Russell Peters
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Just for Laughs Street Festival in Toronto
Russell Peters
Category: Stand-up Comedian, Television, Film, Canada
Birth Name: Russell Dominic Peters
Born: 1970, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Years Active: 1989 to present
Genres: Satire, Improvisational Comedy, Observational Comedy
Subjects: racism, race relations, sterotypes, human sexuality, multiculturalism, Indian culture
Influences: George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy
Notable Works and Roles: Russell Peters Outsourced
Russell Dominic Peters[4] (born 1970 in Brampton, Ontario[5]) is a Canadian stand-up comic and actor of Anglo-Indian[5] heritage.
Early Life
Peters' parents, Eric and Maureen are from Mumbai and Kolkata, India, respectively.[1][6] However, he was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to nearby Brampton, Ontario in 1975.[5] He is listed as East Indian and Catholic on his myspace page [7] as well as a bio [8]He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Russell Peters
His Work
Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989[4]. He has since also performed in the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark, South Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, UAE and the United States.
He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards,[9] the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards.[citation needed] Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs (Juste Pour Rire) Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival. He hosted the Canada Day Comedy Festival 2006.
Peters' comedy focuses largely around his Indian upbringing and racial stereotypes, as he often parodies his parents and South Asian culture. Much of his material explores the cultural divides between many different ethnicities and upbringings in a way that includes many impressions. One reason for his popularity is that he engages the audience at his shows, by talking to individuals and making some sort of remark at, or about them.
His most recent comedy special Russell Peters: Outsourced, aired on Comedy Central on August 26, 2006. Outsourced is also available on DVD and CD in stores from August 29, 2006. The DVD version features his uncensored performance. The DVD has been popular, especially in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies. Outsourced is Russell's first DVD release and remains on the National DVD Chart over one year after its release.
Click here to see a great Russell Peters video clip.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Outsourced
Russell Peters: Outsourced is a stage act dedicated to the memory of Peters' father. It showed lots of new material to his viewers. Topics ranged from different types of Asians, the English accent, terrorists, racists, Africans and his own adventures with the Chinese in KFC, Beijing. But the show remained typical of his style. Two of his most popular catchphrases are "be a man" and "somebody gonna get a hurt real bad". During the encore for the show, before doing the famous line, he mentions that he would be retiring that joke/line after that show. Many viewers misunderstood this message and believed that Peters was retiring his career as a comedian. The official reason is that his father recently passed away before the release of the DVD and many jokes were based on him. From then on, Peters would be focusing on different material.
He has also acted in the film Quarter Life Crisis.
Monsoon House
Monsoon House is a radio play that Peters performed for CBC Radio One in 2006. It stars Peters as Russell Page, a Hollywood producer.
New Sitcom on FOX
In September 2007, it was confirmed that Peters made a deal with FOX to develop a new sitcom, based on his experience of living in Canada. Peters says, "It's really a snapshot of where my family maybe was ten years ago.", and he ensures that the sitcom is "Something that will be funny and honest."[10][11]
USO Tour
Russell Peters in Afghanistan on a USO tour in November 2007. Peters participated in a USO tour in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica.[12]
Juno Awards 2008
Peters has been selected to be the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on 6 April 2008.
Popularity
Peters' popularity extends to several countries. In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out at Toronto's Air Canada Centre[14]. More than 15,000 tickets in two days for that single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 50,000 tickets were sold across six cities.
Awards and Recoginition
2004 - Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for Show Me The Funny, from the TV-series Comedy Now! (1997). Achievements
First South Asian to headline and sell-out the Apollo Theater in New York City. The Apollo show was produced by Dan Nainan, a South Asian comedian who also performed at the show.
First North American based comedian to perform in India (Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata)
45 Minutes of Russell
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Format: Stop motion animation/Comedy
Created by: Seth Green, Matthew Senreich
Voices of: Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Chad Morgan, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Seth MacFarlane
Country of origin: United States
No. of seasons: 4
No. of episodes: 70
Production
Running time: approx 11 minutes, approx. 23 minutes (Star Wars specials)
Broadcast
Original channel: Adult Swim
Picture format: 480i
Original run: February 20, 2005 – present
Robot Chicken is an Emmy Award-winning American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. They are also on the writing team, and have directed some episodes. Green provides many voices for the show.
Robot Chicken is an animated comedy that uses characters from popular shows to portray comedy situations. It uses stop motion to animated toys, action figures, dolls, and also uses claymation. The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined, although the series originally was intended to be titled "Junk in the Trunk".
The show is produced by Stoopid Monkey, ShadowMachine Films, Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Digital, and currently airs in the US as a part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of Bravo's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon's Detour block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block and in Latin America on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It premiered on Sunday, February 20, 2005.
The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007 to September 28, 2008. After an eight month hiatus, during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008 to air the remaining five episodes, Three episodes beginning with "Tubba-Bubba's Now Hubba-Hubba", which also aired as an April Fool's Day prank. The series has been renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008.
Robot Chicken is currently the highest rated original show on Adult Swim and the second highest on the network (after Family Guy).
Inspirations
"It is not a tumor, it's not a tumor at all."
The show focuses on mocking pop culture, referencing toys, films, television, and popular fads. One particular motif often involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities due to aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program even had a 30 minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007 in the US featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best. (The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award: Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).) Another recurring segment is "Hilarious Bloopers", a parody of the Bob Saget era of America's Funniest Home Videos featuring the host constantly moving around in various exaggerated, disjointed motions. Unlike that show, this skit ends with the host using various household methods of suicide.
The show's theme song was composed and performed by Les Claypool of Primus, and he sings the song's only lyrics, "It's alive!", in typical Frankenstein fashion. The ending theme of the show is not actually Muzak but from a cut from a Capitol Hi-'Q' production music album entitled "The Gonk" (famously used in George A. Romero's 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead) clucked by a chorus of chickens, which are actually the crew members.
Opening sequence
The opening sequence, which is the only part of the show that includes a robot chicken (with the exceptions of "The Black Cherry," the Christmas Special, "Suck It", "Adoptions an option" and "Book of Corrine"), opens with a mad scientist finding a road-killed chicken. He takes it back to his laboratory and refashions it into a cyborg resembling Locutus of Borg, although Matt Senreich denies that this allusion was deliberate. The mad scientist then straps it into a chair, uses specula to hold its eyes open, and forces it to watch a bank of television monitors (an allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show. In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewer that they are the Robot Chicken being forced to watch the skits. Midway through, the words Robot Chicken appear and the mad scientist can be heard screaming "It's alive!"
