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Fred Penner

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Fred Penner
CM OM
Born
Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner

(1946-11-06) November 6, 1946 (age 77)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Winnipeg
Occupations
  • Singer
  • guitarist
Known forFred Penner's Place (1985–1997)
Spouses
  • Odette Heyn
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1981; div. 2011)​
  • Rae Ellen Bodie
    ​
    (m. 2016)​
    [1]
Websitefredpenner.com Edit this at Wikidata

Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner CM OM (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song "The Cat Came Back" and his television series, Fred Penner's Place,[2] which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 1997 and in the United States on Nickelodeon from 1989 to 1992.

Life and career

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Early life

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Penner was born on November 6, 1946, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Lydia Agathe Penner (née Winters, 1913–2005) and Edward W. Penner of Winkler, Manitoba.[3] By the age of four, he had begun making up songs while travelling on the bus with his mother. He taught himself how to play the guitar when he was in grade school, and performed in school choirs and pageants. Through his experiences with his sister Susan, who had Down syndrome, he recognized the therapeutic value of music.[4]

Penner received his high school diploma at Kelvin High School, where he took lead roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.[5] After graduating from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and psychology, he spent time working with mentally and physically disabled children, using music to comfort and entertain.

Music and television career

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By 1972, Penner was a full-time professional musician, performing folk music songs in Winnipeg. In the mid-70s, Penner performed in a number of groups, most notably the folk music group Kornstock, along with Al Simmons, Bob King, both of whom also became well-known children's entertainers, and drummer Mike Klym.[6]

In 1977, Penner met choreographer and future wife, Odette Graziella Heyn, with whom he started a children's dance theatre company. Penner accepted an offer to do a recording, which resulted in the album The Cat Came Back, which launched his career and established him as one of Canada's leading children's entertainers. Penner is noted as a pioneer of children's music in Canada.[7]

In 1984, he appeared on the children's television show, The Elephant Show, singing "The Cat Came Back" and was given his own show, Fred Penner's Place the next year.[2] The show became a hit and aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 1997 and in the United States on Nickelodeon from 1989 to 1992. The show is known for Penner's musical performances, special guests, puppets including Word Bird, and the famous title sequence, which features Penner's entry through a hollow log. The show won or received nominations for several awards including a Juno Award in 1989 and a Gemini Award in 1994. Penner recorded more than 900 episodes of the show. Since the show ended, Penner continues to perform and record regularly.[8]

Accolades

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Penner has received a Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year four times: in 1989, 2003, 2015 and 2018.[9]

In 1991, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada for "using music and song to entertain and educate his young audience".[10] In 2011, he was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba.

Penner received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Alberta June 15, 2023 for his lifetime of work supporting inclusivity and children's advocacy.[11]

Personal

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As of the pandemic, Penner lives with his second wife in Courtenay, British Columbia.[12] Previously he split his time between Winnipeg and Toronto. He has four children by his first marriage to Odette Heyn. He remarried in 2016, to theatre director Rae Ellen Bodie.[1] His daughter Hayley Gene Penner is a songwriter.[13]

Penner has promoted a number of humanitarian causes with UNESCO, UNICEF, World Vision and the National Conference on Down Syndrome.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1984 Reunion Short film
1993 What a Day! Himself Short film
Director
Writer
2014 Fred Heads Documentary
Lennon or McCartney
2016 Lovesick
2017 Northern Folk Himself Documentary
Composer

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1984 Sharon, Lois, & Bram's Elephant Show Himself Season 1, episode 10: "Lifestyles"
1985-1997 Fred Penner's Place Composer
Writer
1992 Mr. Dressup Episode: 25th Anniversary cameo
1994 The Biggest Little Ticket Television film
1998 The Adventures of Shirley Holmes Bill Marshall Season 2, episode 6: "The Case of the Exploding Puppet"
2001 It's A Living - S13, Ep 12 Himself/Captain Hook Sword fights actor Derek Aasland in a flying machine.
2003-2007 Tipi Tales Composer Composer of the theme song
2015 The Plateaus Fred Penners Appeared in three episodes
Sunnyside Barber Season 1, episode 12: "Sunnyside Tours"
2019 Cavendish Himself (poster, wax statue) Season 1; multiple episodes
2019 - Miss Persona Grampy Multiple episodes

Discography

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Penner performing in 2011
  • The Cat Came Back (1979)
  • The Polka Dot Pony (1981) (reissued as Poco)
  • Special Delivery (1983) (reissued as Ebeneezer Sneezer)
  • A House for Me (1985)
  • Fred Penner's Place (1988)
  • Collections (1989)
  • The Season (1990)
  • Happy Feet (1992)
  • What A Day! (1994)
  • Moonlight Express (1996)
  • Sing With Fred (2003)
  • Where In The World (2014)
  • Hear the Music (2017)

Sources

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  • "Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry". Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Fred Penner biodata". fredpenner.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Zoratti, Jen (2015-09-25). "He just couldn't stay away". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  3. ^ "Fred Penner Returns to Pembina Valley".
  4. ^ "Fred Penner documentary". CBC.
  5. ^ "Fred Penner". Kelvin History. Archived from the original on 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  6. ^ John Einarson (September 2013). "The Kornstock revolution". Winnipeg Free Press.
  7. ^ "Fred Penner Biography".
  8. ^ "Fred Penner returns to Nanaimo". 16 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Junos 2018: the complete list of winners". CBC News, March 25, 2018
  10. ^ "Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  11. ^ "Fred Penner honoured by U of A". 15 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Fred Penner hits the road to mark 40 years of The Cat Came Back". Times Colonist. 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  13. ^ "Hayley Gene Penner's latest slice of folk magic". CBC.
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