JOHN ARPIN'S POLKA

I had never heard of Canadian composer John Arpin before I read his obituary in yesterday's paper.

Here is the real hook: Mr. Arpin wrote the famous -- at least for we Ontario, Canada, viewers -- Polka Dot Door theme. (You are humming it already.)

Polka Dot Door ran from 1971 to 1993 on OECA (TVOntario).

It is a very catchy tune and became more than familiar to those of us who watched the show every morning before trotting off to school. Okay, so I was twelve years old; but I admit I needed my fix of Polkaroo and the toy box. That box seemed to have a lot in it. (If you've seen the show, you would be convinced that there was a nice stash of cannabis in the infamous box.)

Perhaps the best part of the show was the simple and gentle theme song... by Mr. John Arpin.

"The Polka Dot Door, The Polka Dot Door... " http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/tvothemesongs/Polkadotdoortheme.mp3