CBC Edmonton

Nightfall (CBC)

Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio (see Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories.

Nightfall was the brainchild of producer Bill Howell, who was best known at the time for his work on CBC Playhouse and the cult favorite adventure series, Johnny Chase: Secret Agent of Space. (Howell later went on to be executive producer of CBC Radio's highly-popular series, The Mystery Project, which ran from 1992 to 2004.) When CBC Radio was revamped and given an expanded budget in 1980, Howell approached the newly-appointed Head of Radio Drama, Susan Rubes, about his idea for a supernatural/horror anthology series that would push the envelope. Though not a fan of the horror genre, Rubes recognized a hit when she saw one and gave Howell the green light to begin production.

Bill Howell served as Executive Producer of Nightfall at CBC Toronto for the first two seasons. The reins were passed for the third season to veteran CBC Radio producer Don Kowalchuk (Doctor Bundolo's Pandemonium Medicine Show) at CBC Vancouver.

Nightfall featured two hosts during its run. The Toronto years (1980–1982) were hosted by "the mysterious Luther Kranst", a character created by Bill Howell's devious imagination and played by character actor Henry Ramer. For its Vancouver run (1982–1983), Don Kowalchuk worked with voice actor Bill Reiter to develop the character of Frederick Hende.

Production Locations & People

Though series production was controlled from a central location, the anthology nature of Nightfall made it possible for episodes to be produced at CBC Radio facilities all over Canada:

CBC Toronto

No. of Episodes: 74
Frequent Actors: Elva Mai Hoover, John Stocker, Frank Perry, Sandy Webster, Ruth Springford, Marian Waldman, Neil Dainard, Hugh Webster, Chris Wiggins, Budd Knapp, Michael Wincott, Graham Haley, David Calderisi, Colin Fox, Arch McDonnell, Nicky Guadagni, Neil Munro, Mary Pirie
Recording Engineers: John Jessop, Ray Folcik, John Hollinger, Jan Wright, David Hoyle, Tom Shipton, Brian Wood, Keith van der Clay, Brian Pape, Derek Stubbs, John McCarthy, Greg Fleet
Sound Effects: Bill Robinson, Matt Wilcott, Kathy Perry, Stephanie McKenna, Jerry Fielding
Production Assistants: Nina Callaghan, Doris Buchanan, Nancy McElvene, Peggy Este
Producers: Bill Howell, Paul Mills, John Douglas, Stephen Katz, Fred Diehl, Peter Boretski, William Lane, Scott Swan

CBC Vancouver

No. of Episodes: 9
Frequent Actors: William Samples, Otto Lowy, Norman Browning, Anna Hagan
Recording Engineers: Gerry Stanley, Chris Cutress, Gene Loverock, Bill Seebach
Sound Effects: Joe Silva, Jay Hireen, Chris Cutress
Production Assistants: Ann Elvidge, Dagmar Kaffanke, Loretta Joyce, Joyce Tinnion
Producers: Don Kowalchuk, John Juliani, Robert Chesterman

CBC Edmonton

No. of Episodes: 7
Frequent Actors: Brian Taylor, Graham McPherson, Nicole Evans, Gordon Mariott, Bill Meilan, Stephen Walsh, Blair Haynes
Recording Engineers: Al Lamden
Sound Effects: Eric Wagers, Deane Purves
Production Assistants: Barbara Gault
Producers: Lawrie Seligman

CBC Montréal

No. of Episodes: 4
Frequent Actors: Vlasta Vrana, Philip Akin, Timothy Webber, Earl Pennington
Recording Engineers: André Fleury, Giles LaRoche
Sound Effects: Pierre Lucie, Rene LeVois
Production Assistants: Jane Lewis, Nancy Carter
Producers: John Juliani, John Jessop

CBC Halifax

No. of Episodes: 3
Frequent Actors: Joseph Rutten, John Fulton
Recording Engineers: Rod Sneddon, Keith Glum
Sound Effects: Dermot Kenny, Harold Porter
Production Assistants: Claire McElvene
Producers: Elizabeth Fox, Ewan "Sudsy" Clark

