The Globe and Mail - October 23, 1983

"Furry hero to the rescue of stars"
Terry Poulton

Fans of The Littlest Hobo who watch the three episodes scheduled for Oct. 28, Nov. 4 and 11 (CTV at 7.30 p.m.) are in for something extraordinary. Not just because the furry hero outdoes himself in the intellect department yet again - figuring out that because wood doesn't conduct electricity, he can rescue a car full of people before they're incincerated by a fallen power line - but because the casting of the dramatic three-parter is so notable. Except for Hobo himself and August Schellenberg, in the role of an evil poacher, the entire cast is made up of the talented showbiz family of which veteran Canadian actors Dawn Greenhalgh and Ted Follows are the parents.

Many viewers already know the accomplished 14-year-old Megan Follows for her frequent appearances in such series as Matt and Jenny and The Baxters, as well as guest shots on Hangin' In, The Great Detective and the NBC hit series, Facts of Life - of which a spin-off starring Megan is currently being discussed in Hollywood.

The parents are even better known across the country as respected performers who are active on the stage as well as in TV and films. What comes as more of a surprise are the talents of the rest of the family: Edwina, Samantha and Laurence, each of whom has had a variety of minor acting experiences. Edwina, the eldest, has switched to producing and is currently working as third assistant director of the upcoming Mackenzie Brothers movie, Strange Brew.

Over a three-week shooting period last summer, the family turned in the particularly adventurous Hobo episode, with cliffhanger adventures galore, as they all risk the multiple danger of roughing it in a remote, earthquake-prevalent campsite. From their smooth interacting, viewers will have no inkling of the fact that the project actually marked the first reunion of a family that had been torn apart by the recent divorce of the parents after 21 years of marriage. "The children had all stayed with me," said Dawn Greenhalgh recently, in a telephone interview from Vancouver (where's she's in rehearsals for a starring role in the Vancouver Playhouse production of The Dresser). "We had kept in touch with Ted, of course, but there really hadn't been much personal dialogue." Working together was the brainchild of Hobo's producer, although both Greenhalgh and Follows had at first been leery about it. After some initial awkwardness, however, the project turned out to be just the kind of normalizing therapy that was most needed to restore family feelings.

Greenhalgh and daughter Edwina, in fact, also realized that the process might well warrant a spin-off of its own. They immediately began shooting a short documentary film, including segments from Hobo as well as dialogue among the family members. "It still needs a lot of work," says Greenhalgh, "but we really feel we have a good chance of making a film showing that out of the trauma of a family break-up, people have the choice of growing and emerging even stronger than before."

Source: The Globe and Mail