Linda Schuyler Interview – TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies (1979)

Source: The Globe and Mail – Prime Time Listings
Published: October 20, 1979
Section: Prime Time Television Schedule
Page: 167
Document Type: Newspaper Television Schedule
Source Link: View original newspaper scan (Degrassi Vault Gallery)

Program Context: Saturday Night at the Movies (TVO)

The October 20, 1979 edition of The Globe and Mail lists a prime time broadcast of The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937), followed by a hosted segment and interview. Based on the host identified as “Yost” and the classic film presentation format, the program is confirmed to be TVOntario’s long-running series Saturday Night at the Movies, hosted by Elwy Yost.

Elwy Yost was known for presenting classic cinema and conducting in-depth post-film discussions with guests from various creative and educational fields. The listing notes that following the film and feature segment, Yost interviewed Barry Duncan and Linda Schuyler of the School of Experiential Education.

The Interviewees: A Pre-Degrassi Connection

At the time of this broadcast, Linda Schuyler was working as a teacher at the School of Experiential Education (SEE) in Etobicoke. It was during this period that she met Kit Hood, leading to the eventual founding of their production company, Playing With Time. SEE was also the professional home of educator Barry Duncan, a major figure in the development of media literacy education in Ontario.

Duncan and Schuyler co-founded the Association for Media Literacy in 1978, just one year before this televised interview aired. The listing therefore captures a moment in which both were publicly representing their work in experiential and media-based education, prior to the launch of The Kids of Degrassi Street.

Historical Significance: This October 1979 television appearance places Linda Schuyler on Ontario public television during the formative period that directly preceded the creation of the Degrassi franchise. The listing provides rare documentation of her early public presence as an educator and media advocate, underscoring the educational foundations that would later define the Degrassi series.

Archival Note: This entry documents a scheduled television interview broadcast on TVOntario’s Saturday Night at the Movies. The newspaper scan has been preserved and formatted for presentation on Degrassi Vault.