Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1968 to 1969
Broadcast Medium: Television
Singing star Catherine McKinnon had been long overdue for her own featured series when CTV signed her to headline River Inn, another in a series of musical-variety half-hours which the network introduced in the mid-1960s to feature Canadian performers and meet its Canadian content requirements. The resident backing group was the Brian Browne Trio, and the first guests on the series were the Sugar Shoppe, a talented vocal quartet whose clever arrangements were by Peter Mann. Their lead male singer, Victor Garber, achieved much fame later both as a singer/actor in such shows as Godspell, Sweeney Todd and Annie, and as an actor in many television series.
The series launched on CTV in September 1968, on Wednesdays at 10:30pm, and was produced for the network by CFTO-TV. Despite some attractive production values, the series suffered from being pushed around the schedule in some markets, and was cancelled after only one season.
Written by Pip Wedge – June, 2002