In the "Star Wars Special", the opening is changed to mimic Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader as depicted in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, with the mad scientist in the role of Darth Sidious and the chicken as Vader.
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Format: Stop motion animation/Comedy
Created by: Seth Green, Matthew Senreich
Voices of: Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Chad Morgan, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Seth MacFarlane
Country of origin: United States
No. of seasons: 4
No. of episodes: 70
Production
Running time: approx 11 minutes, approx. 23 minutes (Star Wars specials)
Broadcast
Original channel: Adult Swim
Picture format: 480i
Original run: February 20, 2005 – present
Robot Chicken is an Emmy Award-winning American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. They are also on the writing team, and have directed some episodes. Green provides many voices for the show.
Robot Chicken is an animated comedy that uses characters from popular shows to portray comedy situations. It uses stop motion to animated toys, action figures, dolls, and also uses claymation. The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined, although the series originally was intended to be titled "Junk in the Trunk".
The show is produced by Stoopid Monkey, ShadowMachine Films, Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Digital, and currently airs in the US as a part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of Bravo's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon's Detour block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block and in Latin America on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It premiered on Sunday, February 20, 2005.
The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007 to September 28, 2008. After an eight month hiatus, during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008 to air the remaining five episodes, Three episodes beginning with "Tubba-Bubba's Now Hubba-Hubba", which also aired as an April Fool's Day prank. The series has been renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008.
Robot Chicken is currently the highest rated original show on Adult Swim and the second highest on the network (after Family Guy).
Inspirations
"It is not a tumor, it's not a tumor at all."
The show focuses on mocking pop culture, referencing toys, films, television, and popular fads. One particular motif often involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities due to aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program even had a 30 minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007 in the US featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best. (The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award: Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).) Another recurring segment is "Hilarious Bloopers", a parody of the Bob Saget era of America's Funniest Home Videos featuring the host constantly moving around in various exaggerated, disjointed motions. Unlike that show, this skit ends with the host using various household methods of suicide.
The show's theme song was composed and performed by Les Claypool of Primus, and he sings the song's only lyrics, "It's alive!", in typical Frankenstein fashion. The ending theme of the show is not actually Muzak but from a cut from a Capitol Hi-'Q' production music album entitled "The Gonk" (famously used in George A. Romero's 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead) clucked by a chorus of chickens, which are actually the crew members.
Opening sequence
The opening sequence, which is the only part of the show that includes a robot chicken (with the exceptions of "The Black Cherry," the Christmas Special, "Suck It", "Adoptions an option" and "Book of Corrine"), opens with a mad scientist finding a road-killed chicken. He takes it back to his laboratory and refashions it into a cyborg resembling Locutus of Borg, although Matt Senreich denies that this allusion was deliberate. The mad scientist then straps it into a chair, uses specula to hold its eyes open, and forces it to watch a bank of television monitors (an allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show. In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewer that they are the Robot Chicken being forced to watch the skits. Midway through, the words Robot Chicken appear and the mad scientist can be heard screaming "It's alive!"
In the "Star Wars Special", the opening is changed to mimic Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader as depicted in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, with the mad scientist in the role of Darth Sidious and the chicken as Vader.
Jim Gaffigan
Jim Gaffigan
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Jim Gaffigan on February 20, 2010
Birth name James Christopher Gaffigan
Born July 7, 1966 (age 46)
Chesterton, Indiana, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, television, film
Nationality American
Years active 1991 – Present
Genres Deadpan, sarcasm, observational comedy, satire
Subject(s) Pop culture, everyday life, marriage, parenting, obesity, self-deprecation
Spouse Jeannie Noth Gaffigan (2003-present) 5 children
Notable works and roles Beyond the Pale
King Baby
Roy Keene on That '70s Show
Andy Franklin in My Boys
Website http://www.jimgaffigan.com
James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Early life
Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana in 1966 and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended Purdue University for one year, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1988. Gaffigan wrestled in high school and played division 3 football while in college.
Career
Stand-up career
Gaffigan performing in May 2008
Gaffigan's comedy routines often include humorous, high-pitched "asides" representing commentary on his performance from a hypothetical naive and easily offended audience member. These were inspired by his sister.
Gaffigan is also known for routines or skits relating to being lazy and eating food, especially popular routines regarding Hot Pockets, cake, and bacon. In 2004 Gaffigan's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. His 2006 album, Beyond the Pale, consisted primarily of material regarding food and American eating habits. The album was accompanied by an hour-long special on Comedy Central of the same name, which was released on DVD. His 2009 album, King Baby, was also a television special filmed in Austin, Texas at the end of his "The Sexy Tour". Comedy Central released King Baby on DVD. In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Gaffigan defended his naming of the tour, stating that he thought it would be funny that parents would be unsure about whether to bring their teenage children to the show.[1]
For Easter 2010, Gaffigan traveled to Israel and had two performances. One was at a theater in Tel Aviv and the second was at Israel's only English-speaking comedy club in Jerusalem.[2]
On February 25, 2012, Gaffigan taped a one-hour stand-up special Mr. Universe at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.[3] He announced that, based on the business model used by Louis C.K.'s Live at the Beacon Theater, the stand-up would be available online through his website for $5, with $1 of the proceeds going to the Bob Woodruff Foundation.[4]
Dad is Fat
Gaffigan released a book on May 7th 2013 titled Dad is Fat. It is a collection of essays dealing with the raising of his children as well as his own childhood. [5]
Acting career
Gaffigan performing at the Carolines on Broadway comedy club in New York City.
Gaffigan is also recognizable for having performed in several comedic commercials for Sierra Mist alongside fellow comedian Michael Ian Black. Furthermore, he appeared in two movies chosen for the 2001 Sundance Film Festival: Super Troopers and Thirty Years to Life. He appeared on That '70s Show. Gaffigan was a regular cast member of the TBS original sitcom My Boys. He left the show at the end of the third season.
Gaffigan produced a series of animated shorts for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, titled Pale Force, in which the animated Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their extremely pale skin.[6]
In 2008, he was in the movie The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.
