lawrence Productions.² John Ross was the programme's executive producer who allowed Ferguson "full scope for his inventive genius" and intended that the episodes would be unscripted.¹ This marked a rare television production for Ferguson.³

The 1973 Canadian series The Real Magees was a subsequent attempt to produce another talk show which was structured around storyline elements.⁴

Scheduling

The half-hour programme aired weekday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern).

References

"Are you a Laugh-In fan? If so, look out for Max". Montreal Gazette. 9 May 1970. p. 42. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
Heward, Burt (2 July 1970). "Televiews: Monkeys mocking donkeys (multi-topic article)". Ottawa Citizen. p. 33. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
Corcelli, John (August 2005). "55 North Maple". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast – CBC Television Drama Since 1952. Vancouver: UBC Press / CBC Enterprises. p. 124. ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.

External links

Allan, Blaine (1996). "55 North Maple". Queen's University. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
55 North Maple at IMDb

[MG09May1970-1] "Are you a Laugh-In fan? If so, look out for Max". Montreal Gazette. 9 May 1970. p. 42. Retrieved 21 June 2010.

[2] Heward, Burt (2 July 1970). "Televiews: Monkeys mocking donkeys (multi-topic article)". Ottawa Citizen. p. 33. Retrieved 21 June 2010.

[CCF-3] Corcelli, John (August 2005). "55 North Maple". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.

[4] Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast – CBC Television Drama Since 1952. Vancouver: UBC Press / CBC Enterprises. p. 124. ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.

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