Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Look Up - Way Up! the Friendly Giant - The Biography of Robert Homme by Grant D. Fairley Remembering a Giant of a man: Bob Homme. If you follow @CBC_archives on Twitter, you may have noticed a post Wednesday about a “Giant” milestone in Canadian television: Bob Homme was born 100 years ago this month. Homme, for those too young to remember, was for a quarter of a century The Friendly Giant . His simple, 15 minute series aired mid-mornings from the ’50s through the ’80s. Back when local and national kiddie shows aired on network television, Friendly was “Must See” for the wee folk. The Wisconsin native later became a Canadian citizen and was eventually awarded the Order of Canada. He died in Grafton, Ont., in 2000 at the age of 81. The series ran until 1985, when the cow jumped over the moon for the very last time. For many years, it was paired with Chez Helene, another daily quarter-hour quickie which featured a hyper little mouse named Suzie. It was a simpler time. There were no virtual sets or other computer-generated effects, just smart storytelling and familiar friends. Homme’s straight-forward approach was not unlike another TV Bob, Keeshan, who skippered CBS’s Captain Kangaroo for a similar 30-year stretch. Both had mellow voices and manners which instantly put you at ease. There wasn’t a lot of razzle dazzle to these shows, just visits with trusted friends who never wore out their welcome. Friendly shared his castle with Rusty, a tiny little rooster who lived in a book bag by a castle window; and Jerome, the tall, talkative giraffe next door. Homme bought Rusty, a simple hand puppet, at a Five & Dime store. “Bob’s wife dressed him up by sewing on Rusty’s polka dot pyjama top,” the man who operated the puppet, Rod Coneybeare, once told me. The ambidextrous puppeteer was the man behind both Rusty and Jerome. “People don’t realize what a great actor Bob was,” said Coneybeare, who winged all his dialogue with Homme. “I always thought of him as the Spencer Tracy of children’s television. He never once talked down to his audience and treated them with total respect.” Indeed, Homme never made personal appearances so as to not disillusion kids who might expect him to be 10 feet tall. He never tried to sell you anything, except on the notion that a story a day was a good thing. There was also never a trace of irony or cynicism on the show, even when Friendly sat in with the jazz cats, a trio of kitty puppets, for a little swing session. A true pied piper, Homme played the bright, lilting Friendly Giant theme “Early One Morning” on his recorder live every show. For years it could be heard drifting out of Canadian music classrooms. A harpist accompanied him in studio every time. They had audio and video tape back then, of course, but the fact that the show was so hand-crafted was part of its charm. Several years ago in Halifax, I met a crew member on This Hour Has 22 Minutes whose first job in television was cranking open and shut the drawbridge to the Friendly Giant’s castle. It was hand-cranked each and every show. This still sounds to me like the best job ever in television. As for the big chair with room enough for two to curl up in, or the one for those who like to rock, they’re both right where Friendly left them, just within the reach of your imagination. Bob Homme. Robert "Bob" Homme , CM (March 08, 1919, Stoughton, Wisconsin — May 2, 2000) was an American-born television actor, best known as the host of The Friendly Giant, a popular Canadian children's television program from the 1950s through the 1980s, which was broadcast on CBC Television. [ 1 ] Homme became a citizen of Canada in the early 1990s, holding dual U.S.-Canada citizenship, [ 2 ] and was invested into the Order of Canada as a Member on November 2, 1998 in Grafton, Ontario. As Homme was too ill to travel, the Governor General came to him (instead of making Homme come to Rideau Hall where the award is usually bestowed), thus allowing him the postnominal C.M. [ 3 ] Homme stood 5 foot, 11 inches tall. [ 4 ] The authorized biography of Robert Homme, called Look Up - Way Up , was written by Grant D. Fairley. Family. Homme's step-granddaughter is singer and voice actress Emilie-Claire Barlow. [ 6 ] Homme's son was the late Richard Homme, a Canadian jazz bassist who died May 6, 2011. References. ^ Brava Magazine website ^ Empress Books website ^ www.tvacres.com ^ Atlantic Magazine, August 1969 ^ Obituary at CBC.ca ^ Biography of Cy Leonard, from Cy Leonard's official site (via archive.org, from 2008; retrieved May 7 2011. Persondata Name Homme, Bob Alternative names Short description Date of birth 1919 Place of birth Date of death 2000 Place of death This article about a Canadian actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer) A Big Friendly Giant of a Film. The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) was published in 1982, the same year as Spielberg was making a name for himself with E.T. It was Dahl's favourite of his own books, and contains many of the elements that make books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach or Matilda so memorable: children heroes, over-the-top villains, friendship, fantasy, and a lot of mischievous humour. It tells the story of an orphan, Sophie, who one night looks out of her dormitory window and sees a giant blowing a trumpet into a bedroom window. When he notices her presence, the giant kidnaps her and takes her off to giant country. At first, Sophie is terrified, until she discovers her abductor is the “Big Friendly Giant”, and, unlike his violent, cannibal brothers, is a strict vegetarian. The BFG collects and mixes dreams, which he blows into children’s bedrooms with his trumpet. Together, Sophie and the BFG come up with a plan to alert the British Queen about the presence of child-gobbling giants determined to raid English schools for food, and they set off for Buckingham Palace, with hilarious results. Meet Sophie. Mark Rylance as the BFG and Ruby Barnhill as Sophie. © Metropolitan FilmExport. The