AFTER 26 years and more than 650 shows, it's the end of the line for
Glen Michael's Cartoon Cavalcade.
''When you consider that I only came into the show for five weeks,
I've had a pretty good run,'' said a philosophical Glen on the set of
his last show, which will go out tomorrow.
His TV career was sparked off by a memory lapse and a fast line in
adlibs -- a strange mix of coincidences which have made him a household
name for generations of kids who grew up on a weekly diet of cartoons
and comic capers.
''In 1966 STV had a lot of cartoons lying around the studio and nobody
knew what to do with them. No-one bothered too much about them. People
were caught up in the excitement of television . . . then someone
suggested making a cartoon programme.
''I had been working in theatre and had done a few commercials for the
station and the producer of a cartoon show suggested that I might like
to audition for one of the pilot programmes.
''I was very sceptical about the audition. I had never got a job by
auditioning in my life!''
Glen was packed off to a box studio and asked to read a story to
camera. ''It was all going fine until I forgot the words to the story
and I was left to my own devices. There was nothing else for it, I just
started to clown around and adlib.''
After the audition, Glen was less than confident and went straight to
the nearest pub. ''They must have liked the adlibs as they tracked me
down to the pub and offered me the job,'' he recalls.
The idea for the original programme was for Glen to simply introduce
the cartoons, but it's moved a long way since then to a full production
show.The show has many happy memories for Glen: ''The contact with
people has been the greatest thing. The birthday cards, letters and
talking to families in the street have been great.
''One of the nicest things is that children never call me 'uncle
Glen'. I hate that. It's great that they can come up and say hello Glen.
They talk at my level, they're with me.''
Glen is also particularly proud of the show's involvement during the
years in helping many different charitable causes, especially its
involvement with Yorkhill Hospital. ''The good think about working with
kids, or maybe not, is that they always bring you down to earth --
sometimes with a bump!
''A few months after the show started, I was in panto at Glasgow's
Pavilion Theatre. As I entered the theatre one night I noticed a couple
of youngsters who were queuing outside looking at the billboard,
complete with my picture. 'Is that the guy who's on the telly?' asked
one. 'Oh, aye,'' said his pal, 'and he's bloody awful'.''
Over the years Glen has developed Cartoon Cavalcade to reflect
changing trends and attitudes of his viewers. Rusty the smooth-haired
dachshund was brought into the show and became an instant success, with
Rusty MkIII now an occasional visitor to the set.
Paladin the ''talking lamp'' was the flavour of the month for a while,
but now the programme has entered the computer age with Totty the
talking robot.
It may be the end of the line for Cartoon Cavalcade but Glen is still
determined to be involved with television as well as running his own
company, The Glen Michael Organisation Ltd, which was formed to bring
the show to the stage and tour the country.
''I hope to continue in some form in TV,'' he says. ''At the moment
I'm developing a situation comedy for children which I have great hopes
for.
''These days I produce and write, so there's a big field out there
which I want to explore. But I still hope to be involved with children
and would like to thank all the youngsters -- and those not so young,
for their kindness and support over the years.''
