Mark 7:30 pm on Tues., Feb. 21 on CBC on your calendar
MANITOWANING—Members of the Sprack family from Manitowaning will be competing against an East Coast family in the Family Feud Canada game show that will be available on television later this month.
“The show where our family made our debut on Family Feud Canada will be aired on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 pm on CBC and is also streamed on CBC Gem,” stated Debbie (Sprack) Robinson, of Manitowaning, last week.
“It was a totally awesome experience and I totally recommend everyone taking a shot at being on the game,” said Ms. Robinson. “We had a virtual (taped live) game because of the COVID pandemic.”
“I look at the filming of the show as being one of the best weekends of my life,” said Ms. Robinson. “I was able to share the experience with the people that have known me the longest and the people I love the most.”
Members of the Sprack family are scattered all over Ontario.
Marc Sprack of Toronto told The Expositor, “We are members of the Sprack family from Manitowaning. Our parents, Joyce and Brian Sprack, were business owners on the Island. My dad is still alive, but our mother passed away two years ago. She loved to watch the television game show, Family Feud, so we kind of did this as a tribute to her; applying to be on the Family Feud Canada version.”
“It was incredible for our family,” said Ms. Robinson, who along with Marc are among the six Sprack children. She explained in December 2020 Joyce Sprack, who was the anchor of the family, passed away. “Family Feud was one of my mom’s favourite shows. She watched it right through the years, with host Richard Dawson, who was host for the US version of Family Feud.” Mr. Dawson also starred on ‘Hogan’s Heroes,” which was also one of the family’s favourite television shows.
“Our mom also watched the Canadian version of Family Feud with host Gerry Dee. She also loved Jeopardy when it had Canadian and Sudburian Alex Trebek as the host,” said Ms. Robinson.
“Mike and I, and dad, are the only members of our family who still live on the Island. We all get together when we can,” said Ms. Robinson.
Marc, who was the team captain for the game show, explained one of his sisters, Anne, who is a nurse in Sudbury, filed the application for our family to be on the show. “She had to describe our family and share some of the funny stories we have. Then the associate producer of the show met us three times. Gerry Dee, a Canadian comedian, hosted the show in front of a live audience,” explained Marc. At the start of the show the family had to line up for introductions. Only five of the six siblings were able to take part in the actual show; the youngest brother, Scott, also now of Sudbury, remained on standby.
Marc said many of the questions the family was asked were related to Manitoulin Island, such as ‘what is a hawberry’ and ‘what do people do on the island?’ explained Marc.
Along with Marc, other members of the team included Shari, who works for Manitoulin Transport in Sudbury, Anne, a nurse in Sudbury, Mike, who works for Eastlink and lives and works on the Island and Debbie, the recently-retired Assiginack librarian who now works for Loco Beanz in Manitowaning. Scott, the youngest in the family, has a business in Sudbury and owns land on Manitoulin.
”Our mother was originally from the Island, and she and our dad moved the family back to the Island when we were very young. We all attended public school and high school on Manitoulin Island,” Marc told the Expositor.
“It was an incredible experience,” stated Ms. Robinson. “I would recommend other families give it a shot, even the buildup to finding out that your family is on the show is incredible. And it is a way to get your brothers and sisters together, and you really have to be a team. We are so fortunate that we all get along.”
As for appearing on television for the first time, “It was a little unnerving at first, none of us had been on TV prior to this,” said Ms. Robinson. “It is all kind of exciting,” she said, noting her family will be all over the place the night the show will air. Marc will still be travelling outside of the country, my sister and dad will be in Sudbury, watching the show. Mike is here in Manitowaning and we will both be watching.
“I will never watch another game show the same,” said Ms. Robinson. “The work of the film crew and producers is incredible and the attention they pay to all details, sound, lights, it’s all just precision.”
The Sprack family are not the only local people that are looking forward to the airing of the game show. “You wouldn’t believe the number of people that have told me to remind them when the show we are on is airing,” added Ms. Robinson.
