User:BrochJam

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Artist, animator, film student, occasional lost media hunter and ripper of VHS tapes. Particularly fond of esoteric Canadian stuff. Wikipedia editor since 2019. Need to contact me? Here's my carrd.

Finds


Digitized

  • Under The Hula moon (1995)


Currently looking for

  • The Pink Medicine Show (1978) missing episodes
  • Point of No Return (1976, dir. Ed Hunt)
  • King of Kensington (1975-1980)
  • Wapos Bay (2005) Finnish dub


Holy Grails

  • Him (1974)
  • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole deleted scenes


★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sandbox

...

King of Kensington (partially found Canadian sitcom; 1975-1980)

King of Kensington was a Canadian sitcom that aired on CBC from 1975 to 1980. The show, set in the Kensington Market neighborhood of Toronto, is considered one of the most iconic depictions of the city on television. Despite this, however, only the first season ever saw a home release, and all remaining seasons are lost to the public. The show followed affable shopkeeper Larry King as he dealt with everyday conflicts in the neighborhood, always approaching problems with humor and empathy. The show is notable for its diverse cast and for featuring performances from many recognizable Canadian actors before they achieved international success.

King of Kensington ran for five seasons with a total of 111 episodes, each episode running 20 minutes long. In 1978 the Ottawa Citizen reported the show regularly brought in 1.5 to 1.8 million viewers from across Canada.

A statue of actor Al Waxman, who played Larry King, can be found in Kensington Market’s Bellevue Square Park.

Synopsis

The titular “King of Kensington” is Larry King, a convenience store owner who lives in Kensington Market. Larry is a friend to just about everyone in the neighborhood, always willing to help with any problems they might have. He is sometimes helped (or more often, hindered) by his stubborn mother Gladys, who lives with Larry and his wife Cathy. Larry runs a social club at a local bar where he and his friends play cards. These friends include recurring characters Duke, Hudson, x, x, and barkeep Max. For seasons 1 and 2, Larry’s wife is Cathy, played by xxx.

Later on in the series, Larry leaves his job at the store to work at a youth club.

Availability

“It is depressing that one of our few pop-culture TV heroes of the 1970s, a cuddly ambassador for the "new" Canada, is fading into obscurity. A local legend lost in the mire - it's exactly the kind of issue Larry King would have stood up for.” - Ed Conroy for Blog TO, 2021

A two disc DVD set of the first season was released by Morningstar Entertainment on November 13th, 2007.CITE This included all season one episodes as well as writer’s commentaries for the episodes Scouts Honour and Half-Way Home. Due to poor sales, none of the ensuing seasons received a home release, and season one has not yet been shared online in its entirety.

Retrontario, an independent television archive, has shared several promotional clips relating to King of Kensington on YouTube, but no full episodes. The longest episode clip the archive has shared is an 8 minute unlisted video of segments from the season one episode Scout’s Honour.

In his 2021 Blog TO article about the showCITE, Ed Conroy suggests that CBC Gem, the network’s official streaming service, would be a logical place to release the show in the digital age; ‘’King of Kensington’’ is not currently among the shows offered on the service.

Episodes

The “feat.” portion of these episode titles are to indicate notable guest actors and are not part of the original titles.

Season One

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Variety Store September 25th, 1975 Lost
2 Hot Line Host October 2nd, 1975 Lost
3 Kensington Achievement Award October 9th, 1975 Lost
4 The Tax Audit October 23rd, 1975 Lost
5 Save Old George October 30th, 1975 Lost
6 Where’s Cathy? November 6th, 1975 Lost
7 Half-Way Home November 13th, 1975 Found
8 The Lady Who Came To Dinner November 20th, 1975 Lost
9 The Joy of Kensington (ft Andrea Martin) November 27th, 1975 Lost
10 The Gambler (ft Saul Rubinek & Luba Goy) December 4th, 1975 Lost
11 The Real Mrs. King December 11th, 1975 Lost
12 Scout's Honour (ft Mike Myers) December 18th, 1975 Partially Found
13 The Christmas Show December 25th, 1975 Lost
14 The Detroit Story (ft Dave Thomas) January 15th, 1976 Lost
15 Cathy’s Hobby January 22nd, 1976 Lost
16 Duke’s Dilemma January 29th, 1976 Lost
17 Delma’s Decision February 5th, 1976 Lost
18 Happy Anniversary February 12th, 1976 Lost


Season Two

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Fertility For Two September 21st, 1976 Lost
2 The Partners September 28th, 1976 Lost
3 The Checkup October 5th, 1976 Lost
4 The Dancer October 12th, 1976 Lost
5 Delma’s Fur October 26th, 1976 Lost
6 The Reunion November 9th, 1976 Lost
7 Gestalt of Kensington November 16th, 1976 Lost
8 Welcome to Canada November 23rd, 1976 Lost
9 The Friend November 30th, 1976 Lost
10 Duke’s New Job December 7th, 1976 Lost
11 Prisoner of Kensington Dec 14th, 1976 Lost
12 The Holiday December 28th, 1976 Lost
13 The End of the World January 4th, 1977 Lost
14 The Lottery January 11th, 1977 Lost
15 Gladys’ Teddy Bear January 18th, 1977 Lost
16 Bunny of Kensington January 25th, 1977 Lost
17 Mari Theresa Is Missing February 1st, 1977 Lost
18 Cathy’s Parents February 8th, 1977 Lost
19 The Central Tech Tiger February 15th, 1977 Lost
20 The Crush February 22nd, 1977 Lost
21 Tiny’s Job March 1st, 1977 Lost
22 Gladys’ Problem March 8th, 1977 Lost
23 The Quiz Show March 15th, 1977 Lost
24 The Big Shot March 22nd, 1977 Lost

