Toby Robins (March 13, 1931 â€" March 21, 1986) was a Canadian actress
of film, stage and television.Robins starred in hundreds of radio and
stage productions in Canada from the late 1940s through the 1960s,
working with such performers as Jane Mallett, Barry Morse, John
Drainie, Ruth Springford, and James Doohan among others. She appeared
in a number of television and film roles beginning in the mid-1950s,
and hosted the first-ever CBC Television series, The Big Revue in
1952. In Toronto she played in repertory with Lorne Greene, Mavor
Moore, and Don Harron. At the Crest Theatre she played the leading
parts in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dream Girl and many others.[citation
needed]Robins became a popular television personality as an original
member of the cast of the long-running CBC television series Front
Page Challenge in 1957, remaining with the program until 1961.
Originally hosted by Alex Barris and later Fred Davis, Front Page
Challenge was a current events series disguised as a panel-style game
show in a similar format to the American What's My Line?. Panelists
had to guess the news story or person behind a news story by asking
questions of the guest; after the game portion, the guest was then
interviewed informally by the panel.[citation needed]Although Robins
was initially criticized for asking simple and sometimes unintelligent
questions,[1] she soon found her journalistic sea legs and before long
was holding her own alongside the more experienced journalists,
including her co-panellists Gordon Sinclair and Pierre
Berton.[citation needed] She left the series in a salary dispute in
1961 and was replaced by future senator Betty Kennedy (who remained
with the show until its demise in the 1990s). Robins returned to the
show from time to time as a guest panelist.[citation needed]
of film, stage and television.Robins starred in hundreds of radio and
stage productions in Canada from the late 1940s through the 1960s,
working with such performers as Jane Mallett, Barry Morse, John
Drainie, Ruth Springford, and James Doohan among others. She appeared
in a number of television and film roles beginning in the mid-1950s,
and hosted the first-ever CBC Television series, The Big Revue in
1952. In Toronto she played in repertory with Lorne Greene, Mavor
Moore, and Don Harron. At the Crest Theatre she played the leading
parts in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dream Girl and many others.[citation
needed]Robins became a popular television personality as an original
member of the cast of the long-running CBC television series Front
Page Challenge in 1957, remaining with the program until 1961.
Originally hosted by Alex Barris and later Fred Davis, Front Page
Challenge was a current events series disguised as a panel-style game
show in a similar format to the American What's My Line?. Panelists
had to guess the news story or person behind a news story by asking
questions of the guest; after the game portion, the guest was then
interviewed informally by the panel.[citation needed]Although Robins
was initially criticized for asking simple and sometimes unintelligent
questions,[1] she soon found her journalistic sea legs and before long
was holding her own alongside the more experienced journalists,
including her co-panellists Gordon Sinclair and Pierre
Berton.[citation needed] She left the series in a salary dispute in
1961 and was replaced by future senator Betty Kennedy (who remained
with the show until its demise in the 1990s). Robins returned to the
show from time to time as a guest panelist.[citation needed]
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.