That time actor Eric Peterson fooled Front Page Challenge
Actor found success portraying Billy Bishop and hoped that wasn't the end of it
As the mystery guest on the CBC headline game show Front Page Challenge, actor Eric Peterson found a winning strategy when he appeared on the show in October 1983.
He answered panellist Pierre Berton's first question in a high-pitched voice with a posh British accent.
"You are faking your voice," said Berton.
"How can you tell?" responded the then-37-year-old actor.
The panel knew the guest was representing an entertainment story and set about determining the headline, as was the premise of the long-running staple of the CBC schedule.
Peterson had portrayed a First World War flying ace in John Gray's stage play, Billy Bishop Goes to War, and the headline was that the 1982 TV adaptation had won an ACTRA award for Program of the Year.
"Are you a star?" asked panellist Gordon Sinclair, trying to figure out the story.
"Is there such a thing as a Canadian star?" responded Peterson.
The panel, which included radio host Peter Gzowski, continued to puzzle over the guest's identity until the allotted time was up.
Once the show moved to the interview portion, Sinclair had questions about Peterson's career.
"Are you afraid of ... getting tied in with this part above all others?" he asked.
'Nothing ... matches it'
It would be four years before Peterson debuted as the crusading lawyer Leon Robinovitch on the CBC legal drama Street Legal, and another 21 before he appeared as a cranky dad on CTV's Corner Gas.
"I'm not afraid of it. I think it's probably happened. I've had nothing in my career that matches it," said Peterson. "I hope something else comes along that does."
Sinclair wondered how growing up in Indian Head, Sask., could have prepared Peterson for the Broadway stage.
"The reason I got to Broadway is I did a Canadian play," said Peterson. "It had international appeal."
When Billy Bishop Goes to War played Broadway, Peterson said he thought he knew what would follow.
"I bought a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots to walk to Hollywood with," he told panellist Betty Kennedy. "I thought that would happen next."
