Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1968 - 1973 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Textual:
350 textual material folders
Audio:
4 audio cassettes
Cinefilm:
2 reels : work print, silent ; 16mm (1,800 ft.)
320 reels : track negative, optical soundtrack ; 16mm (282,425 ft.)
110 reels : col. print, optical sound ; 16mm (99,825 ft.)
252 reels : col. internegative, silent ; 16mm (184,475 ft.)
108 reels : col. A&B rolls, silent ; 16mm (98,000 ft.)
54 reels : col. C rolls, silent ; 16mm (48,750 ft.)
3 reels : col. D rolls, silent ; 16mm (2,725 ft.)
21 reels : col. E rolls, silent ; 16mm (18,900 ft.)
40 reels : col. F rolls, silent ; 16mm (36,100 ft.)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ralph C. Ellis, father of Stephen, was born July 11, 1924, in Milton, Nova Scotia. After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, he began his career at the National Film Board as a field representative working out of the Halifax, Ottawa, and New York offices. In 1956, he formed Fremantle of Canada with Paul Talbot and Saul Turell, distributing television programs for Freemantle International. In 1963, in partnership with filmmakers Gerry S. Kedey and Dan Gibson, Ellis established KEG Productions, a production company specializing in wildlife and environmental documentaries (including the series Audubon Wildlife Theatre, 1968-1974, for the CBC). The company became the largest producer of wildlife programming in Canada. In 1964, he founded Ellis Enterprises, which went on to become the most prominent distributor of British programs in Canada (including the series Coronation Street, Upstairs Downstairs, The Two Ronnies, Doctor in the House, The Jewel in the Crown, and Sherlock Holmes). In 1969, Ellis established Manitou Productions, with William Davidson, to produce dramas, resulting in children’s programs such as the Adventures in Rainbow Country (1970-71) for the CBC and Matt and Jenny (1979-1980) for Global Television. Ellis helped to organize the Canadian Television Program Distributors Association, served on the Children’s Broadcast Institute Board, and was a member of the Broadcast Executives Society. He was appointed to the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario in 1997 and retired in 2002. Ellis died in 2016.
In 1973, Maclean-Hunter acquired a 50% stake in KEG Productions. By the 1990s, Ellis Entertainment Corporation had re-acquired 100% of the production group, re-branding its productions and distribution arms as Ellis Vision Inc. and Ellis Releasing. Ellis Enterprises had an early deal with Discovery Channel in 1986 and was a co-founder of the Outdoor Life Network in Canada in 1996. In 2009, Ellis Entertainment merged with Knightscove Media Corp., creating the Knightscove-Ellis International television division. In 2015, the 600-title library of material produced by Ralph and Stephen Ellis was acquired by Stellis Media Inc.
Stephen Ellis, Ralph’s son, began working for Ellis Enterprises as a shipping clerk in 1973 while he was in university. In 1983, Stephen became Managing Director of KEG after Ralph bought out the original partners. In 1986, Stephen became president of Ellis Enterprises. Stephen joined the CFTA board in 1980 (serving as president in 1984), was secretary-treasurer for the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, and in 1989 was founding president of the Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC). In 2002, Stephen took over Ellis Entertainment upon his father’s retirement, and continued producing until 2011. In 2015, Stephen founded Stellis Media, naming his father chairman emeritus. As of 2020, Stephen Ellis is president of RocketFuel Media Inc. (launched in 2012 with Gina Lijoi), a principal with the consultancy Media Cattellist Solutions, chair of the CRC, and chair of ISAN Canada.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Audubon Wildlife Theatre was produced in partnership with the National Audubon Society of the United States and the Canadian Audubon Society. Airing on CBC from 1968 to 1974, the series of 78 half-hour episodes was produced by Gerald S. Kedey and Dan Gibson. Ralph C. Ellis was the Executive Producer. The premiere episode, Land of the Loon, won the 1967 Canadian Film Award for Best Television Film. Narrated by Bert Devitt.
