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

Season 1 DVD case

Status: Partially Found

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 humour and empathy. The show is notable for its diverse cast, distinctly Canadian references 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 around 25 minutes long, excluding the commercial break. 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

Al Waxman as Larry King

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. Cathy is played by Fiona Reid from seasons 1 to 3, after which Reid decided to leave the show. Larry runs a social club at a local bar where he and his friends play cards. These friends include recurring characters Duke, Nestor, and barkeep Max. In season 4, Larry sells his store, getting a new job at a youth community centre.

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. This included all season 1 episodes as well as writer’s commentaries for the episodes Half-Way Home and Scouts Honour. Due to poor sales, none of the ensuing seasons received a home release, and season 1 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 episode Scouts Honour. When asked about the availability of the show in 2022, Retrontario did not volunteer any more content.

In his 2021 Blog TO article about the show, 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.

As of August 2023, the only episode recovered in full is episode 7 of season 1, Halfway Home, which features an appearance from Eugene Levy.

Episodes

The “ft” 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 (ft Eugene Levy)	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

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

Statue of Al Waxman in Bellevue Square Park

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 bronze statue created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was placed in Kensington Market in his memory.

Gallery

Video

Opening credits

Season 1 episode 7, Half-Way home

External Links

• Wikipedia page
• IMDb page
• TVarchive.ca episode guide