In 2009, Gaffigan guest starred as the best friend of Murray Hewitt in one episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. Later that same year, he appeared in the Sam Mendes-directed dramedy Away We Go and the teen comedy 17 Again. On June 11, 2009, Gaffigan appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He appeared on Law & Order episodes "Flight" and "Reality Bites", as well as an episode entitled "Smile" on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
He was in an episode of The Daily Show as a man posing as a Daily Show correspondent who knows nothing about the show (he refers to it as "The John Daily Show") and simply wants to be seen with Jon Stewart. This was meant to be a parody of the 2009 White House gatecrash incident.
Broadway
Gaffigan appeared on Broadway in That Championship Season, which opened in March 2011, opposite Brian Cox, Chris Noth, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jason Patric.[7]
Personal life
He is married to Jeannie Noth, with whom he has two daughters, Marre and Katie Louise, and three sons, Jack, Michael, and Patrick.[8] Gaffigan has stated on stage, and elsewhere, that he is a Catholic.[9][10][11]
Discography
2001: Luigi's Doghouse
2001: Economics II
2003: More Moo Moos
2004: The Last Supper
2004: Doing My Time
2006: Beyond the Pale
2009: King Baby US # 56
2012: Mr. Universe US # 53
2013: The White Bread Tour
Filmography
Three Kings (1999)
Cry Baby Lane (2000)
Super Troopers (2001)
Igby Goes Down (2002)
No Sleep Till Madison (2002)
13 Going On 30 (2004)
The Great New Wonderful (2005)
Stephanie Daley (2006)
The Living Wake (2007)
What She Knew (2008)
The Love Guru (2008)
17 Again (2009)
Away We Go (2009)
The Slammin' Salmon (2009)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
Going the Distance (2010)
Salvation Boulevard (2011)
Love Sick Love (2012)
Selected television appearances
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (voice)
Random Play (VH1 Comedy Sketch Series) (1997–1999)
Law & Order (1998 and 2009)
Welcome to New York (2000–2001)
Sex and the City (2001)
Friends
The Ellen Show (2001–2002)
Hope & Faith (2003)
Ed (2003–2004)
That '70s Show (2003–2004)
I Am Comic (2010)
My Boys (2006–2009) 3 seasons
Pale Force - Recurring animated short on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (voice)
Law and Order: Criminal Intent (2002 & 2007)
WordGirl (2007-present; voice of Mr. Dudley)
Flight of the Conchords (2009)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2009 & 2013)
Bored to Death (2010)
Royal Pains (2011)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2012)
Conan (2012)
Portlandia (2013
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Jim Gaffigan on February 20, 2010
Birth name James Christopher Gaffigan
Born July 7, 1966 (age 46)
Chesterton, Indiana, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, television, film
Nationality American
Years active 1991 – Present
Genres Deadpan, sarcasm, observational comedy, satire
Subject(s) Pop culture, everyday life, marriage, parenting, obesity, self-deprecation
Spouse Jeannie Noth Gaffigan (2003-present) 5 children
Notable works and roles Beyond the Pale
King Baby
Roy Keene on That '70s Show
Andy Franklin in My Boys
Website http://www.jimgaffigan.com
James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Early life
Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana in 1966 and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended Purdue University for one year, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1988. Gaffigan wrestled in high school and played division 3 football while in college.
Career
Stand-up career
Gaffigan performing in May 2008
Gaffigan's comedy routines often include humorous, high-pitched "asides" representing commentary on his performance from a hypothetical naive and easily offended audience member. These were inspired by his sister.
Gaffigan is also known for routines or skits relating to being lazy and eating food, especially popular routines regarding Hot Pockets, cake, and bacon. In 2004 Gaffigan's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. His 2006 album, Beyond the Pale, consisted primarily of material regarding food and American eating habits. The album was accompanied by an hour-long special on Comedy Central of the same name, which was released on DVD. His 2009 album, King Baby, was also a television special filmed in Austin, Texas at the end of his "The Sexy Tour". Comedy Central released King Baby on DVD. In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Gaffigan defended his naming of the tour, stating that he thought it would be funny that parents would be unsure about whether to bring their teenage children to the show.[1]
For Easter 2010, Gaffigan traveled to Israel and had two performances. One was at a theater in Tel Aviv and the second was at Israel's only English-speaking comedy club in Jerusalem.[2]
On February 25, 2012, Gaffigan taped a one-hour stand-up special Mr. Universe at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.[3] He announced that, based on the business model used by Louis C.K.'s Live at the Beacon Theater, the stand-up would be available online through his website for $5, with $1 of the proceeds going to the Bob Woodruff Foundation.[4]
Dad is Fat
Gaffigan released a book on May 7th 2013 titled Dad is Fat. It is a collection of essays dealing with the raising of his children as well as his own childhood. [5]
Acting career
Gaffigan performing at the Carolines on Broadway comedy club in New York City.
Gaffigan is also recognizable for having performed in several comedic commercials for Sierra Mist alongside fellow comedian Michael Ian Black. Furthermore, he appeared in two movies chosen for the 2001 Sundance Film Festival: Super Troopers and Thirty Years to Life. He appeared on That '70s Show. Gaffigan was a regular cast member of the TBS original sitcom My Boys. He left the show at the end of the third season.
Gaffigan produced a series of animated shorts for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, titled Pale Force, in which the animated Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their extremely pale skin.[6]
In 2008, he was in the movie The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.
In 2009, Gaffigan guest starred as the best friend of Murray Hewitt in one episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. Later that same year, he appeared in the Sam Mendes-directed dramedy Away We Go and the teen comedy 17 Again. On June 11, 2009, Gaffigan appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He appeared on Law & Order episodes "Flight" and "Reality Bites", as well as an episode entitled "Smile" on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
He was in an episode of The Daily Show as a man posing as a Daily Show correspondent who knows nothing about the show (he refers to it as "The John Daily Show") and simply wants to be seen with Jon Stewart. This was meant to be a parody of the 2009 White House gatecrash incident.
