Variety - The Children's Charity 50th Show of Hearts Telethon (variety. bc.ca).
Ray Peters knew something was missing. A founder of the annual Variety - The Children's Charity Show of Hearts Telethon, the long-time West Vancouver resident and then-president and CEO of BCTV (now Global BC), was dissatisfied with the praise received after the inaugural show aired back in October 1966.
Yes, the telethon had raised $60,000 (an impressive figure in 1966) for the newly founded Vancouver area chapter of Variety in support of children in B.C. with special needs, and yes, all involved were pleased with its success, but Peters knew they could do better.
The first B.C. Variety telethon, broadcast in black and white and filmed at the Vancouver Playhouse, had been modelled after one put on by a sister Variety club in Philadelphia. Interested in launching one in Vancouver, Peters connected with the club and their partner television station, going so far as to travel to the United States to meet with those involved and convince the show's producer to help out here at home.
"The Variety people were very happy, but I was not happy with the show. The producer of the Philadelphia show did the same thing he did down there. And all he did was line up a whole bunch of VIPs and local dignitaries and they all arrived and told the story of Variety and said, 'Please help the children and please send money.' Now 23 hours of
talking heads saying, 'please' for money is really boring," says Peters.
While the VIPs and dignitaries had of course done a great job in showcasing Variety, its history and tremendous efforts to help children, Peters was determined to take the focus off of them and turn it on the children themselves who had received help from the organization.
So for year two, the telethon was moved into a larger venue, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and was broadcast in colour. Most importantly, the 1967 telethon featured vignettes of B.C. children who had been supported by Variety, for example, local children who had received a wheelchair or some other piece of specialized equipment.
"Since we took the concentration off VIPs and placed it on the children, the telethon has simply taken off. Instead of raising a few thousand dollars, we were raising millions," says Peters.
"We took the VIPs and we moved them to answer the telephones. And that worked out very well because somebody phoning in with a pledge could very quickly find themselves talking to the mayor of Vancouver, or the fire or the police chief," he adds.
The inaugural telethon helped raise awareness of Variety itself, which became extremely well-known as a result of the first show, and established Vancouver as a good home base for the organization. In addition, it marked the start of a strong partnership between Variety and BCTV that has endured through four different TV station owners to present day with Global BC.
"The reason that that is significant is no other Variety club has formed a partnership with a television station that has lasted as long as it has. It's 50 years it has survived that partnership," says Peters, crediting both the station staff and their professionalism as well as the hardworking people involved with Variety and their volunteers.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Peters had an extensive career in Canadian broadcasting and was named to the Order of Canada in 1984.
He's proud of not only his instrumental role in launching the Show of Hearts Telethon, but in helping found the local Variety chapter, after being asked
to join a group of movie theatre managers and other professionals interested in applying for a Vancouver Variety chapter under the leadership of Harry Howard.
"I had heard of Variety and I had heard of the great work that they do and so I was very pleased to be part of the original application in 1965," says Peters.
The organization was initially formed in 1927 in Pittsburgh by 11 businessmen involved in the entertainment industry. The men had banded together after discovering an abandoned infant in one of their theatres and Variety evolved into one caring for all children. There are currently 43 chapters operating in 11 countries.
Since its founding, the B.C. chapter has raised more than $189 million in support of children with special needs.
At age 89, Peters believes he's the only original charter member still "present and accounted for." Dal Richards, who passed away in December 2015, had been another early pioneer, having come on board in 1968.
Peters was involved with Variety until his retirement in 1990. In addition to helping launch the telethon he also played an integral role in helping institute a fundraising partnership between Variety and Premier Bill Bennett that led to the building of B.C. Children's Hospital. Peters remains an "enthusiastic supporter" and is looking forward to this year's telethon and a chance to meet with fellow telethon chief barkers and presidents from over the years. In addition, excerpts from a conversation Peters had with Global BC anchor Chris Gailus will be featured on the show.
In celebration of this year's 50th anniversary, the 2016 edition of the Show of Hearts Telethon is seeing it go back to its roots and will once again feature live entertainment rather than taped performances as in recent years. Running from 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14, on Global BC, the broadcast will originate from the Theatre at the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam. Concerts, hosted by Erin Cebula of ET Canada, will be held at satellite location The Centre in Vancouver on Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. (54-40, Charlie, Aaron Pritchett, Sophie Simmons, Five Alarm Funk and the Vancouver TheatreSports League) and Sunday from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. (Jim Byrnes, Barney Bentall, Shari Ulrich, Colleen Rennison and Chilliwack).
This marks the first year that the telethon will be streamed online at globalnews. ca/live/bc.
For tickets to The Centre concerts, available by donation, visit variety50. eventbrite.ca. For more information on this year's telethon, visit variety.bc.ca.
