Rod Coneybeare passed away today, you may not know his face, or his regular speaking voice, but if you grew up watching Canadian kids TV anytime between the late 1950’s and 1980’s, you’ve likely seen his work. Rod Coneybeare was the puppeteer and voice behind Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe (among others) on CBC’s ‘The Friendly Giant’ which ran from 1958-1985. Where I grew up in southern Ontario, CBC was the only source of kids television for a long time and I watched The Friendly Giant all the time. In fact, my father helped to build Bob Homme’s house in the area, which was a great source of pride for me at the time (Bob Homme created and starred in The Friendly Giant). I was fortunate to meet Bob Homme on several occasions over the years and while he definitely was not a giant (pretty sure I was taller then him by the time I was 16) he had a gigantic personality and was always very friendly and quick with a smile and a laugh whenever we met. I never met Rod Coneybeare, I will never forget hearing Jerome answering the Friendly Giant’s whistle for him, and all of the joy his characters brought to a lonely little kid in the woods! I don’t think I’ve ever shown my kids The Friendly Giant, but I think this weekend will be a good time to rectify that. For those of you unfamiliar with The Friendly Giant, I’ve posted a video below. In fact, it looks to be taped from the very same channel I would watch the show on as a kid! (CHEX out of Peterborough, Ontario)
Thanks for the memories Mr. Coneybeare!
https://youtu.be/JadtKIRWD2Y
