Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1962 to 1977
Broadcast Medium: Television
1962 was the year that the actor Michel Noël first put on his Capitaine Bonhomme hat at Télé-Métropole, which was then a spanking new TV channel, on the program Le Zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme. The adventure would last 15 years. In 1968, Le Zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme would more simply become Capitaine Bonhomme. Then in 1970, it was made over into Le Cirque du Capitaine until 1977. However, the character’s career spanned an even longer period, because Michel Noël would often go out on his own show tours and was frequently a guest who participated in various galas and other TV programs. Michel Noël passed away in 1993, at the age of 70 years old.
Capitaine Bonhomme, a lively and colourful character, inhabited the role of a fearless, intrepid, blameless adventurer, who told the most incredible stories. The character navigated from one trend to the next, crossed over from one generation to the next, invariably making millions of children, big and small, laugh at his antics. His trademark expression that has now been integrated into the vocabulary of all Quebeckers was “The sceptics will be astonished.”
Other actors who played alongside him in the early years included Désiré Aerts as Oncle Pierre, Roger Giguère as Midas, as well as Gilles Latulippe and Olivier Guimond.
Written by Yvon Chouinard – September, 2008