Episodes include:
Season 1 (1968-69):
Land of the Loon (Dan Gibson)
The Vanishing Sea (Robert Davison)
From the Mountains to the Sea (Wilf Gray)
River of Grass (Robert Hermes)
Wildlife Island (Dan Gibson)
Sea, Ice and Fire (Olin Sewall Pettingill)
They Live By The Water (Jack Carey)
Land of the Sea (Robert Hermes)
Scandinavian Saga (P.B. Johnson)
Wildlife Sanctuaries of India (Jack Carey)
Between the Tides (Robert Hermes)
Adventure High Arctic = The Lure of the Arctic (Edgar Jones)
Venezuelan Prairie (Robert Hermes)
These Things are Ours (Mary J. Dockeray and Walter Berlet)
Alberta Outdoors (Edgar Jones)
Nature’s Ways (William J. Jahoda)
Kenya and Uganda (Edgar Jones)
New England Saga (John D. Bulger)
The Living Wilderness (Walter Berlet)
Land of the Drowned River (Charles Stine)
Delta of the Orinoco (Violet E. Hermes)
Red Deer Valley (Edgar Jones)
Northwest to Alaska (Walter Bertlet)
The World of Bees (Jack Carey)
Waterfowl Wilderness (Dan Gibson)
Hawaii (Walter and Myrna Berlet)
Queen of the Cascades (Ty Hotchkiss)
This England (Chess Lyons)
Promise of Spring (Wilf Gray)
Down South Up the Nile (Bristol Foster)
Wildlands - Our Heritage (Dan Gibson)
Wildlife by Air (Herman Kitchen)
Living Jungle (Violet E. Hermes)
Where Eagles Swim (David Hancock)
Return to Pelican Island (Robert Davidson)
Soliloquy of a River (Robert Davidson)
Wildfowl Sanctuary (William H. Carrack)
A Day In The Desert (Chester Lyons)
Untamed Olympics (Walter Berlet)
Season 2 (1971):
Land of Oriskany
Spring Marsh (Walter Berlet)
Mexico, Land of Contrast (Chester Lyons)
Insect World (Walter Berlet)
Living Mountains = Nature’s Skyscrapers (Walter Berlet)
Beaver Pond (J.E. Swedenberg, C. Scott)
Costa Rica (Jack Carey)
Enduring Wilderness (Chess Lyons)
Sounds of Nature
Awareness for Tomorrow
River Run (Robert Davison)
The Coral World of Bermuda (William J. Jahoda)
Small World (Fran Hall)
Mule Deer Country (Robert Davison)
Around the Bay (George Regensburg)
World of Ants and Aphids (Fran Hall)
Africa’s Curious Naturalists (Bristol Foster)
The Rattlesnake King (J.E. Swedenberg, C. Scott)
High Country (Chess Lyons)
Color It Living (Don Gray)
Land of the Totem Pole (Bristol Foster)
Africa, Cornerstone for Survival (Bristol Foster)
Season 3 (1972):
Kangaroos and Koalas (Harold J. Pollock)
Wapiti (Walter Berlet)
Lands of Two Oceans
Water Birds of Australia (Harold J. Pollock)
Land of Igloolik
Lobster Country (William J. Jahoda)
Micronesia (W. Lukas)
Quebec Spring (Walter Berlet)
West Side Journey (Walter Berlet)
New England Wilderness (J.E. Swedenberg, C. Scott)
Quebec-Iran Adventure (Karl Himmer)
Reptiles - A Misunderstood Species (Norman Lightfoot)
Wanderings of a Naturalist (Gerald Pollock)
A Family in the Wilderness (Ulrich Ganz)
Nesting Time in Southern Ontario (John Bax)
Coyote Country (Robert Davison)
Bermuda: Land and Sea (William J. Jahoda)
In the 1990s, the series was re-released as Wildlife Theatre. At this time, 18 episodes were removed from circulation: A Day In The Desert, Africa, Cornerstone for Survival, Africa’s Curious Naturalists, Alberta Outdoors, Coyote Country, Down South Up the Nile, From the Mountains to the Sea, Kangaroos and Koalas, Kenya and Uganda, Promise of Spring, Quebec-Iran Adventure, Return to Pelican Island, River Run, Scandinavian Saga, Sounds of Nature, Wildfowl Sanctuary, Wildlife Island, and Wildlife Sanctuaries of India.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
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Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
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