Season Three

# Episode Title Air Date Status 1 Cathy’s New Career September 25th, 1977 Lost
2 The Comic October 9th, 1977 Lost
3 The Prom October 16th, 1977 Lost
4 The Hostage October 23rd, 1977 Lost
5 The Boiler October 30th, 1977 Lost
6 Hotel Buffalo November 6th, 1977 Lost
7 The Photographer November 13th, 1977 Lost
8 The Teacher November 20th, 1977 Lost
9 The Move November 27th, 1977 Lost
10 Gladys’ Restaurant December 4th, 1977 Lost
11 The Hero December 11th, 1977 Lost
12 The Dance Studio December 18th, 1977 Lost
13 The Suitor January 8th, 1978 Lost
14 The Hustler January 22th, 1978 Lost
15 The Wizard January 29th, 1978 Lost
16 Big Daddy February 5th, 1978 Lost
17 The Racehorse February 12th, 1978 Lost
18 The Dukedom February 19th, 1978 Lost
19 Las Vegas February 26th, 1978 Lost
20 Old Flame March 5th, 1978 Lost
21 King’s Cousin March 12th, 1978 Lost
22 The Blood of Kings March 19th, 1978 Lost
23 Cathy’s Last Stand March 26th, 1978 Lost


Season Four

# Episode Title Air Date Status 1 The King’s First Date September 28th, 1978 Lost
2 Summer of ‘56 October 5th, 1978 Lost
3 School Daze October 12th, 1978 Lost
4 The Invitation October 19th, 1978 Lost
5 Words and Music October 26th, 1978 Lost
6 Carol’s Arrival November 2nd, 1978 Lost
7 Double Standard November 9th, 1978 Lost
8 The Pursesnatcher November 16th, 1978 Lost
9 Third Party December 7th, 1978 Lost
10 Big Brother December 14th, 1978 Lost
11 A Xmas Story December 21st, 1978 Lost
12 The Houseguest December 28th, 1978 Lost
13 With This Ring January 4th, 1979 Lost
14 Guido’s Job January 11th, 1979 Lost
15 Over The Hill January 18th, 1979 Lost
16 Dear Aunt Martha January 25th, 1979 Lost
17 The Best Man February 1st, 1979 Lost
18 Hockey Night in Kensington February 15th, 1979 Lost
19 True Confessions February 22nd, 1979 Lost
20 Mr. King Goes To Ottawa March 8th, 1979 Lost
21 White Lace Gloves March 15th, 1979 Lost
22 The Fishing Trip March 22nd, 1979 Lost
23 Cyrano de Kensington March 29th, 1979 Lost
00 Title January 5th, 1979 Lost
00 Title January 5th, 1979 Lost


Season Five

# Episode Title Air Date Status 1 King’s Brave New World September 13th, 1979 Lost
2 Diabolical Plots September 20th, 1979 Lost
3 Life Begins At Forty September 27th, 1979 Lost
4 The Hat Trick October 4th, 1979 Lost
5 Home is Where the Heartburn Is October 11th, 1979 Lost
6 The Rivals October 25th, 1979 Lost
7 Born to Boogie November 1st, 1979 Lost
8 The Double Date November 8th, 1979 Lost
9 Masters and Johnson and King November 15th, 1979 Lost
10 The Bet November 22nd, 1979 Lost
11 Pawn to King Four November 29th, 1979 Lost
12 Down But Not Out December 6th, 1979 Lost
13 Catch 23 December 20th, 1979 Lost
14 The Total Woman January 3rd, 1980 Lost
15 Look Ma, No Cavities January 10th, 1980 Lost
16 Sign of the Bull January 17th, 1980 Lost
17 The Spirit of Joy January 24th, 1980 Lost
18 Good News, Bad News January 31st, 1980 Lost
19 War and Peace February 7th, 1980 Lost
20 Counter Attack February 21st, 1980 Lost
21 Green Eyed Monster February 28th, 1980 Lost
22 Purple Passion March 6th, 1980 Lost
23 Movin’ On March 13th, 1980 Lost


Legacy

Despite airing its final episode in 1980, King of Kensington remains highly regarded for its memorable characters and its portrayal of Toronto. The series has been parodied by various other Canadian TV shows, including SCTV, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Twitch City.

Comedian Mike Myers, who starred in ‘’King of Kensington’’ as a child, regards the show favorably in his autobiography ‘’Canada: “I thought King of Kensington was as close to an American sitcom as Canada ever got. [...] I felt that Al Waxman and the entire cast really wanted to do well for Canada, and they tried their best to give the Canadian taxpayers, who paid for the CBC, value for their money.”’’ Myers reportedly named Austin Powers character Vanessa Kensington after the show.

Al Waxman passed away on January 18, 2001 at age 65. A year later, a bronze statue created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was placed in Kensington Market in his memory.

Gallery

Photos

External Links

Wikipedia page for King of Kensington IMDb page for King of Kensington TVarchive.ca episode guide