Remembering Super Dave

Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada 
Address: 171 Town Centre Blvd
Date: Jan 2019
Website:  bobeinstein.com

  Super Dave Osborne was the greatest stuntman the world has ever known.  Actually he was far better at making us laugh than he was at successfully completing a stunt.  Super Dave was the creation of Bob Einstein and we have been laughing at the same joke for decades.  What will go wrong with Super Dave's stunt today?  Super Dave always starts out cheery and optimistic and then things go wrong and he ends up injured and censored.  Bob Einstein died January 2nd, 2019 and we thought we would highlight the Toronto connection with his beloved character.

     Super Dave was a regular on John Byner's comedy television program called Bizarre.  It was during Bizarre that Super Dave filmed his memorable CN Tower stunt.  Just one year after stuntman Dar Robertson jumped off the tower as Christopher Plummer's stunt double in the movie Highpoint, Super Dave prepared for his jump.  Super Dave is standing outside at the top of the tower with announcer Mike Walden.  Mike would be Super Dave's announcer throughout the Super One's career.

  The stunt has to be called off due to high winds, but as Mike goes back inside the tower he hits Super Dave with the door.  We see Super Dave flail as he falls from the tower.  He lands in a parking lot that used to be just about where Ripley's Aquarium is today.  To add insult to injury, the ambulance runs Super Dave over and drags him underneath the vehicle.

  Bizarre was filmed at the Glen Warren Studios in Scarborough.  The buildings are still there today as CTV Studios.  The studios are located at number nine Channel Nine Court since 9 is the channel that the station broadcasts on.  One of us has been inside the studios to watch a taping of a television show called Circus which aired in the early 1980s.  In 1987 Super Dave was given his own show and it also filmed at CTV.

  One of us was also lucky enough to see a taping of the Super Dave show when it moved to its new location at the Markham Theatre.  The show was filmed in Markham, Ontario up until it ended in 1991.  Each week there were specials guest performers along with a Super Dave stunt.  Super Dave would attempt his stunt strapped in with genuine Saskatchewan seal skin bindings but things never worked out as he planned.  We always knew something was going to happen when Super Dave attempted a stunt.  We would have a good laugh.

  If you still need a little more of the Super One while you are in Toronto then you need to visit Super Dave! Convenience at the corner of Coxwell and Gerrard.  It has everything you expect from a convenience store.  Lotto tickets, candy bars, milk, magazines and more.  While you are there you can stand out front and give a big thumbs up with the words Super Dave up above your head.  Higher up still, in comedy heaven, you will find the legendary Super Dave.

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Map of Our World
CTV Toronto , Markham Theatre
CN Tower , Super Dave! Convenience

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Post # 238

Runnymede Theatre

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
Address: 2223 Bloor St W
Date: March 2017
Website:  heritagetoronto.org

     It started out as a place to see vaudeville performances.  These days the Runnymede Theatre is a place to collect Optimum points.  The theatre first opened in 1927 and today is one of the nicest looking drug stores in Toronto.

   In the middle of the store is a decorative gold dome.  We can see why the theatre was called "Canada's Theatre Beautiful".

  From the second level we could see the stage behind the cosmetic counter.  The ceiling was painted like the sky.  In the later 1930s the theatre was a movie house only.

A projector from the old movie house days was sitting up on the second floor balcony.  Even the emergency exit reminded us of the building's earlier theatre days.

  In 1972, the building became a bingo hall. In 1980 it played movies again for about two decades and then it became a retail store.  Today it is a Shopper's Drug Mart but well worth a visit to get a glimpse into history.

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This location is near Runnymede subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Runnymede Theatre

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Post # 237

The Grave Of Mother Goose

Location: Bostan, Massachusetts, USA
Address: Tremont Street
Date: Sept 2013
Website: www.celebrateboston.com

  Granary Burying Ground in Boston has been a graveyard since the late 1600s.  Many of the graves have been worn thin through the years or had the writing on their faces worn down to where they are unreadable.  Many famous people in Boston's history are buried here.  We were looking for one grave in particular.  The grave of Mother Goose.

