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Drop in on the Drainies
Broadcast Date: Jan. 1, 1953
The kitchen table is piled high with mail and gift bundles as "the homemakers of the air" John and Claire Drainie open another episode of Community Showertime. Broadcasting at the height of the baby boom, the Drainies banter and kid as they read housekeeping tips and tricks sent in by Canadians from coast to coast. Interested in a new way to sweeten whipped cream? Want to know how to get the rust off household utensils? Look no further than this 1953 clip.Drop in on the Drainies
• Hosts John and Claire Drainie starred in many CBC programs from the 1930s to 1960s. John Drainie's best known performances included his portrayal of Jake in the radio adaptation of W.O. Mitchell's Jake and the Kid, his lively presentations of Stephen Leacock's works for radio and television, and his role in the Disney movie The Incredible Journey.• John Drainie also co-starred with Laurier LaPierre on the first season of This Hour Has Seven Days. He left the blockbuster show in 1965 due to illness and was replaced on air by producer Patrick Watson. Drainie died of cancer Oct. 30, 1966. Every year, ACTRA presents the John Drainie Award for distinguished contribution to broadcasting.
• Claire Drainie went by the stage name Claire Murray. Her many roles at the CBC ranged widely, from Ted Allen's classic early 1950s radio drama Lies My Father Told Me to the teen sitcom Barney Boomer in the late 1960s. In 1998 she published her autobiography, The Surprise of My Life and established the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize presented annually by the Writers Trust of Canada.
• Although the Drainies mention only three children in this clip, they would go on to have three more for a total of six.
• "Braunie," who the announcer says is four years old, refers to the Drainies' eldest daughter Bronwyn Drainie, now a prominent journalist and former host of CBC Radio's Sunday Morning.
• As mentioned in the clip, Lorne Greene produced Community Showertime. He would go on to become one of the most famous TV fathers of all time playing Ben Cartwright on Bonanza.
Drop in on the Drainies
Medium: Radio
Program: Community Showertime
Production Date: Jan. 1, 1953
Announcer: Elwood Glover
Host: John Drainie, Claire Drainie
Duration: 13:35
Last updated:
March 17, 2011
Drop in on the Drainies.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 17, 2011.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]