Broadway
Gaffigan appeared on Broadway in That Championship Season, which opened in March 2011, opposite Brian Cox, Chris Noth, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jason Patric.[7]
Personal life
He is married to Jeannie Noth, with whom he has two daughters, Marre and Katie Louise, and three sons, Jack, Michael, and Patrick.[8] Gaffigan has stated on stage, and elsewhere, that he is a Catholic.[9][10][11]
Discography
2001: Luigi's Doghouse
2001: Economics II
2003: More Moo Moos
2004: The Last Supper
2004: Doing My Time
2006: Beyond the Pale
2009: King Baby US # 56
2012: Mr. Universe US # 53
2013: The White Bread Tour
Filmography
Three Kings (1999)
Cry Baby Lane (2000)
Super Troopers (2001)
Igby Goes Down (2002)
No Sleep Till Madison (2002)
13 Going On 30 (2004)
The Great New Wonderful (2005)
Stephanie Daley (2006)
The Living Wake (2007)
What She Knew (2008)
The Love Guru (2008)
17 Again (2009)
Away We Go (2009)
The Slammin' Salmon (2009)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
Going the Distance (2010)
Salvation Boulevard (2011)
Love Sick Love (2012)
Selected television appearances
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (voice)
Random Play (VH1 Comedy Sketch Series) (1997–1999)
Law & Order (1998 and 2009)
Welcome to New York (2000–2001)
Sex and the City (2001)
Friends
The Ellen Show (2001–2002)
Hope & Faith (2003)
Ed (2003–2004)
That '70s Show (2003–2004)
I Am Comic (2010)
My Boys (2006–2009) 3 seasons
Pale Force - Recurring animated short on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (voice)
Law and Order: Criminal Intent (2002 & 2007)
WordGirl (2007-present; voice of Mr. Dudley)
Flight of the Conchords (2009)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2009 & 2013)
Bored to Death (2010)
Royal Pains (2011)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2012)
Conan (2012)
Portlandia (2013
Robin Williams
Robin Williams
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Influences: Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Peter Sellers Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick Influenced: Frank Caliendo, Conan O'Brien, Paul Livingston
Spouse: Valerie Velardi (1978-1988), Marsha Garces Williams (1989-2008)
Robin Williams
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actor
1997 Good Will Hunting
Emmy Awards
Best Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
1987 Carol and Carl and Whoopi and Robin
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1987 Good Morning, Vietnam
1991 The Fisher King
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire
Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical
1978 Mork and Mindy
Cecil B. DeMille Award (2005)
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album
1980 Reality...What a Concept
1988 A Night at the Met
1989 Good Morning, Vietnam
Best Spoken Comedy Album
2003 Robin Williams - Live 2002
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Cast in a Motion Picture
1996 The Birdcage
Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1997 Good Will Hunting
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Performer of the Year
1987, 1988
Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic
1987, 1988, 1989
Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special
1987 Robin Williams: Live at the Met
1988 Comic Relief '87
1990 Comic Relief III
Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
1988 Good Morning, Vietnam
1994 Mrs. Doubtfire
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21, 1951 or 1952) is an American television, stage and film actor and comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance in Good Will Hunting, as well as six Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Grammy Awards. His film career began in 1980 following his success in the television series Mork & Mindy, and he remains active as a film actor and stand-up comedian. He was voted 13th on Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.
Robin Williams
Biography
Early life
Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurim (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from Jackson, Mississippi. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906–October 18, 1987) was a senior executive at Lincoln-Mercury Motorship in charge of the Midwest area. Robin originates from Scotland and Wales. Williams was raised in the Episcopal Church, though his mother practiced Christian Science, and he grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School, and Marin County, California where he attended the public Redwood High School. He has two half-brothers: McLaurin and the late Todd (deceased August 14, 2007).
Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mom. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high school drama department. In high school, he won an award for "Most Likely To Not Succeed".
Robin Williams
Career
In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at Juilliard. Williams, along with Christopher Reeve, were the only students accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year. Reeve and Williams had several classes together in which they were the only two students. In their dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly, whereas Reeve was more meticulous about it. Williams's manic comedy did not impress all of his teachers, but his dramatic performances impressed everyone. Williams and Reeve developed a close friendship, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horseback riding accident that paralyzed him from the neck down and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in Nine Months). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.
After appearing in the cast of the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, he was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in a guest role in the TV series Happy Days.
As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and devised plenty of rapid-fire verbal and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice. Mork's appearance was so popular with viewers that it led to a spin-off hit television sitcom, Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982. Williams became an overnight sensation, and Mork was featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchandise.
Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his standup comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982), and Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986). His standup work has been a consistent thread through his career, as is seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams Live on Broadway (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.
After some encouragement from his friend Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "A Matter of Time", but he had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict;[13] Matt Frewer took his place as a time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen.
Williams also appeared on an episode of the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Season 3, Episode 9: November 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat", the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was drawn, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?"
Robin Williams
Cinema career Genie in Disney's AladdinThe majority of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some memorable performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin). His performance in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) got Williams nominated for an Academy Award. Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos, for example The Birdcage and Mrs. Doubtfire.
His role as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Later, Williams once again used his voice talents in Fern Gully, as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 feature "Artificial Intelligence: A.I.", the 2005 animated feature Robots, the 2006 Academy Award winning Happy Feet, and an uncredited vocal performance in 2006's Everyone's Hero. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.
Williams has also starred in dramatic films, earning himself two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an unorthodox and inspiring English teacher in Dead Poets Society (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King (1991); that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie Hook. Other acclaimed dramatic films include Awakenings (1990) and What Dreams May Come (1998).
In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting. However, by the early 2000s, he was thought by some to be typecast in films such as Patch Adams (1998) and Bicentennial Man (1999) that critics complained were excessively maudlin. In 2006 Williams starred in The Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he's developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.
He is known for his wild improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised. He is a talented mimic and can jump in and out of characters and various accents at an extremely fast pace.
In 2006, he starred in five movies including Man of the Year and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30, 2006.
At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in Batman Forever until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Williams had earlier been a prime candidate to play the Joker in Batman. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, although the part of the Joker was taken by Heath Ledger.
He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian and becoming an overnight star when he landed the role in Mork & Mindy.
Robin Williams
Stand-Up Career
Robin Williams has done a number of stand-up comedy tours since the early 1970's. Some of his most notable tours include An Evening With Robin Williams (1978), Robin Williams: At The Met (1986) and Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway (2002). The latter broke many long held records for a comedy show. In some cases, tickets were sold out within thirty minutes of going on sale.
In August 2008, Williams announced a brand new 26-city tour titled "Weapons of Self Destruction". After a six year break from his record breaking tour, Robin decided the time was right to perform again due to the material that could be generated by a presidental election. Also, he was quoted as saying that this was his last chance to make cracks at the expense of the current Bush Administration.
