The Friendly Giant

This story won't make any sense if you're not from Canada...


GAYLE MACDONALD
Globe and Mail
November 27, 2007 at 1:04 AM EST

Two of the most enduring characters in the history of Canadian children's programming, Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe, are about to quit the building. The children of actor and Friendly Giant creator Bob Homme, angered by the CBC's recent treatment of the loveable puppets, are removing them from a museum at the public broadcaster, their home since the iconic program debuted in Canada in 1958.

In an e-mail to The Globe and Mail, Mr. Homme's daughter, Ann, asked for assistance tracking down a video of the recent Gemini Awards, which included a skit showing Rusty, Jerome and other stuffed stars now living in a retirement home after their shows were cancelled.

From friends, Ms. Homme had heard about her dad's puppets appearing in the mock clip, where a narrator described them as sitting around, drinking, smoking and having sex.

In her e-mail to The Globe, Ms. Homme called her father “a truly gentle man” who “never caused much of a fuss.”

“But I can assure you,” she wrote, referring to the Geminis, “that he would be very angry about this breach of trust.”