Biography

Television producer Paul Sutherland, alongside friend Dave Ellison, created and produced the beloved Canadian children's program "Tales of The Riverbank" from 1960 to 1963. Using live rodents like 'Hammy The Hamster' and 'GP' for guinea pig, 'Martha Mouse,' 'Matthew Mouse,' and 'Roderick Rat,' the show portrayed their daily lives as if they were human—living in houses, driving cars, and inventing gadgets. Cheese was used to trick the rodents into acting for filming. Originally produced in Toronto, the series was picked up by the BBC in England. It ended in 1963 but was revived as "Once Upon A Hamster" in the 1990s on Canada's YTV. Sutherland, a former journalist and CBC broadcaster, was also known as a narrator, aviator, sailor, diver, and writer for the 1966 film "The Scribe." He passed away in May, 2004, at 73.