Click here to see a great Robin Williams video clip
Personal life
His first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978, with whom he has one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming he gave her herpes without notifying her. The case was settled out of court.
On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had a serious addiction to cocaine; he has since quit. Williams was a close friend and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped too". He was also quoted as saying, "Cocaine is God's way of telling you, you're making too much money."
On August 9, 2006, Williams entered himself into a rehabilitation center for alcoholism. His publicist delivered the announcement: "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases."
On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed in July.
Other interests
Williams is an avid enthusiast of games, enjoying pen-and-paper role-playing games and online video games, recently playing Warcraft 3, Day of Defeat, Half-Life, and the first-person shooter Battlefield 2 as a sniper. On January 6, 2006, he performed live at Consumer Electronics Show during Google's keynote. In the 2006 E3, on the invitation of Will Wright, he demonstrated the creature editor of Spore while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a platypus look good." He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to Populous and Black & White.
Robin Williams has gone on record as a fan of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, and incorporated a scene referencing it in One Hour Photo.
A fan of professional road cycling, he was a regular on the US Postal and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team bus and hotels during the years Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France.
He also enjoys Rugby Union and is a big fan of former All Black, Jonah Lomu.
Charity work
Williams and his former wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy doing work for charities, including the Comic Relief fund-raising efforts. In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of the Rolling Stones's "It's Only Rock & Roll" for the charity Children's Promise.
Williams has performed for four years with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
Click here to see a great Robin Williams video clip
Filmography
Year Film Role Gross
1980 Popeye Popeye US$49.8 million
1982 The World According to Garp T.S. Garp US$29.5 million
1983 The Survivors Donald Quinelle
1984 Moscow on the Hudson Vladimir Ivanov
1986 Seize the Day Tommy Wilhelm
Club Paradise Jack Moniker
The Best of Times Jack Dundee US$7.7 million
1987 Good Morning, Vietnam Adrian Cronauer US$123.9 million
1988 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen King of the Moon US$8.0 million
Portrait of a White Marriage Air Conditioning Salesman
1989 Dead Poets Society John Keating
Back to Neverland Peter Pan
1990 Awakenings Dr. Malcolm Sayer
Cadillac Man Joey O'Brien US$27.6 million
1991 Hook Peter Banning / Peter Pan US$119.6 million
The Fisher King Parry US$42.0 million
Dead Again Doctor Cozy Carlisle
1992 Toys Leslie Zevo US$21.4 million
Aladdin Genie (Voice) Merchent (Voice) US$217.4 million
The Timekeeper The Timekeeper
FernGully: The Last Rainforest Batty Koda US$24.6 million
Shakes the Clown Mime Class Instructor
I'm From Hollywood
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire US$219.5 million
Being Human Hector
1994 In Search of Dr. Seuss Father
1995 Aladdin and the King of Thieves Genie (Voice) US$168.2 million
Jumanji Alan Parrish US$100.4 million
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Nine Months Dr. Kosevich
1996 Hamlet Osric US$5.1 million
The Secret Agent The Professor
Jack Jack Powell US$58.5 million
The Birdcage Armand Goldman
1997 Good Will Hunting Sean Maguire US$138.4 million
Flubber Professor Philip Brainard US$92.9 million
Deconstructing Harry Mel/Harry's Character
Fathers' Day Dale Putley US$28.6 million
1998 Patch Adams Hunter "Patch" Adams US$202.2 million
Junket Whore
What Dreams May Come Chris Nielsen US$55.3 million
1999 Bicentennial Man Andrew Martin
Jakob the Liar Jakob Heym/Narrator
Get Bruce
2000 Model Behavior Faremain
2001 A.I.: Artificial Intelligence Dr. Know US$78.6 million
2002 The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Insomnia Walter Finch US$67.2 million
Death to Smoochy 'Rainbow' Randolph Smiley US$4.2 million
One Hour Photo Sy Parrish US$31.5 million
2004 Noel Charlie Boyd/The Priest
House of D Pappass US$210,826
The Final Cut Alan W. Hakman
2005 In Search of Ted Demme
The Big White Paul Barnell
Robots Fender US$128.2 million
The Aristocrats Himself
2006 Man of the Year Tom Dobbs US$12.5 million
Night At The Museum Teddy Roosevelt US$250.8 million
Happy Feet Ramon/Lovelace (voice) US$194.9 million
Everyone's Hero Napoleon Cross (voice) US$6.1 million
RV Bob Munro US$86.8 million
The Night Listener Gabriel Noone
2007 License to Wed Reverend Frank US$43.8 million
August Rush Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace
2009 Old Dogs Lead post-production
Shrink TBA filming
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian Theodore Roosevelt filming
*************************************************
Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
*************************************************************
Discography
Williams sings a version of "Come Together" with Bobby McFerrin on In My Life, a Beatles tribute album produced by George Martin. He also sings "A Mi Manera (My Way)", on the Happy Feet soundtrack. For the 1993 soundtrack of Mrs. Doubtfire, and the film, he sings a rendition of a fragment of Gioacchino Rossini's "Largo al factotum" from The Barber of Seville.
Williams also appeared in the music video of Bobby McFerrin's hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".
Reality...What a Concept (1979)
Throbbing Python of Love (1983)
A Night at the Met (1986)
Pecos Bill (1988)
Live 2002 (2002)
DVDs and videos
An Evening with Robin Williams (1982, VHS)
Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986, VHS)
Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002)
Television guest appearances
As "Robert Ellison" on Homicide: Life on the Street (1994)
As "Thomas" on Friends (1997)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (2000)
"That's Fucking Historical" episode of Mind of Mencia (2006)
Real Time With Bill Maher (2006)
CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 It Helps To Laugh (2006)
TV Land's Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg (2007)
CBS's Late Show with David Letterman (2007)
BBC's Men Who Do Comedy (2007)
CBS's Late Show with David Letterman (2008) (First show after start of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike)
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live 2008 (Segment titled "I'm Fuckin' Ben Affleck")
"The Russian Idol" on American Idol's 2008 "Idol Gives Back" special
As Merritt Rook on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008)
Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com
Rick Mercer Born: Richard Vincent Mercer, October 17, 1969 (1969-10-17) (age 38), St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador), is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and a blogger.
Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one-man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. A pointed, satirical political commentary on Canadian life after Meech Lake, Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada.
He dropped out of high school before completing his diploma requirements and was given an honorary one.
