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=King of Kensington (partially found Canadian sitcom; 1975-1980)=
=King of Kensington (partially found Canadian sitcom; 1975-1980)=


King of Kensington was a Canadian sitcom that aired on CBC from 1975 to 1980. The show, set in the Kensington Market neighborhood of Toronto, is considered one of the most iconic depictions of the city on television. Despite this, however, only the first season ever saw a home release, and all remaining seasons are lost to the public. The show followed affable shopkeeper Larry King as he dealt with everyday conflicts in the neighborhood, always approaching problems with humor and empathy. The show is notable for its diverse cast and for featuring performances from many recognizable Canadian actors before they achieved international success.
''King of Kensington'' was a Canadian sitcom that aired on CBC from 1975 to 1980. The show, set in the Kensington Market neighborhood of Toronto, is considered one of the most iconic depictions of the city on television. Despite this, however, only the first season ever saw a home release, and all remaining seasons are lost to the public. The show followed affable shopkeeper Larry King as he dealt with everyday conflicts in the neighborhood, always approaching problems with humor and empathy. The show is notable for its diverse cast and for featuring performances from many recognizable Canadian actors before they achieved international success.
 
''King of Kensington'' ran for five seasons with a total of 111 episodes. In 1978 the Ottawa Citizen reported the show regularly brought in 1.5 to 1.8 million viewers from across Canada.


A statue of actor Al Waxman, who played Larry King, can be found in Kensington Market’s Bellevue Square Park.
A statue of actor Al Waxman, who played Larry King, can be found in Kensington Market’s Bellevue Square Park.


=Synopsis=
=Synopsis=
The titular “King of Kensington” is Larry King, a convenience store owner who lives in Kensington Market. Larry is a friend to just about everyone in the neighborhood, always willing to help with any problems they might have. He is sometimes helped (or occasionally hindered) by his stubborn mother. Larry also runs a social club where him and his friends play cards, and later on in the series, Larry leaves his job at the store to work at a youth club.
The titular “King of Kensington” is Larry King, a convenience store owner who lives in Kensington Market. Larry is a friend to just about everyone in the neighborhood, always willing to help with any problems they might have. He is sometimes helped (or occasionally hindered) by his stubborn mother Gladys. Larry also runs a social club where him and his friends play cards. Later on in the series, Larry leaves his job at the store to work at a youth club.


=Availability=
=Availability=
<blockquote>“It is depressing that one of our few pop-culture TV heroes of the 1970s, a cuddly ambassador for the "new" Canada, is fading into obscurity. A local legend lost in the mire - it's exactly the kind of issue Larry King would have stood up for.” - Ed Conroy for Blog TO, 2021</blockquote>After concluding in 1980, King of Kensington briefly persisted through reruns. A DVD of the first season was made available for purchase in 2007, but sold poorly, and further seasons were never released. While the CBC has presumably kept an archive of all episodes, season one has not yet been shared online and seasons two through five are not publicly available.
<blockquote>“It is depressing that one of our few pop-culture TV heroes of the 1970s, a cuddly ambassador for the "new" Canada, is fading into obscurity. A local legend lost in the mire - it's exactly the kind of issue Larry King would have stood up for.” - Ed Conroy for Blog TO, 2021</blockquote>
A two disc DVD set of the first season was released by Morningstar Entertainment on November 13th, 2007. This included all season one episodes as well as writer’s commentaries for the episodes ‘’Scouts Honour’’ and ‘’Half-Way Home’’. Due to poor sales, none of the ensuing seasons received a home release, and season one has not yet been shared online.  


Retrontario, an independent television archive, has collected and shared various clips from King of Kensington on YouTube, but no full episodes. The longest clip the archive has shared is an 8 minute unlisted video of segments from the episode Scout’s Honor, featuring Mike Myers.
Retrontario, an independent television archive, has collected and shared several clips from King of Kensington on YouTube, but no full episodes. The longest clip the archive has shared is an 8 minute unlisted video of segments from the episode Scout’s Honor, featuring Mike Myers.  


In his 2021 Blog TO article about the show, Ed Conroy suggests that CBC Gem, the network’s official streaming service, would be a logical place to release the show in the digital age; King of Kensington is not currently among the shows offered on the service.
In his 2021 Blog TO article about the show, Ed Conroy suggests that CBC Gem, the network’s official streaming service, would be a logical place to release the show in the digital age; ''King of Kensington'' is not currently among the shows offered on the service.


