Cy Leonard (1926 – May 20, 2008) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers

* Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Barker (occupation), Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Cheerleader * Circus arts, Circus perform ...

who was the first

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

to perform on Canadian television. He also appeared on ''

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie ''The Adventures of Tugboat Annie'' is a 1957 Canadian-filmed comedy television series starring Minerva Urecal as Annie Brennan, the widowed captain of the tugboat "Narcissus", and Walter Sande as Horatio J. Bullwinkle, the captain of the "Salam ...

'', the first Canadian-made

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

. He made several guest appearances on

CBC-TV CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 195 ...

's ''The

Tommy Hunter Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, ''Country Hoedown''. ''Th ...

Show'' and was a regular feature on ''The Uncle Bobby Show'', where his brother Ron Leonard was the featured magician. In 1941, Leonard joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

and was sent to entertain Allied troops in Europe. He also was hired by the Canadian government in 1978 and 1980 to entertain Canadian troops. Leonard claimed to have "probably" been the first

disk jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile ...

,Cy Leonard's official biography
published 2008, retrieved May 7, 2011) (via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

) in 1939.

Family

Leonard's granddaughter is singer and voice actress

Emilie-Claire Barlow Emilie-Claire Barlow (born June 6, 1976) is a Canadian singer, arranger, record producer, and voice actress. She has released several albums on her label, Empress Music Group, and has voiced characters for animated television series. She perform ...

., , retrieved May 7, 2011.

References

External links

Cy Leonard's official site
via

* 1926 births 2008 deaths Canadian children's television personalities Ventriloquists Royal Canadian Air Force personnel {{Canada-tv-bio-stub