Rick Mercer
Television shows
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
In 1992, he created and performed his second show, I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again, which was also a popular touring show. Also in that year, he began to work with former CODCO members Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, and with fellow Newfoundlander Greg Thomey, to create a new television series for CBC Television which became This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
In the first eight seasons of 22 Minutes, Mercer provided some of the show's signature moments, including having lunch at a Harvey's fast food restaurant with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and an Internet petition (on the 22 Minutes website) to force Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris.
Mercer's unscripted two-minute "rants," in which he would speak directly to the camera about a current political issue, quickly became the show's signature segment. In 1998, he published a book, Streeters, which compiled many of his most famous 22 Minutes rants. It quickly became a national bestseller. In 2007 he published his second book, Rick Mercer Report: The Book.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Talking to Americans
One of Mercer's trademark comedy routines on 22 Minutes was Talking to Americans, in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with average Americans regarding Canadian politics, the weather, etc., often with hilarious results as the subject's ignorance about Canada was illustrated. One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24 hour one used by the United States. He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack. On another occasion he got the support of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo."
Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled a Talking to Americans stunt on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush. He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "Jean Poutine" (a play on the real politician's name, Jean Chrétien and the popular Canadian—especially Québécois—dish poutine). Bush was not amused at the time, and has since then refused to accept any interviews from the CBC. However, he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004. In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidate Al Gore to promise to visit the Canadian capital city of Toronto after his election (Canada's capital is Ottawa). Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.
In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based on Talking to Americans, which attracted 2.7 million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated comedy special in the history of CBC. Later, the respected ABC News program Nightline would devote a show to it. This was his last major project related to 22 Minutes—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show. It was rumoured that part of the reason he had decided to leave was due to a long-standing feud with his co-star Mary Walsh.
The Rick Mercer Report
In 2003, Made in Canada ended its run as well, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series, Rick Mercer's Monday Report. Similar in format to The Daily Show, the show debuted in January 2004. Also in 2003, Mercer went to Afghanistan to visit the Canadian troops stationed there (See: Operation Athena), resulting in the television special Christmas in Kabul.
Despite reports of a long-standing feud Mercer invited Walsh to appear on Monday Report as a special guest to promote her own series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.
At the end of its second season, Monday Report was the highest rated arts and entertainment show on the CBC. Mercer has had a who's who from the world of Canadian entertainment and politics appear as guests on his show. Ex-Prime Minister Paul Martin gave him a private tour of 24 Sussex Drive and former New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent made snow angels with Mercer on Parliament Hill. Other prominent guests were NDP leader Jack Layton, Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (now Prime Minister), then-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach, and Conservative MP Peter MacKay, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, Olympic gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt, author Pierre Berton, and recording artists Jann Arden, Bif Naked, Rush bassist Geddy Lee on how to properly toboggan down a hill, and Sarah McLachlan. When Mercer hosted a relief benefit concert for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, musical guests Barenaked Ladies appeared in a segment Mercer shot backstage completely naked.
The Rick Mercer Report continued
Since Mercer launched his own show, he became a regular target of his old show 22 Minutes. Criticism of Mercer focused mostly on his ongoing support of the Canadian Forces and his personal wealth.
In 2005, the CBC moved Monday Report to Tuesday nights, which caused the show's name to be changed to The Rick Mercer Report. On his blog, Mercer wrote of the time slot shift that "we ended the season as the highest rated comedy show on the network. Clearly some drastic changes were needed."
A book by Mercer, Rick Mercer Report: The Book, based on his television program, was published on September 25, 2007, by Doubleday Canada. This was Mercer's first book since his bestselling Streeters of 1998, and contained a collection of the best of Mercer's "rants" from the first four seasons of The Rick Mercer Report, together with choice moments from interviews for the program and other writings by Mercer. On CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada on September 21, Shelagh Rogers said of the book that “it’s the most fun I’ve had in bed in a long time." The book entered the Globe and Mail books chart on October 6 at number three. A continuing commercial success, it has been reprinted seven times within three months and topped the bestseller lists in the week before Christmas.
A new season of Rick Mercer Report began on October 2, 2007. The season premiere featured an appearance by Conrad Black, offering his 'celebrity tip' on waxing maple leaves. Guests on subsequent editions of the show have included Newfoundland premier Danny Williams and former PM Jean Chrétien.
Film appearances
Mercer has also appeared in a few films, including Secret Nation, Understanding Bliss and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
Awards
Mercer has received more than 20 Gemini Awards for his television work. He has also been a winner of the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, presented to him at the 2003 Banff Television Festival. In 1993, Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells honoured Mercer with the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Artist of the Year award. In 2004, Mercer was presented with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Mercer donated his $15,000 cash prize to the LSPU hall, the theatre in Newfoundland where Mercer performed his early work.
Mercer holds honorary degrees from Laurentian University in Sudbury and Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's. Rick Mercer received an honorary high school diploma for his outstanding efforts and determination from Landmark East School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Mercer was awarded the 30th Annual Bob Edwards Award in Calgary.
In 2007, he was named honorary colonel of the 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based in Shearwater, Nova Scotia; the squadron flies an aging fleet of Sea King helicopters.
Spokesperson and endorsements
Rick Mercer is also co-chair, along with Belinda Stronach, in the Spread the Net campaign, partnered through UNICEF. Spread the Net provides bed nets for $10 each to prevent the spread of malaria among children in Africa.
In December 2004 Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising the One-Tonne Challenge for the Government of Canada. Mercer also appeared as a model in a national ad for men's clothing store, Harry Rosen, wearing a Canali suit. All of Mercer's fees for the campaign went to Casey House, a hospice in Toronto for people living with AIDS. Casey House was founded by June Callwood, who appeared as a celebrity guest on Monday Report.
In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of the Canadian AIDS Society.
Mercer has also narrated an animated science video on climate change for Science North in Sudbury.
Mercer has been named the honorary colonel of 12 Wing Shearwater's 423 Squadron, a three-year posting designed to raise the morale of, and draw attention to, the unit based outside Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Personal life
Mercer's long-time partner is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and is currently the executive producer of The Rick Mercer Report. Mercer neither hides nor seeks to publicise his sexuality. He regards his personal life as private, and says little about it publicly. Rick Mercer was also a part of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets when he was in his teen years.