  Mother Goose is credited with many nursery rhymes.  Some famous ones are "Three Blind Mice", "Humpty Dumpty" or Hickory Dickory Dock".  After hunting around the cemetery we finally located her grave.

 Mary Goose died in 1690.  Her husband Issac remarried to a woman called Elizabeth.  Thomas Fleet married her daughter also called Elizabeth.  It is said that grandmother Goose sang songs and rhymes when Thomas and his wife had their first child.  Thomas being a printer made a book of some of these rhymes called Mother Goose's Melodies For Children.  This is said to be the first use of Mother Goose in America but Mother Goose had also been associated with rhymes in England long before even Mary Goose's death.

 
  So it appears there is no true Mother Goose.  At least not in a cemetery in Boston.  Most people are familiar with some Mother Goose nursery rhymes even if much like the myth of Boston's Mother Goose, they have changed and been re-written through the years.

  The Hancock Tower is the tallest tower in Boston.  It is named afterJohn Hancock Insurance company which had offices there.  The insurance company is named after John Hancock whose signature is on the Declaration of Independence.  Johm Hancock's grave is also located in Granary Burying Ground.

  Paul Revere's grave is also located in the Granary Burying Ground.  Paul Revere is best known for riding through Massachusetts warning that the British were coming.  We didn't see his grave, but did visit his statue in Boston's North End.  Granary Burying Ground is filled with centuries of history and a little bit of mystery.

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Map of Our World
Paul Revere Statue
Granary Burying Ground , John Hancock Tower

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Post # 231

Old Town San Diego

Location: San Diego, California, USA
Address:  Old Town
Date: February 2014
Website:  www.parks.ca.gov

  Old Town San Diego is said to be the birthplace of California.  Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo discovered the area in 1542.  In 1602 Sebastian Vizcaino named it San Deigo de Alcala.  The area became a bustling hub, military post and religious mission.

  In 1846 the first American flag was raised in Old Town's plaza.  In 1968 Old Town became a State Historic Park.  In 2014 we made a visit to take in the history, sights and food that Old Town had to offer.  We entered the Old Town area through the market.  We would come back here later for some souvenirs.

  The first order of business was to get something to eat.  We had some churros from one of the food vendors.  After enjoying our deep fried treat we headed further into the town for some history.

  San Diego's first courthouse was built in 1847.  It is also the first brick building built by the Mormons after the war with Mexico.  At one point it served as the mayor's office.

  La Casa de Estudillo is an adobe mansion and was built in 1829.  Adobe means it was made from earth and other organic materials.   This building is located in the center of town and was the social and religious center during the Mexican Era.  The Mexican Era ended in 1846 when the United States declared war on Mexico.

  In the center of La Casa de Estudillo is a garden with many interesting plants and flowers growing.

  Around Old Town there are also many plants, especially cactus.  There are also some resident cats.

  La Casa de Machado y Silvas was built in 1843 and used to be a restaurant.  This building is also said to be where the Silvas family hid the Mexican flag during the war in 1846.

  A covered wagon sits in the middle of the street.  This was the primary means of transportation for anyone who came to Old Town.

  Across from the covered wagon was the Cosmopolitan Hotel.  Back in 1827 it used to be the home of Juan Bandini and later in 1869 a second floor was added and it opened as a hotel.  The hotel has undergone some renovations but still maintains some original features such as the floorboards.  We sat at a table over these floorboards as we enjoyed a meal in the hotel dining room.  A highlight was the deep fried brussel sprouts.

  After lunch we enjoyed a walk and some shade down by Fiesta de Reyes which housed some other vendors.  It had a nice pineapple topped fountain out front.

  In the garden was a metal mariachi band.  Old Town plaza was a popular place for music, bullfights and other forms of entertainment.

  The Colorado Hotel is much smaller than the Cosmopolitan.  This is a reconstruction as we belive the original from 1851 was destroyed in a fire.

