Homme_Panel_v1 The CBC's decision to cancel The Friendly Giant in 1984 was greeted with almost universal contempt. There were questions in the House of Commons, while angry viewers bombarded the CBC with letters. The broadcaster reprised the show for a series of half-hour specials, but no regular episode was taped after that year. With the exception of one book and two CBC albums, Homme refused to license the show or his image. "He could have become a millionaire with Friendly Giant toys and other spinoffs," says Coneybeare. "But Bob wouldn't commercialize his bond of trust with the kids." For many years following, Jerome, Rusty and the castle were on display in the CBC's Broadcast Centre in Toronto. But then a major mistake was made. The Friendly Giant's puppet friends were used in an off-colour comedy routine on the 2007 Gemini Awards without the family's permission. There is no way, the family reported, that permission would have been granted had they been asked! Our reproduction of the castle is the work of Natasha Hertle of Grafton. Long before he retired, Homme discovered a place to relax, and eventually build a retirement home, in the countryside of Grafton Village, just east of Cobourg. He became a familiar figure around town and members of his family still live nearby. He became a citizen of Canada in the early 1990s and was invested into the Order of Canada as a Member on November 2, 1998. As he was too ill to travel at the time, Governor General Romeo LeBlanc took the unusual step of coming to his home in Grafton to bestow the honour. Robert Homme passed away in his Grafton home on May 2, 2000 at the age of 81. The Friendly Giant as seen on CBC Bob and Esther Homme in Grafton Bob Homme and Castle Homme with Grand Daughter and Order of Canada