Click here to see a great Rick Mercer video clip
*************************************************
Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
*************************************************************
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com
Rick Mercer Born: Richard Vincent Mercer, October 17, 1969 (1969-10-17) (age 38), St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador), is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and a blogger.
Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one-man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. A pointed, satirical political commentary on Canadian life after Meech Lake, Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada.
He dropped out of high school before completing his diploma requirements and was given an honorary one.
Rick Mercer
Television shows
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
In 1992, he created and performed his second show, I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again, which was also a popular touring show. Also in that year, he began to work with former CODCO members Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, and with fellow Newfoundlander Greg Thomey, to create a new television series for CBC Television which became This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
In the first eight seasons of 22 Minutes, Mercer provided some of the show's signature moments, including having lunch at a Harvey's fast food restaurant with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and an Internet petition (on the 22 Minutes website) to force Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris.
Mercer's unscripted two-minute "rants," in which he would speak directly to the camera about a current political issue, quickly became the show's signature segment. In 1998, he published a book, Streeters, which compiled many of his most famous 22 Minutes rants. It quickly became a national bestseller. In 2007 he published his second book, Rick Mercer Report: The Book.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Talking to Americans
One of Mercer's trademark comedy routines on 22 Minutes was Talking to Americans, in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with average Americans regarding Canadian politics, the weather, etc., often with hilarious results as the subject's ignorance about Canada was illustrated. One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24 hour one used by the United States. He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack. On another occasion he got the support of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo."
Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled a Talking to Americans stunt on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush. He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "Jean Poutine" (a play on the real politician's name, Jean Chrétien and the popular Canadian—especially Québécois—dish poutine). Bush was not amused at the time, and has since then refused to accept any interviews from the CBC. However, he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004. In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidate Al Gore to promise to visit the Canadian capital city of Toronto after his election (Canada's capital is Ottawa). Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.
In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based on Talking to Americans, which attracted 2.7 million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated comedy special in the history of CBC. Later, the respected ABC News program Nightline would devote a show to it. This was his last major project related to 22 Minutes—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show. It was rumoured that part of the reason he had decided to leave was due to a long-standing feud with his co-star Mary Walsh.
The Rick Mercer Report
In 2003, Made in Canada ended its run as well, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series, Rick Mercer's Monday Report. Similar in format to The Daily Show, the show debuted in January 2004. Also in 2003, Mercer went to Afghanistan to visit the Canadian troops stationed there (See: Operation Athena), resulting in the television special Christmas in Kabul.
Despite reports of a long-standing feud Mercer invited Walsh to appear on Monday Report as a special guest to promote her own series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.
At the end of its second season, Monday Report was the highest rated arts and entertainment show on the CBC. Mercer has had a who's who from the world of Canadian entertainment and politics appear as guests on his show. Ex-Prime Minister Paul Martin gave him a private tour of 24 Sussex Drive and former New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent made snow angels with Mercer on Parliament Hill. Other prominent guests were NDP leader Jack Layton, Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (now Prime Minister), then-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach, and Conservative MP Peter MacKay, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, Olympic gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt, author Pierre Berton, and recording artists Jann Arden, Bif Naked, Rush bassist Geddy Lee on how to properly toboggan down a hill, and Sarah McLachlan. When Mercer hosted a relief benefit concert for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, musical guests Barenaked Ladies appeared in a segment Mercer shot backstage completely naked.
The Rick Mercer Report continued
Since Mercer launched his own show, he became a regular target of his old show 22 Minutes. Criticism of Mercer focused mostly on his ongoing support of the Canadian Forces and his personal wealth.
In 2005, the CBC moved Monday Report to Tuesday nights, which caused the show's name to be changed to The Rick Mercer Report. On his blog, Mercer wrote of the time slot shift that "we ended the season as the highest rated comedy show on the network. Clearly some drastic changes were needed."
A book by Mercer, Rick Mercer Report: The Book, based on his television program, was published on September 25, 2007, by Doubleday Canada. This was Mercer's first book since his bestselling Streeters of 1998, and contained a collection of the best of Mercer's "rants" from the first four seasons of The Rick Mercer Report, together with choice moments from interviews for the program and other writings by Mercer. On CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada on September 21, Shelagh Rogers said of the book that “it’s the most fun I’ve had in bed in a long time." The book entered the Globe and Mail books chart on October 6 at number three. A continuing commercial success, it has been reprinted seven times within three months and topped the bestseller lists in the week before Christmas.
A new season of Rick Mercer Report began on October 2, 2007. The season premiere featured an appearance by Conrad Black, offering his 'celebrity tip' on waxing maple leaves. Guests on subsequent editions of the show have included Newfoundland premier Danny Williams and former PM Jean Chrétien.
Film appearances
Mercer has also appeared in a few films, including Secret Nation, Understanding Bliss and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
Awards
Mercer has received more than 20 Gemini Awards for his television work. He has also been a winner of the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, presented to him at the 2003 Banff Television Festival. In 1993, Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells honoured Mercer with the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Artist of the Year award. In 2004, Mercer was presented with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Mercer donated his $15,000 cash prize to the LSPU hall, the theatre in Newfoundland where Mercer performed his early work.
Mercer holds honorary degrees from Laurentian University in Sudbury and Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's. Rick Mercer received an honorary high school diploma for his outstanding efforts and determination from Landmark East School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Mercer was awarded the 30th Annual Bob Edwards Award in Calgary.
In 2007, he was named honorary colonel of the 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based in Shearwater, Nova Scotia; the squadron flies an aging fleet of Sea King helicopters.
Spokesperson and endorsements
Rick Mercer is also co-chair, along with Belinda Stronach, in the Spread the Net campaign, partnered through UNICEF. Spread the Net provides bed nets for $10 each to prevent the spread of malaria among children in Africa.
In December 2004 Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising the One-Tonne Challenge for the Government of Canada. Mercer also appeared as a model in a national ad for men's clothing store, Harry Rosen, wearing a Canali suit. All of Mercer's fees for the campaign went to Casey House, a hospice in Toronto for people living with AIDS. Casey House was founded by June Callwood, who appeared as a celebrity guest on Monday Report.
In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of the Canadian AIDS Society.
Mercer has also narrated an animated science video on climate change for Science North in Sudbury.