CBC Calgary

No. of Episodes: 1
Frequent Actors: David Ferry, Heather Lea McCallum
Recording Engineers: Rick Fenton
Sound Effects: Norm Hurley
Production Assistants: Elaine Farner
Producers: Bill Gray

CBC St. Johns

No. of Episodes: 1
Frequent Actors: Frank Holden, Pat Vern
Recording Engineers: John Foster
Sound Effects: Wayne Hayes
Production Assistants: Noreen George
Producers: Glen Tilley

Clack Sound Studios, NYC

No. of Episodes: 1
Frequent Actors: F. Peter Lee
Recording Engineers: Tom Courtenay-Clack
Sound Effects: Tom Courtenay-Clack
Production Assistants: n/a
Producers: Tom Courtenay-Clack

Episode Guide

Season 1

#	Title	Written by	Air Date
1	Love and the Lonely One	John Graham	July 4, 1980
2	The Monkey's Paw	Len Peterson	July 11, 1980
3	Welcome to Homerville	Don Dickinson, Allan Guttman	July 18, 1980
4	Hands Off	John Graham	July 25, 1980
5	The Telltale Heart	Len Peterson	Aug. 1, 1980
6	Late Special	Clint Bomphray	Aug. 8, 1980
7	Future Fear	John Graham	Aug. 15, 1980
8	How Did You Get My Name?	Don Dickinson, Allan Guttman	Aug. 22, 1980
9	The Body Snatchers	Frank W. McEnaney	Aug. 29, 1980
10	The Willoughby Obsession	George R. Robertson	Sept. 5, 1980
11	No Admittance/No Exit	Don Bailey, Milo Ringham	Sept. 12, 1980
12	Wind Chill	David McCaughna	Sept. 19, 1980
13	The Repossession	Arthur Samuels	Sept. 26, 1980
14	The Stone Ship	Len Peterson	Oct. 3, 1980
15	Special Services	Martin Kinch	Oct. 10, 1980
16	Buried Alive	John Graham	Oct. 17, 1980
17	Last Visit	Ray Will	Oct. 24, 1980
18	Ringing the Changes	P. Norman Cherrie	Oct. 31, 1980
19	The Devil's Backbone	Silver Donald Cameron	Nov. 7, 1980
20	The Blood Countess, Part 1: Blood Red	Ray Canale	Nov. 14, 1980
21	The Blood Countess, Part 2: Blood Blue	Ray Canale	Nov. 21, 1980
22	Deadly Developments	Arlene Ezrin	Nov. 28, 1980
23	Where Does the News Come From?	James D. (Jimmy) Morris	Dec. 5, 1980
24	Where Do We Go From Here?	Max Ferguson	Dec. 12, 1980
25	On Christmas Day in the Morning	Don Dickinson, Allan Guttman	Dec. 19, 1980
26	The Appetite of Mr. Lucraft	P. Norman Cherrie	Dec. 26, 1980
27	The Guest of Honour	Len Peterson	Jan. 2, 1981
28	A Short Wave Good-bye	George R. Robertson	Jan. 9, 1981
29	They Bite	Len Peterson	Jan. 16, 1981
30	Dark Side of the Mind	Max Ferguson	Jan. 23, 1981
31	Wildcats	Otto Lowy	Feb. 27, 1981
32	The Room	Graham Haley	Mar. 6, 1981
33	Angel's Kiss	John Graham, George R. Robertson	Mar. 20, 1981
34	The Book of Hell	Mavor Moore	Mar. 27, 1981
35	Mkara	Graham Haley	Apr. 3, 1981
36	The Fatal Eggs	Arthur Samuels	Apr. 17, 1981
37	Breaking Point	Max Ferguson	May 1, 1981
38	All-Nighter	Graham Pomeroy	May 15, 1981

