You brought ‘er, you zookeeper

 

Robby the Tiger, Sheba the Elephant and Alf the Baboon. These (along with human actor Robert Fulton) were my co-stars in a TV commercial filmed today for the Michigan Lottery.

It’s really great to get a gig. Great for the ego, great for the bank account, great for the opportunity to do what I do—what I choose to do when I’m allowed to do it.

But beyond that, man oh man was I jazzed to be six feet away from a beautiful, full-grown tiger.

And inches away from a perfectly docile African elephant. And none too close to an irritable baboon, with whom we were strongly warned not to make eye contact. Talk about temperamental actors. (No photos of look-at-me-and-I’ll-rip-your-throat-out Alf.)

Filmed in the elephant barn at the Bowmanville Zoo in Clarington, Ontario, the spot is due to air beginning August 29. In Michigan, of course. I look forward to getting a copy and seeing myself share the screen with these great animals. Meanwhile, our ginormous house cat Linnell suddenly seems much smaller than he did when I left the house this morning. 

Will Quiz Show Spank the Yanks?

 

I posted earlier about our participating in a Canadian TV trivia quiz called Test the Nation. Promotions for our episode, “Canada, Eh?” are now online at http://www.cbc.ca/testthenation/

Katharine was one of a few on our team (Americans in Canada) who got asked to answer a few questions. Look here.

We appear briefly in the video found on the home page. Find us at about 4 minutes in. The teams were all being encouraged to cheer for themselves, but I had little desire to perpetuate the stereotype of arrogant, chest-pounding Americans. Something of a quandary when, after all, it was a competition!

The show airs September 7 and we’re not allowed to tell you who won. I’ll post again after the broadcast for those unable to see the finest in Canadian television.