==Episodes==
==Episodes==
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|6||Where’s Cathy?||November 6th, 1975||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|6||Where’s Cathy?||November 6th, 1975||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|-
|7||Half-Way Home||November 13th, 1975||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|7||Half-Way Home||November 13th, 1975||[https://youtu.be/JA5Zbs4X3eE<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|-
|8||The Lady Who Came To Dinner||November 20th, 1975||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|8||The Lady Who Came To Dinner||November 20th, 1975||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
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|-
|-
|}
|}
====Season Two====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:orange" | #
! style="background-color:orange" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:orange" | Air Date
! style="background-color:orange" | Status
|-
|1||Fertility For Two||September 21st, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|2||The Partners||September 28th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|3||The Checkup||October 5th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|4||The Dancer||October 12th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|5||Delma’s Fur||October 26th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|6||The Reunion||November 9th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|7||Gestalt of Kensington||November 16th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|8||Welcome to Canada||November 23rd, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|9||The Friend||November 30th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|10||Duke’s New Job||December 7th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|11||Prisoner of Kensington||Dec 14th, 1976||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|}


=Legacy=
=Legacy=
Despite airing its final episode in 1980, King of Kensington remained highly regarded for its memorable characters and its portrayal of Toronto. The series has been parodied by various other Canadian TV shows, including SCTV, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Twitch City.
Despite airing its final episode in 1980, ‘’King of Kensington’’ remains highly regarded for its memorable characters and its portrayal of Toronto. The series has been parodied by various other Canadian TV shows, including ‘’SCTV’’, ‘’This Hour Has 22 Minutes’’ and ‘’Twitch City’’.


Comedian Mike Myers, who starred in King of Kensington as a child, regards the show favorably in his autobiography ''Canada'': ''“I thought King of Kensington was as close to an American sitcom as Canada ever got. [...] I felt that Al Waxman and the entire cast really wanted to do well for Canada, and they tried their best to give the Canadian taxpayers, who paid for the CBC, value for their money.”'' Myers reportedly named Austin Powers character Vanessa Kensington after the show.
Comedian Mike Myers, who starred in ‘’King of Kensington’’ as a child, regards the show favorably in his autobiography ‘’Canada: “I thought King of Kensington was as close to an American sitcom as Canada ever got. [...] I felt that Al Waxman and the entire cast really wanted to do well for Canada, and they tried their best to give the Canadian taxpayers, who paid for the CBC, value for their money.”’’ Myers reportedly named Austin Powers character Vanessa Kensington after the show.


Al Waxman passed away on January 18, 2001 at age 65. A year later, a bronze statue created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was placed in Kensington Market in his memory.
Al Waxman passed away on January 18, 2001 at age 65. A year later, a bronze statue created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was placed in Kensington Market in his memory.
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=Gallery=
=Gallery=
Photos
Photos
=External Links=
Wikipedia page for King of Kensington
IMDb page for King of Kensington
TVarchive.ca episode guide






==References==
==References==

Revision as of 22:43, 15 July 2023

Artist, animator, film student, occasional lost media hunter and ripper of VHS tapes. Particularly fond of esoteric Canadian stuff. Wikipedia editor since 2019. Need to contact me? Here's my carrd.

Finds


Digitized

  • Under The Hula moon (1995)


Currently looking for

  • The Pink Medicine Show (1978) missing episodes
  • Point of No Return (1976, dir. Ed Hunt)
  • King of Kensington (1975-1980)
  • Wapos Bay (2005) Finnish dub


Holy Grails

  • Him (1974)
  • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole deleted scenes


★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sandbox

...

King of Kensington (partially found Canadian sitcom; 1975-1980)

King of Kensington was a Canadian sitcom that aired on CBC from 1975 to 1980. The show, set in the Kensington Market neighborhood of Toronto, is considered one of the most iconic depictions of the city on television. Despite this, however, only the first season ever saw a home release, and all remaining seasons are lost to the public. The show followed affable shopkeeper Larry King as he dealt with everyday conflicts in the neighborhood, always approaching problems with humor and empathy. The show is notable for its diverse cast and for featuring performances from many recognizable Canadian actors before they achieved international success.

King of Kensington ran for five seasons with a total of 111 episodes. In 1978 the Ottawa Citizen reported the show regularly brought in 1.5 to 1.8 million viewers from across Canada.

