Lionel Shenken, president of Visual Productions, hasn’t always worked in drama. Back in the ’60s, he could be seen regularly on one of cfto-tv’s flagship shows, Man Around the House, talking about flowers, swimming pools and patios.

The show was Shenken’s creation, born of an ambition to work in tv and a degree in floriculture. ‘I came to Canada (from Scotland) to work in tv. My mother and brother, who were already living in Canada, called me to tell me of a new tv station opening in six months. It was cfto and I showed up before they were even open. They wanted to put me on air, so I bargained that I would perform if I could also produce.’

It was the start of a 34-year stretch (and counting) as an independent producer in Canadian television. No mean feat, and Shenken readily admits to having done just about any kind of work to keep his business going. ‘I wrote for the Toronto Telegram, played in a band and drove a florist truck’ – all while keeping his production business running.

He has produced commercials for Cover Girl and Noxzema, found himself ‘stuck in the performing category for about 100 episodes (of Man Around the House) because I couldn’t afford to pay anyone from behind the camera’ and travelled the globe for investors.

There is a connecting thread through Shenken’s career which sounds like stream of consciousness. A particular episode of Man Around the House (about swimming pools) led to a stint with Dupont of Canada as a tv program producer because they liked the angle he took on the show (i