Don Harron
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Donald H. Harron, OC , O.ont , BA (born September 19, 1924 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author and composer.
Charlie Farquharson
Harron is best known for the character Charlie Farquharson [as pronounced by Harron in performance, FARK-uh-son], a personality he first portrayed in 1952 on the CBC series The Big Revue and used as part of the cast of the United States country music television show, Hee Haw. The character was also reprised on The Red Green Show.Dressed in an overly-well-worn sweater and cap, and sporting a grizzled 'five-o-clock-shadow,' Farquharson is a decidedly rural Ontario farmer from near Parry Sound. He and his wife, Valeda, have a son, Orville. He would deliver his opinion about matters local and worldwide, using many malaprops in the process that often resulted in both double-meanings and increased satire about the events. In addition to his television appearances, Harron published several books in the character, reproducing the malapropisms in print and including strange photos and woodcuts as illustrations.
Examples of Farquharson's comments:
- "Nowadaze Parry Sound looks like most uther towns on this continence, thanks to them branched plants of frenchfrises that has sprung up everywhere--Mickdonald's, Burglar King, Kernel Kadaffy Frayed Chicken. Noware will ya see a sine "Home Cookin'", cuz all our lo-cal burghers is out eaten them malty-nashnul burgurs. This makes everplace into a no place, and it's eezy to fergit ware you is if yer jist passin through at snacktime." [from Cum Buy The Farm, 1987, pg. 11]
- "Every guvmint estimit incloods an extry estimit of how much more it's gonna cost than yer ferst estimit. That's how come they always leeve this big deficit on the floor of yer House. And a deficit is what you've got wen you haven't got as much as if you jist had nothin'. If we tried any of this, we'd end up in jail. But the guvmint gits rid of its detts by Nashnullizing them That's like the alkyholick who solved his problem by poring the booze in all of his bottles into one big container. Himself." [from Charlie Farquharson's K-O-R-N Filled Allmynack, 1976, pg. 79]
Other Achievements
Harron has been a fixture of Canadian television for years, including on The Red Green Show. He also directed the 1956 television film Anne of Green Gables, and wrote the lyrics for the long-running Anne of Green Gables - The Musical.He has also been a host and interviewer on Canadian television and radio, hosting CBC Radio's Morningside from 1977 to 1982, and subsequently hosting an afternoon talk show for CTV.
In 2000, Harron's contribution to the Canadian entertaiment industry was recognized with his being named a member of the Order of Ontario. He was invested as member of the Order of Canada in 1980. Harron was also appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In recent years, he has also been a high-profile advocate for the interests of older prople.
He is married to Canadian singer Catherine McKinnon. Harron's daughter from an earlier marriage, Mary Harron, is a noted independent film director whose credits include I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho.
Don Harron Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto.
Selected bibliography
[as "Charlie Farquharson," with titles spelled in the character's dialect:]- Charlie Farquharson's Histry of Canada (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1972)
- Charlie Farquharson's Jogfree of Canda [sic] (Gage, 1974)
- Charlie Farquharson's K-O-R-N Filled Allmynack (Gage, 1976)
- Olde Charlie Farquharson's Testament: From Jennysez to Jobe and After Words (MacMillan of Canada, 1978)
- Yer Last Decadent: 1972-1982 (MacMillan of Canada, 1982)
- Cum Buy The Farm (MacMillan of Canada 1987)
- Charlie Farquharson's Unyverse (MacMillan of Canada, 1990)
- Charlie Farquharson's Histry of Canada: ReeVised and More Expansive (MacMillan of Canada, 1992)
- Charlie's A Broad: Travails In Fern Parts (MacMillan of Canada, 1994)
External links
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