The sign for the CBC Special Effects Department is based on the CBC logo introduced in 1992. Known either as “the gem”, or “the exploding pizza”, the CBC logo features thirteen geometric sections (in varying degrees of a circle) arranged in an overall circular shape. In the Special Effects sign, the very top geometric section of the logo is transformed to include a lit fuse, as if from a bomb. On the sign, the altered logo is red on a blue circular background, which is surrounded by a gold-edged red ring, in which the words “Special Effects” are typed in gold at the bottom. Acquired from the CBC in 2007, the Special Effects sign is 28 inches in diameter.


CBC-TV's Special Effects Department, which began the year after Canadian television launched, was headed by Norman Hersch and, in the beginning, was mostly staffed by people responsible for creating displays for the major department stores, such as Simpsons and Eatons.

Special Effects was known for doing things that no one else could do, including: mechanics, explosives, guns, breakaway and other special props, flying and jumping effects, and model-making. It was also responsible for the care of any animals involved in shows, working under the supervision of the Humane Society.

The Department was particularly concerned with safety and rigorously tested every effect, prop and stunt prior to its use in a show.

This included the “cream pie in the face” stunts for the Wayne & Shuster Show. To properly prepare, Mr. Wardle contacted The Soupy Sales show in the States to get the pie recipe and details of the stunt and then had the pies recreated perfectly by Lotman's Bakery in Toronto. He even went so far as to have his staff test them out by throwing the pies in his face, to ensure safety. The same routine was followed every time that stunt was performed.

As a fail-safe precaution when a show was being filmed, the Special Effects technician on site was always able to call a “Cut” in the event that he spotted any safety concerns.

The Department had no stand-alone funding. Instead its resources came from a budget allotment derived from any show requiring a special effect. As a result, there was frequently little to work with, but this did result in a wealth of invention and ingenuity as the technicians created the necessary equipment and instruments, including wind machines, explosive detonator boxes and switches. A classic example was the first vacuum-forming machine used to create props such as Roman armor. Developed by Zale Magder, it incorporated specially adapted aircraft pistons and the vacuum from a cow milking machine.

In the beginning, the CBC was the only Canadian production facility with its own Special Effects Department and in these early days they relied on Hollywood for advice on creating effects. As a result, the CBC's Department became a training ground for the industry. Many of its technicians, like Neil Trifunovich, went on to create their own Special Effects companies to work in Hollywood or to service Canada's developing film and television production industry.

Most special effects were developed individually, with each technician having his preferred methods. Occasionally, however, the cooperation of the entire department was required, such as in the creation of the outsized CBC car and locomotive used for parades, and the large animated dragon from the Magic Flute. Made of canework and foam plastic, the dragon stood six feet tall and wide with a mouth that opened and closed and flames that shot from its nostrils.

Mr. Wardle credits Wayne & Shuster for truly instigating Special Effects in CBC Television because every one of their shows required some sort of gadget or gimmick. This included once requesting the use of a live elephant in the middle of winter. (Though arrangements were made, ultimately the elephant was never used.)