Fred Penner

Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song "The Cat Came Back" and his television series, Fred Penner's Place, which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 1997 and in the United States on Nickelodeon from 1989 to 1993.

Life and career Early life Penner was born on November 6, 1946, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Lydia Agathe Penner (née Winters, 1913–2005) and Edward W. Penner of Winkler, Manitoba. By the age of four, he had begun making up songs while travelling on the bus with his mother. He taught himself how to play the guitar when he was in grade school, and performed in school choirs and pageants. Through his experiences with his sister Susan, who had Down syndrome, he recognized the therapeutic value of music.

Penner received his high school diploma at Kelvin High School, where he took lead roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. After graduating from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and psychology, he spent time working with mentally and physically disabled children, using music to comfort and entertain.

Music and television career By 1972, Penner was a full-time professional musician, performing folk music songs in Winnipeg. In the mid-70s, Penner performed in a number of groups, most notably the folk music group Kornstock, along with Al Simmons, Bob King, both of whom also became well-known children's entertainers, and drummer Mike Klym.

In 1977, Penner met choreographer and future wife, Odette Graziella Heyn, with whom he started a children's dance theatre company called Sundance. Penner accepted an offer to do a recording, which resulted in the album The Cat Came Back.

In 1984, he appeared on the children's television show, The Elephant Show, singing "The Cat Came Back" and was given his own show, Fred Penner's Place the next year.

Accolades Penner has received a Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year four times: in 1989, 2003, 2015 and 2018.

In 1991, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada for "using music and song to entertain and educate his young audience". In 2011, he was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba.

Penner received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Alberta June 15, 2023 for his lifetime of work supporting inclusivity and children's advocacy.

Personal life As of 2022, Penner lives with his second wife in Courtenay, British Columbia. Previously he split his time between Winnipeg and Toronto. He has four children by his first marriage to Odette Heyn. He remarried in 2016, to theatre director Rae Ellen Bodie.

Penner has promoted a number of humanitarian causes with UNESCO, UNICEF, World Vision and the National Conference on Down Syndrome.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes 1984 Reunion Short film 1993 What a Day!Himself Short filmDirectorWriter2014 Fred HeadsDocumentary Lennon or McCartney 2016 Lovesick 2017 Northern Folk Himself DocumentaryComposer

Television

Discography

The Cat Came Back (1979) The Polka Dot Pony (1981) (reissued as Poco) Special Delivery (1983) (reissued as Ebeneezer Sneezer) A House for Me (1985) Fred Penner's Place (1988) Collections (1989) The Season (1990) Happy Feet (1992) What A Day! (1994) Moonlight Express (1996) Sing With Fred (2003) Where In The World (2014) Hear the Music (2017)