BFG film stars Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies) as the titular giant, and 11-year-old Ruby Barnhill as Sophie. It is Ruby’s first film role, though she had a part in a BBC children’s programme. Snozcumbers and Human Beans Dahl loved to play with language and the BFG is a prime example: he learned to speak English from reading Nicholas Nickleby by “Dahl’s Chickens” – a Spoonerism that is typical of the BFG’s way of speaking, which Roald Dahl dubbed “gobble funk”. Who could resist eating something that is described as “scrumdiddlyumptious”? The rhythm and the way the words roll around your mouth – or ears – is utterly irresistible. Here is the scene where the BFG meets the incredibly phlegmatic Queen: “Oh Majester!” cried the BFG. “Oh Queen! Oh Monacher! Oh Golden Sovereign! Oh Ruler! Oh Ruler of Straight Lines! Oh Sultana! I is come here with my little friend Sophie…. to give you a….” The BFG hesitated, searching for the word. “To give me what?” the Queen said. “A sistance,” the BFG said, beaming. The Queen looked puzzled. “He sometimes speaks a bit funny, Your Majesty,” Sophie said. “He never went to school.” Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) plays the Queen. © Metropolitan FilmExport. Dahl 100 A hundred years after his birth, Roald Dahl is as popular as ever. Look out for lots of events celebrating his centenary, including a BFG Dream Jar Trail in London. Pupils generally recognise Dahl’s work from books or films, so it is a rich subject for class work. We’ve collected some suggestions below for teaching with The BFG. Friendly Giant dies after lengthy illness. Bob Homme has died. For years he was a familiar and welcome face on CBC TV as the Friendly Giant on the popular children's show. Homme died on Tuesday. He had prostate cancer. He was 81. FROM OUR KIDS SITE:More on the Friendly Giant. It introduced generations of children to books and music. Homme was the creator, writer and star of the show. The show started the same way every day, with Friendly opening the drawbridge and reaching down with a gigantic hand to arrange, "One little chair for one of you, and a bigger chair for two more to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair in the middle." Then, he invited viewers to, "Look up. . . look waayyy up." There he stood, joined by his friends Rusty and Jerome, and they would set about singing chatting and reading stories to young viewers during the 15 minute show. Homme was awarded the Order of Canada in 1998. He was too ill to travel to Ottawa to receive the award, so Romeo LeBlanc, then governor- general, made a special visit to his home in Grafton, Ontario, to present the medal. Robert Homme (The Friendly Giant) Robert (Bob) Homme, children's entertainer (b at Stoughton, Wis 1919; d at Grafton, Ont 2 May 2000). Bob Homme was known to generations of preschool Canadian children as "The Friendly Giant." The CBC television program established Homme as one of the country's earliest, most beloved and memorable entertainers of young people. Homme premiered the conceptual format for The Friendly Giant at the University of Wisconsin in 1953 on WHA-AM 970 Radio in Madison. The program was further developed at the university, with a televised version airing the following year on the campus station WHA-TV. Following his move to Canada in 1958, Homme undertook production of the show at CBC television. The premise of the show was very simple: a drawbridge would be lowered at the beginning of each episode, inviting young viewers to enter the castle of their mild-mannered host. They would be shown to their choice of seats ("one little chair for you, a bigger chair for two to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair"). Once figuratively nestled by the fire, they would be instructed to "Look up. way up" and would proceed to be entertained with conversation, stories and music. Partaking in the fun were Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster, both performed by puppeteer Ron Coneybeare. Musical sequences featured Homme playing various wind instruments such as the clarinet, recorder and tin whistle, accompanied by Jerome singing and Rusty on the harp (played by John Duncan). Children were introduced to varying styles of music including a weekly appearance by a duo of bopping feline puppets known as the Jazz Cats. Although each 15-minute episode varied in terms of specific content, Homme was committed to creating a consistently warm, relaxed and peaceful viewing experience for children. Prior to filming, Homme and Coneybeare would rehearse each segment without a prepared text. Unlike many children's programs, which were highly scripted, Homme and Coneybeare would improvise the dialogue for each episode. The ease and occasional awkwardness of the exchanges between the Friendly Giant, Jerome and Rusty registered as familiar and genuine with young viewers. The relaxed pace of the program was underscored by the show's theme music, Early One Morning . The subdued instrumental piece for harp and recorder signalled the welcoming of visitors into the castle and bade them farewell at the end of each episode. The drawbridge was raised upon departure of the Friendly Giant's guests, each visit concluding with a view to the night sky; final flourishes of the harp accompanied the glimpse of a fairy-tale cow jumping over the moon. After 26 years on the air, Homme had created more than 3000 episodes of The Friendly Giant seen in Canada as well as in the US on various PBS affiliate stations. In 1984, the program was cancelled as a result of budgetary cutbacks at the CBC. The show ceased production in March 1985. In honour of his lifetime achievements, Homme was presented in 1998 with the ORDER OF CANADA. Numerous pieces from The Friendly Giant set, including the castle, miniature chairs and puppets Jerome and Rusty, are on display at the CBC Radio and Television Museum in Toronto. They are visited each year by generations of Friendly Giant fans who were delighted and comforted by the inspired, gentle work of Bob Homme.