Catalena Productions

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Catalena Productions was a Canadian television production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It produced several notable television programs in the late 1970s and early 1980s before being forced into receivership in 1981.

History

Catalena's first known production was a TV show featuring Stan Kann, a vacuum cleaner enthusiast and frequent guest on The Tonight Show , 13 episodes of which were taped at the Burnaby studios of BCTV. [1] Another 19 episodes were taped in Edmonton at CITV, which would later sue the production company, claiming its contract entitled the station to a portion of gross proceeds earned from syndication. [2]

In March 1980, Catalena announced it had secured a deal with Monty Hall and Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions to produce 200 episodes of a revival of Let's Make a Deal in Vancouver for syndication to Canadian and U.S. stations. [3] The program was filmed beginning later that year at the large Panorama Studios in West Vancouver. [4] Two other major productions by Catalena at Panorama were also in the offing: Pitfall , a game show with an original format that began taping in October 1980, [5] and a new syndicated variety show, Tom Jones , featuring Welsh singer Tom Jones which got underway in March 1981. [6]

Financial problems, however, quickly engulfed Catalena Productions in the late summer of 1981. In early August, EPI Limited, which was distributing the Tom Jones show, sued Catalena after half of the episodes of the program had been completed. It charged Catalena with breach of contract for not paying certain agreed-to production fees and failing to hand over master tapes of the 12 completed shows. [7] Production costs had reached $3.5 million, and EPI had charged Catalena with "financial irresponsibility" that imperiled its ability to continue producing the remainder of the series. Ian MacLennan, the president of Catalena, claimed that the EPI suit represented a "smear campaign" against a "strong and promising company". However, the company delayed production of further shows of Let's Make a Deal because there was sufficient inventory to satisfy the stations, and Catalena did not want to produce episodes until they were needed. [8]

It turned out that EPI's forecast of financial doom for Catalena was correct. In mid-August, Hatos and Hall petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia for the appointment of a receiver to manage Catalena's financial affairs, claiming they were owed $210,000. [9] On August 31, a Supreme Court judge found in their favor and placed the firm into bankruptcy. [10] Creditors would find that there had been transfers between several related companies that confused the status of the firm's financial assets and that production costs for Tom Jones had exceeded budgeted expenses by $1 million. [11]

The Tom Jones show survived the bankruptcy and lawsuit when a new production company, Clancy Grass Productions, took over the contract and hired 40 to 50 former Catalena employees to tape the 12 remaining programs. [12] Game show contestants, however, were not so lucky. Because most game shows do not award prizes until the episode airs, and prizing is the responsibility of the producers, many contestants had won prizes on Let's Make a Deal and Pitfall that were no longer paid for. In the case of the latter show, which had not yet premiered, production staff—among them host Alex Trebek—were not paid. [13] Television stations that had contracted to carry the show, including Vancouver's CKVU-TV, faced some difficulty acquiring tapes. [14] Contestants on Let's Make a Deal were informed by Los Angeles–based promoter Global Promotions that they would not receive their promised prizes; [15] Catalena owed Global $80,000 to $90,000, out of a total of $3 million in liabilities. [16] Another large creditor was the Canadian government itself, owed $500,000 to $600,000. [17] Because Catalena also owed moving and storage companies, some prizes were stuck in warehouses in Bellingham, Washington, with freight, storage, and customs duties owing. [18] Despite Catalena's bankruptcy, stations such as the Global Television Network in Ontario continued to air Pitfall for years, irking contestants that were depicted winning prizes they never received. [19] [20]

Catalena's collapse left one notable Canadian creditor—Trebek—vowing never to do work in Vancouver again, though he relented in March 1982 when two old friends of his asked him to voice commercials for Greater Vancouver's Chrysler dealers. [21] Trebek would note it was the only time he went unpaid as a game show host; [22] he had the bounced check from Catalena for his $49,000 salary framed and hung it up at his home. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ Davis, Chuck (August 14, 1979). "Chuck's Choice". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A5. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Adams, James (March 5, 1980). "James Adams on television and radio". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. p. G5. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Peter (July 23, 1980). "Let's make a deal! Vancouver gets a quiz show". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. 1F. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Hendrickson, Bob (August 6, 1980). "Some Panorama Villagers uptight about 'Deal'". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A4. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Davis, Chuck (October 3, 1980). "Chuck Davis". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A4. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Parton, Lorne (February 24, 1981). "Lorne Parton on Television". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. B8. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Tom Jones television show involved in suit". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. August 7, 1981. p. A4. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Still, Larry (August 15, 1981). "Tom Jones star of courtroom drama". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A12. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "New fires in forests reported, but hazard reduced by rainfall". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. August 31, 1981. p. B8. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "West Van studio bankrupt". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. September 2, 1981. p. A12. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "TV players try to make a deal". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Press. October 8, 1981. p. 11. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Peter (September 3, 1981). "Tom Jones show to be continued". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. C7. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Peter (September 8, 1981). "Waiting to win". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. B8. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "KCPQ is coming". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. September 9, 1981. p. C2. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Game show winners losers". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Canadian Press. September 10, 1981. p. 15. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Stark, John (October 10, 1981). "Deal went sour for local residents". The Bellingham Herald. Bellingham, Washington. p. 1A, 6A . Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "TV program winners learn they're losers". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. October 14, 1981. p. A-7. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Prizes stuck in storage". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. October 18, 1981. p. A7. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Collins, Don (November 6, 1982). "Game show's bankruptcy made even winners losers". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "TV game show a definite Pitfall". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. June 12, 1985. p. 8. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Joy Metcalfe". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. March 8, 1982. p. A2. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Host: Alex Trebek (2010-04-01). "Jeopardy!". Jeopardy!. 6:04 minutes in. Syndicated. Archived from the original on 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2022-02-02. Contestant Matt Drury comments that he thought Pitfall was the 'best thing ever'; Trebek replied, 'I didn't, because in all of my years in broadcasting, that's the only time they stiffed me for my salary.'
  23. ↑ Baber, David (June 14, 2015). "Alex Trebek". Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. pp. 264–265. ISBN   9781476604800. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
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