Daniel McCarthy (c. 1926 – January 10, 2013) was a Canadian radio and television producer and the former head of children's programming at

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) 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, 1952. Its French-l ...

(CBC). He worked at the CBC for thirty-three years, including a twelve-year tenure as the head of the CBC's children's programming department. McCarthy created, developed and produced such well known Canadian children's television shows as '' The Friendly Giant'', '' Mr. Dressup'', and '' Sesame Park''. McCarthy grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He graduated from the St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto after studying drama, music, and theology. In 1954, he married Mary Sue McGee, with whom he had seven children. McCarthy worked as a radio and television producer at the CBC for thirty-three years. He began his career as a radio producer. He created the half-hour-long children's radio show, ''

The Rod and Charles Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'', starring Rod Coneybeare and Charles Winter. McCarthy also produced ''How Do You Say Hello?'', a show which asked children about their lives' he visited thirteen nations throughout Southeast Asia to interview overseas children for the show. He transitioned from radio to television during the 1950s. McCarthy produced the children's

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

show, '' The Friendly Giant'', which aired on CBC Television from 1958 until 1985. The show starred

Bob Homme Robert Mandt Homme, C.M. ( ; March 8, 1919 – May 2, 2000) was an American-Canadian television actor. Homme was best known as the host of ''The Friendly Giant'', a popular children's television program that aired from the 1950s through the 1980 ...

as a giant named Friendly, who tells stories to two puppet friends, Rusty and Jerome. McCarthy also created and developed '' Mr. Dressup'', starring

Ernie Coombs Ernest "Ernie" Arthur Coombs, CM (November 26, 1927 – September 18, 2001) was a US-born Canadian children's entertainer who starred in the Canadian television series ''Mr. Dressup''. His career began as an assistant puppeteer to Fred Roger ...

and Judith Lawrence. ''Mr. Dressup'' debuted on the CBC in 1967 and aired until 1996. McCarthy also partnered with the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

(now called

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

) to produce a Canadian version of '' Sesame Street''. McCarthy, the Director of the CBC Sesame Street Project, oversaw the creation of ''

Sesame Street Canada ''Sesame Park'' is the Canadian version of ''Sesame Street'' co-produced by Sesame Workshop and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named ''Sesame ...

'', which debuted on the CBC in 1972, combining American and Canadian produced segments. He developed new segments specifically for ''Sesame Street Canada'', which were produced by the CBC with distinctly Canadian themes and set designs. McCarthy also introduced basic

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

lessons to the show. He brought in Canadian entertainers and personalities for the show. ''Sesame Street Canada'', which changed its name to '' Sesame Park'' in 1996, aired until 2002. McCarthy died on January 10, 2013, at the Grove Nursing Home in Arnprior, Ontario, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife, Mary Sue, their seven children, and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Daniel 2013 deaths CBC Television people Canadian television producers Canadian radio producers University of Toronto alumni People from Toronto Year of birth uncertain Place of birth missing