  As we headed out of Old Town we passed a theatre.  It wanted to be like The Swan theatre in England so it was named after a young swan.  The Cygnet Theatre runs performances throughout the year.

  We headed back to our car and passed the Immaculate Conception Church.  This church was built in 1865 and was the first church in California built outside of the mission system.  Just outside of Old Town we purchased some souvenirs from one of the many shops.  There was so much on offer but we took a small vase as a memento.  The mixture of food, fun and history had made for a great day.

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Map of Our World 
The Cosmopolitan Hotel (Old Town)
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

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Post # 226

Sharks Take Buffalo By Storm

Location: Buffalo, New York, USA
Address:  420 Main Street
Date: July 2018
Website:  www.mainliberty.com

  As we traveled around Buffalo, New York we noticed that they have really embraced their city's name.  Everywhere we looked we saw American bison (aka buffalo).  There was this colourful mural on Hertel Avenue called Magic Buffalo (above).

  There was a buffalo sculpture outside of the Child & Family Services building near the airport.

  We enjoyed a very nice lunch at The Terrace at Delaware Park.  They had a well dressed buffalo painted on the wall inside.  There was a wedding in the rose garden beside the Terrace as we arrived.  This buffalo would have fit right in.  On second thought, the giant, furry head and horns may have made him stand out.
 

  There were buffalo in the artwork on the side of buildings.

  And finally, there was an actual American Bison at the Buffalo Zoo.  Of course.

  The only place we didn't see buffalo was at our hotel, Reikart House.  They had a little monkey bellhop called Jocko.  He was on our menus, coasters, writing pads and even hidden in the wallpaper.

 We were not looking for buffalo or monkeys.  We were looking for sharks.  We had heard there were some in Lafayette Square near the Soldiers & Sailors Monument.  Anyone who has been reading this far and thought this blog post was going to be about sports, we are sorry.  We do see how the title could have mislead you into thinking San Jose defeated the Sabres in a hockey game.

  2014 was a bad year for sharks in Buffalo.  Or a good year depending on how you look at it.  Sharknado 2 : The Second One premiered on July 30, 2014.  This was a made for TV movie based on the ridiculous premise of tornadoes pulling sharks out of the ocean and dropping them onto major cities.  In the original Sharknado, Los Angeles was under attack.  This time it is New York City.  Once again Ian Ziering, best known as Steve from Beverly Hills 90210, must save the day.

  When it came to filming the movie, a second crew traveled upstate and visited Buffalo to film a few scenes.  The extras grabbed pitchforks or anything else they could find in the trunks of their cars as the sharks fell from the sky.  You can see them running in the streets away from the Liberty Building (above).  In the previous photo you can see the small Statue of Liberty that sits on the roof of the building.

  Basically sharks rain down and it is either kill or be killed for these poor extras.  During filming we imagine they had no idea what they were fighting as the computer generated sharks were added later.

 An older, bearded man tosses three chainsaws up into the wind to fend off the sharks.  Yet another warning needed on chainsaws.  "Not to be thrown into a tornado."
 

  Finally, a Zevon Brothers Fireworks truck explodes right outside the H & R Block above.  The sharknado has been defeated for now.  The Last Sharknado is set to air in August 2018 and will be the sixth movie for the series.

  In August of 2014 a different kind of shark arrived in Buffalo.   Shark Girl appeared down at Canalside.  She came from Cleveland and was not flown in by the sharknado.

  Shark Girl is the creation of artist Casey Riordan Millard and she sits waiting for someone to join her on her rock.  We took a few photos with Shark Girl and she just sat quietly in her blue dress.

  In a city full of buffalo, it was fun to fish for a few sharks.  Oh, and we liked the monkey too!

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Map of Our World
Magic Buffalo , Child & Family Services Buffalo , Soldiers & Sailors Monument , Shark Girl
The Terrace at Delaware Park , Reikart House
Liberty Building
Buffalo Zoo
Sharknado (Buffalo)

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Post # 223