A statue of actor Al Waxman, who played Larry King, can be found in Kensington Market’s Bellevue Square Park.

Synopsis

The titular “King of Kensington” is Larry King, a convenience store owner who lives in Kensington Market. Larry is a friend to just about everyone in the neighborhood, always willing to help with any problems they might have. He is sometimes helped (or occasionally hindered) by his stubborn mother Gladys. Larry also runs a social club where him and his friends play cards. Later on in the series, Larry leaves his job at the store to work at a youth club.

Availability

“It is depressing that one of our few pop-culture TV heroes of the 1970s, a cuddly ambassador for the "new" Canada, is fading into obscurity. A local legend lost in the mire - it's exactly the kind of issue Larry King would have stood up for.” - Ed Conroy for Blog TO, 2021

A two disc DVD set of the first season was released by Morningstar Entertainment on November 13th, 2007. This included all season one episodes as well as writer’s commentaries for the episodes ‘’Scouts Honour’’ and ‘’Half-Way Home’’. Due to poor sales, none of the ensuing seasons received a home release, and season one has not yet been shared online.

Retrontario, an independent television archive, has collected and shared several clips from King of Kensington on YouTube, but no full episodes. The longest clip the archive has shared is an 8 minute unlisted video of segments from the episode Scout’s Honor, featuring Mike Myers.

In his 2021 Blog TO article about the show, Ed Conroy suggests that CBC Gem, the network’s official streaming service, would be a logical place to release the show in the digital age; King of Kensington is not currently among the shows offered on the service.

Episodes

The “feat.” portion of these episode titles are to indicate notable guest actors and are not part of the original titles.

Season One

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Variety Store September 25th, 1975 Lost
2 Hot Line Host October 2nd, 1975 Lost
3 Kensington Achievement Award October 9th, 1975 Lost
4 The Tax Audit October 23rd, 1975 Lost
5 Save Old George October 30th, 1975 Lost
6 Where’s Cathy? November 6th, 1975 Lost
7 Half-Way Home November 13th, 1975 Found
8 The Lady Who Came To Dinner November 20th, 1975 Lost
9 The Joy of Kensington (ft Andrea Martin) November 27th, 1975 Lost
10 The Gambler (ft Saul Rubinek & Luba Goy) December 4th, 1975 Lost
11 The Real Mrs. King December 11th, 1975 Lost
12 Scout's Honour (ft Mike Myers) December 18th, 1975 Partially Found
13 The Christmas Show December 25th, 1975 Lost
14 The Detroit Story (ft Dave Thomas) January 15th, 1976 Lost
15 Cathy’s Hobby January 22nd, 1976 Lost
16 Duke’s Dilemma January 29th, 1976 Lost
17 Delma’s Decision Febuary 5th, 1976 Lost
18 Happy Anniversary January 5th, 1976 Lost


Season Two

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Fertility For Two September 21st, 1976 Lost
2 The Partners September 28th, 1976 Lost
3 The Checkup October 5th, 1976 Lost
4 The Dancer October 12th, 1976 Lost
5 Delma’s Fur October 26th, 1976 Lost
6 The Reunion November 9th, 1976 Lost
7 Gestalt of Kensington November 16th, 1976 Lost
8 Welcome to Canada November 23rd, 1976 Lost
9 The Friend November 30th, 1976 Lost
10 Duke’s New Job December 7th, 1976 Lost
11 Prisoner of Kensington Dec 14th, 1976 Lost


Legacy

Despite airing its final episode in 1980, ‘’King of Kensington’’ remains highly regarded for its memorable characters and its portrayal of Toronto. The series has been parodied by various other Canadian TV shows, including ‘’SCTV’’, ‘’This Hour Has 22 Minutes’’ and ‘’Twitch City’’.

Comedian Mike Myers, who starred in ‘’King of Kensington’’ as a child, regards the show favorably in his autobiography ‘’Canada: “I thought King of Kensington was as close to an American sitcom as Canada ever got. [...] I felt that Al Waxman and the entire cast really wanted to do well for Canada, and they tried their best to give the Canadian taxpayers, who paid for the CBC, value for their money.”’’ Myers reportedly named Austin Powers character Vanessa Kensington after the show.

Al Waxman passed away on January 18, 2001 at age 65. A year later, a bronze statue created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was placed in Kensington Market in his memory.

Gallery

Photos

External Links

Wikipedia page for King of Kensington IMDb page for King of Kensington TVarchive.ca episode guide


References

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