Joyce Davidson
| Joyce Davidson | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1935 |
| Occupation | television presenter |
| Years active | 1950s |
| Employer | CBC Television |
| Spouse(s) |
|
Joyce Davidson (born c. 1935) is a Canadian and American television personality.
She was a member of CBC Television's Tabloid, a current affairs program with a light entertainment format, in the 1950s.
Davidson caused controversy while the Canadian media were reporting the upcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1959. Davidson was on a trip to New York City when she was interviewed by Dave Garroway on NBC's Today show on June 18, 1959. She said on-camera, "Like most Canadians, I am indifferent to the visit of the Queen." Davidson was lambasted in the Canadian press and by many indignant Canadians for her comment. Within a few days, she resigned from CBC's Tabloid series. A subsequent Gallup poll showed that 64% of Canadians disagreed with her, although 48% of respondents considered themselves significantly interested in the royal visit.
Davidson moved to the United States and was hired by Westinghouse Broadcasting to be the sidekick of Mike Wallace on a new talk show he was hosting titled PM East/PM West. The five-night-a-week series, which featured Wallace and Davidson in New York and Terrence O'Flaherty hosting a separate segment in San Francisco, lasted from June 1961 to June 1962. Fans of occasional guest Barbra Streisand made and saved audiotapes of some of her appearances. Davidson can be heard talking for only a few seconds on that audio. A long segment with Davidson interviewing Boris Karloff survives in the sole videorecorded episode, which is available for viewing at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Telecast on television stations owned by Westinghouse and in a few other cities on February 12, 1962, the episode does not include Streisand. Westinghouse designed PM East/PM West to compete with The Tonight Show, which was then hosted by Jack Paar, but Paar and his network, NBC, attracted many more viewers.
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