Perry Rosemond, an unsung hero of Canadian television, has passed away. Perry came up on Toronto Mike'd during my conversation with John Byner as he produced the first two seasons of Bizarre.
As Ed Conroy tells us, he created King of Kensington and worked on such key children's shows as The Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street Canada, and Fraggle Rock. Most recently, Perry Rosemond executive produced Alan Zweig's When Jews Were Funny.
Here's what Ed wrote on the Retrontario Instagram page.
Retrontario is saddened to learn of the passing of another unsung Titan of 🇨🇦 📺 - Perry Rosemond.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Perry is best remembered for creating The King of Kensington, however he had a tremendous and far reaching career: He helped shape the direction of the CBC’s children’s department in the turbulant 1960s, working on The Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street Canada, and later in the 80s, Fraggle Rock.
In 1966, Perry created a revolutionary news series for the CBC entitled Through the Eyes of Tomorrow, using only young people as reporters, directors and editors. In 1976 he gave a young John Candy an early break in The David Steinberg Show, and was instrumental in the early days of TVOntario.
A true maverick of the small screen and a Canadian legend, we salute Perry Rosemond and our thoughts are with his family and friends 🙏
Here is the official obituary for Perry Rosemond.
ROSEMOND, Perry C.M. - Passed away peacefully on August 20th, 2026 surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Max and Mona Rosemond (Magid). Perry is survived by his devoted wife Nora Rosemond (Niddery), loving father and father-in-law of Michael and Erica, and Calvin, and devoted grandfather to Maxwell.
Perry spent his childhood in Winnipeg's North End, in a bustling household of 14 Jewish immigrants whose resilience, humour and warmth would define him, and inspire his passion for the creative arts. He began his career as an actor. At the age of 18, he was a founding member of John Hirsch's Manitoba Theatre Centre. Early in his career, he applied for an entry level job as a production assistant at CBC Winnipeg, but was given the offer to direct the musical variety show Red River Jamboree. He went on to write, create, direct and produce international television for over 50 years. Some of his credits include: The Johnny Cash Show, Donny and Marie Show, Tom Jones Show, Fraggle Rock, David Steinberg Show, Good Times, Bizarre, Super Dave, ABC Silver Anniversary, The Juno and Gemini Awards, Hockey Night in Canada, and directing 15 seasons of Royal Canadian Air Farce.
Most recently, he executive-produced, When Jews Were Funny, which was named best Canadian Feature Film at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.
Perry began his decades of association with CBC Toronto as head of school and preschool programming, where he produced Mr. Dress Up and Friendly Giant and also wrote and developed a Canadian edition of Sesame Street.
Perhaps his most iconic contribution to Canadian television is the creation of the King of Kensington series. Inspired by the neighbourhood characters of his youth, Perry based the show on the archetypal maven that everyone comes to for advice, and who can solve everyone's problems but his own. The show gave Canadians something rarely seen at the time, a warm, funny, and deeply human portrait of a multicultural neighbourhood; it became a landmark in Canadian television.
In 2003, Perry was appointed a member of the Order of Canada, a national recognition for a career that entertained, educated, and made Canadians laugh.
But Perry never measured his life by accolades, he measured it in smiles. He lived to spread laughter and joy. It was his way of making people feel seen and valued. He will be dearly missed and forever loved.
