2007: Historic Imperial Theatre Crumples Under Wrecking Ball

The Imperial Theatre, a once important vaudeville house on Vancouver's Main Street (see here http://bcentertainmenttrivia.blogspot.com/2007/09/frank-william-hart-opened-what-he.html), was demolished. Until it's demise, it had a long stretch as a porn theatre called the Venus.
Rumor has it that two gay men once rented the theatre to watch movies alone in and one was found dead the next morning, tied, gagged and with a curling iron inserted in his anus.

1925: CBC Radio History

CRVC was one of six of BC's first AM radio stations. The CNR became the predecessor of the CBC when in 1925 the railway decided to introduce radio listening aboard the trains in transit. The passengers would sit in a parlour car and listen by earphones or horn speakers. There was an operator provided to control the receiving sets. To ensure the quality of reception, a series of transmitters were located at various cities and towns along the railway line.

Eventually a coast-to-coast radio network was established. The CNR radio stations were identified by their location including CNRV – Vancouver. As a matter of history, the CNR operated the first coast-to-coast radio network in North America. Down south, the NBC and CBS networks went coast-to-coast later in 1928.

The CNR network functioned until 1932, when, during the depression, it was decided by the government to form the Canadian Radio Commission. The call letter system was altered slightly - hence CRCV Vancouver.

In 1935 there was another change - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In Vancouver, CRCV became CBR then CBU.
In those early years, night-time Canadian radio was completely different from today’s programming. To encourage Canadian talent, the broadcast regulations required that no recordings were to be played after seven-thirty to eleven-thirty at night. So, we listened to all-live talent shows.
There was a wide variety to tune in to - mysteries, commentaries, newscasts, man-in-the-street broadcasts, dramas, musicals, amateur hours, dance-hall remotes, newscasts, variety shows, political discussions, and religious broadcasts. All the radio stations would have on hand a staff pianist. This position was used as a stand-by strategy when, for various reasons, the scheduled program was not available for broadcast.

At the Vcancouver stations, there were some programs where the public was invited to watch the performances directly at the station studios. Very popular musical variety shows were held at downtown theaters such as the Orpheum.

To learn more about early radio in BC, check out Jack Bennest's great site, BC Radio History.

2007: Is There a Tenor in the House?

On October, 18, 2007, during a concert of Gerontius, star tenor, Ben Heppner was forced to leave the Orpheum at intermission with a flu-like illness that rendered him unable to perform. Tenor Peter Butterfield (pictured) who was attending the concert as an audience member, courageously jumped into the role of Gerontius for the second half of the Vancouver Symphony production.

1946: Groundbreaking Community Arts Council Formed

Community Arts Council of Vancouver. Originally an advisory body, it was established in Vancouver in 1946, the first organization of its kind in North America. A model for many later community arts organizations, the council has helped to initiate the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Playhouse, the planning of the Vancouver International Festival, the development of a music department at the University of British Columbia, the founding of the Vancouver Opera, the establishment of the Vancouver Academy of Music, and the preservation of the Orpheum Theatre. In these and other cases the projects have been completed under the supervision of other organizations. Financed by membership fees, grants, and donations, and operated by its volunteer members, the council has undertaken to act as a clearing-house for information on the arts in Vancouver, publish a quarterly magazine Arts Vancouver 1985- (formerly known as Community Arts Council News 1965-72; News 1973-83; and Images 1983-5), act as liaison between arts and government bodies, adjudicate provincial grants to small and non-professional arts organizations and semi-professional and amateur performing arts groups in greater Vancouver, and display the work of local emerging artists and community groups at its downtown premises. In 1986, the council began its sponsorship (in its gallery) of the Vancouver Composers' Showcase concerts; in 1989 and 1990 it offered a recital series, 'Performer's Choice,' and in 1990 it supported a further noon-hour series called 'Mozart in Canada' - both programs were coordinated by Ian Hampton. In 1991 the council's stated goal was 'to increase and broaden the opportunities for Vancouver citizens to enjoy, to appreciate, and to participate in cultural activities and to improve the quality of life in the city'.
Author: Max Wyman, Bryan N.S. Gooch

2007: Lynn Canyon Tree Attacks "Silver Spoons" Star

Oct. 11, 2007
Former child actor Rick Schroder was taken by ambulance to Lion's Gate Hospital after being injured on the North Vancouver set of a TV movie version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth".
The 37-year-old sustain minor injuries when he struck his head on a tree branch.

1921: Symphony Director Skips Town With The Take

In 1921, Henry Green, musical director of an orchestra that became the genesis of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, skipped town, with the orchestra’s money, never to be heard from again.

1914: English Hussy Banned

The mayor of Vancouver banned performances by visiting English music-hall performer Marie Lloyd. At one point in her show she had lifted her floor-length gown up two inches to reveal a watch on her ankle. The shameless hussy!

Lloyd's songs, although perfectly harmless by modern standards, began to gain a reputation for being "racy" and filled with double entendre, ("She'd never had her ticket punched before" for example) largely thanks to the manner in which she sang them, adding winks and gestures, and creating a conspiratorial relationship with her audience. She became the target of Vigilance or "Watch" committees and others opposing music-hall licenses. She liked to claim that any immorality was in the minds of the complainants, and in front of these groups would sing her songs "straight" to show their supposed innocence.