For Immediate Release
Contact: Tony Bolla
416-876-6908
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Conan To Be Crowned
'King of the Castle" When In Toronto?
Local group say title is based on an ancient tradition they just made up.
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Conan To Be Crowned 'King of the
Castle" When In Toronto?
Local group say title is based on an ancient tradition they just made up.
Toronto: Some people in Toronto want to bestow the title 'King of the Castle'
upon NBC Late Night's Conan O'Brien.
Upon learning that the show was going to be broadcast from Toronto in February,
a group of local residents extended an invitation to have Conan undertake a
challenging odyssey in order to gain the honour of being named King of the Castle,
according to an ancient tradition they just made up.
The Letter of Invitation reads like a page from Lord of the Rings with references
to honour and fortitude. But the tongue is always firmly in cheek. You can read
the invitation and find out what they have in mind by visiting MyStClair.com,
a community-based website.
And quite the odyssey it is - one that would even challenge Jason, Hercules
or a hobbit for that matter. It starts at Casa Loma, an actual castle that sits
upon a hill that runs through the middle of Toronto. It was apparently built
to be worthy of regal visits. It ends, well they are not exactly saying - it
is a place of great mystery. Along the way, the pretender to the throne would
be presented with another side of Toronto, one that a lot of people don't know
about - for example, that Hemingway lived here for a time while working for
the Toronto Star.
"Conan should know that Queen Elizabeth has completed a part of the odyssey
- and she already has a crown", quips Ernie Marshall, one of the members of
the St Clair Coronation Committee, named after the avenue that forms the main
street of this area, called the Ridge in some circles.
A lot of people are behind Conan's bid to have this honour bestowed upon him,
from City Councillors, to hockey players and martial artists and just plain
regular folk - and of course all the business groups along the way.
The idea for the odyssey came from a project by local artists Elizabeth Cinello
and Schuster Gindin
Of course there is always the chance Conan may decline the offer. "We know that
could be the case" says Ernie, "because Americans aren't big on kings
and such, well not since that little scuffle back in '76. While we have a lot
of diversity there is still a fairly strong British tradition - so we do know
how to keep a stiff upper lip - but that's only if we've been using our viagra
chapstick.Otherwise I see images of pitch forks and torches and the storming
of gates and ... well we're pretty sure it won't come to that. Lord Conan is
a wise soul, otherwise he would not have been chosen for this high honour (notice
how I pronounced honour, the Canadian way with a 'u' in it - the way Mother
Nature intended)."
In a bid by Canadian-born Executive Producer Lorne Michaels to give Toronto
a shot in the arm following the hit they took from SARS, NBC Late Night is
planning to broadcast from Toronto from February 10-13. So stay tuned to see
if Lord Conan, Earl of O'Brien goes for it.
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