Season 2

#	Title	Written by	Air Date
39	Carmilla	John Douglas, Graham Pomeroy	Nov. 20, 1981
40	In the Eye of the Beholder	Burke Campbell	Nov. 27, 1981
41	Cemetery Stop	Margery Stewart	Dec. 4, 1981
42	In the Name of the Father	Janet Bonellie	Dec. 11, 1981
43	Baby Doll	Larry LeClair	Dec. 18, 1981
44	Reunion at the Victory Café	Tom MacDonnell	Jan. 1, 1982
45	Gerald	Bill Gray	Jan. 8, 1982
46	Mindrift	F. Peter Lee	Jan. 15, 1982
47	Your Fortune in Twenty Words or Less	Larry LeClair	Jan. 22, 1982
48	Teddy	Stephen Freygood	Jan. 29, 1982
49	Child's Play	Arthur Samuels	Feb. 5, 1982
50	The Club of Dead Men	John Douglas	Feb. 12, 1982
51	The Thinking Room	Tim Wynne-Jones	Feb. 19, 1982
52	The Porch Light	Randy Brown	Feb. 26, 1982
53	Volcano	Roy (T. E.) Sallows	Mar. 5, 1982
54	The Monkey's Raincoat	Charles Tidler	Mar. 12, 1982
55	From My Appointed Place Below	John Douglas	Mar. 19, 1982
56	The Old Post Road	William Lane	Mar. 26, 1982
57	The Debt	John Richard Wright	Apr. 2, 1982
58	Harris and the Mare	John Douglas	Apr. 9, 1982
59	The Jogger	Tony Bell	Apr. 16, 1982
60	The Screaming Skull	Guy Babineau	Apr. 23, 1982
61	Mr. Agostino	Janet Bonellie	Apr. 30, 1982
62	The Road Ends at the Sea	Tim Wynne-Jones	May 7, 1982
63	The Maid's Bell	John Douglas	May 14, 1982
64	A Glimpse of Eternity	Ian Weir	May 28, 1982
65	Beyond the Law	Steve Petch	June 4, 1982
66	The Turn of the Blood	Paul Bettis	June 11, 1982
67	Reverse Image	Arthur Samuels	June 18, 1982
68	Teig O'Kane and the Corpse	John Douglas	June 25, 1982

Season 3

#	Title	Written by	Air Date
69	This One Will Kill You	Arthur Samuels	Oct. 1, 1982
70	Footsteps	Larry LeClair	Oct. 8, 1982
71	Lifeline	Frank Moher	Oct. 15, 1982
72	The Tie That Binds	Nika Rylski	Oct. 22, 1982
73	The Dentist	Bill Gray	Oct. 29, 1982
74	Assassin Game	John G. Fisher	Nov. 5, 1982
75	Lazarus Rising	John Douglas	Nov. 12, 1982
76	Young Goodman Brown	John Douglas	Nov. 19, 1982
77	But, Oh, What Happened to Hutchings!	Roy (T. E.) Sallows	Nov. 26, 1982
78	Daddy's Girl	Janet Bonellie	Dec. 3, 1982
79	The Cruel Husband	David Leicester	Dec. 10, 1982
80	The Signalman	Otto Lowy	Dec. 17, 1982
81	Watching	Bryan Wade	Dec. 31, 1982
82	The Strange Odyssey of Lennis Freed	Tim Wynne-Jones	Jan. 7, 1983
83	Weather Station Four	Arthur Samuels	Jan. 14, 1983
84	The Brides of Olivera	Larry Gaynor	Jan. 21, 1983
85	The Contract	John Richard Wright	Jan. 28, 1983
86	Beauty's Beast	Burke Campbell	Feb. 4, 1983
87	The Angel of Death	Raymond Storey	Feb. 11, 1983
88	Semi-Detached	Shawn Selway	Feb. 18, 1983
89	A Glaze of Perfect Beauty	Stephen Freygood	Feb. 25, 1983
90	No Quarter	Phil Savath	Mar. 4, 1983
91	The Undertaker	John Douglas	Mar. 11, 1983
92	Private Collection	Warren Graves	Mar. 18, 1983
93	The Hit	Laurence Gough	Mar. 25, 1983
94	Walter's Dog	Larry LeClair	Apr. 1, 1983
95	Safe in the Arms of Jesus	Martin Kinch	Apr. 8, 1983
96	The Wedding	Phil Savath	Apr. 15, 1983
97	Hypnotized	Jesse Bodyan	Apr. 22, 1983
98	After Sunset	Brian Taylor	Apr. 29, 1983
99	Servants of Cerberus	Mary Humphrey Baldridge	May 6, 1983
100	Waters Under the Bridge	Gaëtan Charlebois	May 13, 1983