Mercer has been named the honorary colonel of 12 Wing Shearwater's 423 Squadron, a three-year posting designed to raise the morale of, and draw attention to, the unit based outside Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Personal life
Mercer's long-time partner is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and is currently the executive producer of The Rick Mercer Report. Mercer neither hides nor seeks to publicise his sexuality. He regards his personal life as private, and says little about it publicly. Rick Mercer was also a part of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets when he was in his teen years.
Click here to see a great Rick Mercer video clip
*************************************************
Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
*************************************************************
The Red Green Show
The Red Green Show
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Format: Sitcom,Sketch comedy
Created by: Steve Smith, Rick Green
Starring: Steve Smith, Patrick McKenna, Rick Green
Country of origin: Canada
No. of episodes: 300
Production
Camera setup: Multiple-camera and Single camera Running time: 21 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel: CHCH, CFPL, Global, CBC Television
Picture format: 240p (Deinterlaced 480i SDTV)
Original run: 1991 – April 7, 2006
The Red Green Show is a television comedy that aired on CBC Television in Canada and on PBS in the United States from 1991 until the series finale 7 April 2006 on CBC. Reruns currently air on CBC Television, The Comedy Network, and various PBS stations. It was produced by S&S Productions, which is owned by Steve and Morag Smith, and directed by William G. Elliott.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
The Red Green Show
The show
The Red Green Show is essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy series, and is a parody of home improvement, do-it-yourself, fishing, and other outdoors shows (particularly The Red Fisher Show). The plot of a typical episode is expressed through a series of comedic sketches that are spread throughout the episode. These sketches draw from the same single set of characters and almost always take place inside Possum Lodge. Between the main plot sketches are an assortment of usually unrelated segments that touch on a variety of topics, from home improvement and marriage advice to slapstick comedy. Throughout the fifteen seasons, none of the cast portrayed more than one character, which is very unusual for a sketch comedy show.
The Red Green Show
The title character, Red Green (Steve Smith), is a lazy handyman who generally tries to find shortcuts to most of his projects, trusting the vast majority of his work to duct tape (which he calls "the handyman's secret weapon" and the "universal adapter"). He is the president of the Possum Lodge, a fictional men's club in the small town of Possum Lake, Canada, near the also-fictional town of Port Asbestos. He and his fellow lodge members have their own TV show (which is more or less the show itself), in which they give humorous lessons and demonstrations in repair work and outdoor activities (such as fishing and camping), and advice for men on relating to women, among other things. The characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, from SCTV's Great White North sketch, are an obvious comparison and a likely inspiration (with Dave Thomas, who played Doug McKenzie, appearing on The Red Green Show along with his real life brother Ian Thomas, as Ben and Dougie Franklin).
The Red Green Show
The show's basic concept is that it is a cable TV show, taped in part on a hand-held camera by Red's nephew Harold. The show's structure has evolved over time and now includes several regular segments that appear in almost every show. These segments are interspersed with each episode's three main plot segments, and they include such staples as the "Possum Lodge Word Game", "Handyman Corner", and "Adventures with Bill" (a slapstick home movie-style sketch with a voiceover by Red).
The Red Green Show
In "Handyman Corner", Red attempts to demonstrate creative and often humorous ways to tackle relatively common tasks, such as taking out the trash or making use of derelict cars. Memorable examples include a paddlewheeler made out of a van on pallets and a revolving door, a jetpack made from two propane tanks, a hybrid car from recycled golf carts and satellite dishes, and a kiddie ride made from a bar stool attached to the agitator of a washing machine. Green often uses duct tape in these projects; in one episode, he even tried to duct tape the Ontario-Quebec border as a potential solution to Quebec separatism. The segment customarily concludes with the aphorism "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
The Red Green Show
"Adventures with Bill" is a black-and-white segment in the form of a narrated home movie, in which Red and Bill attempt to accomplish a task, trying out a sport, or go on some adventure, invariably leading to slapstick comedy. (Later in the series, other characters would be featured, sometimes without Red or Bill.) Red narrates each Adventure as the action occurs.
The Red Green Show
Red also gives sage advice from behind his fly tying workbench, "North of Forty", usually talking to older men about married life or coping with changing society ("Let's face it," he quips in one episode, "these days, if you're not young, you're old.") This segment always concludes with "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together." "Buddy System" involved Red and another character giving men advice on how to get out of a jam with their wives, although Red was usually replaced by another character in later seasons.
The Red Green Show
"The Possum Lodge Word Game" usually appears as the second or third segment of the show, immediately following the first plot segment. It is structured much like Password and Pyramid, in which the objective is to get a contestant to say a certain word in thirty seconds by giving them various clues. On this program, however, the contestant almost always gives either way off or odd answers through the segment, but finally says the correct word by accident, usually as part of a punch line.
The Red Green Show
In earlier episodes, Red often recites small bits of poetry in the woods, and the segments are named depending on the season and a humorous twist on a famous saying. For example, a winter segment is named "Winter of Our Discount Tent". In later seasons, the characters give brief biographical sketches (consisting of various odd historical photos accompanied by narration) of "famous" Possum Lake residents.
The Red Green Show
Other regular segments include "The Experts", where Red and another character answer alleged letters from viewers and always give ridiculous advice; Ranger Gord's "educational" safety cartoons (featuring anthropomorphic animals that look like Red and Harold); and occasional advice segments by Dalton Humphrey and Mike Hamar. Hap Shaughnessy appears in many segments and always tells outlandish stories about his life—among other things, he claims to have been an astronaut, to have invented television and basketball, and to have once advised Walt Disney on how many fingers to put on Mickey Mouse.
The Red Green Show
The show usually concludes with Red giving a message to his wife, Bernice (usually a double entendre), and delivering his signature piece of life advice in the form of a hockey metaphor: "Keep your stick on the ice." This is followed by a general meeting of the Possum Lodge membership, which begins with the ritual stating of the Lodge motto: "Quando omni flunkus moritati" (Pseudo-Latin for "When all else fails, play dead"). From season 6 onward, this is followed by the Man's Prayer: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."
The Red Green Show
History of the show
Smith originally created the character of Red Green for his 1979–1985 sketch comedy series Smith & Smith. The sketch was a parody of the long-running Canadian outdoors show The Red Fisher Show (1968–1989), starring BH "Red" Fisher, in which Red and his friends would show silent films of their fishing trips with commentary at "Scuttlebutt Lodge". The character also appeared in Me & Max and The Comedy Mill before becoming the focus of his own series.
The Red Green Show
The Red Green Show was produced first by CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario, then by CFPL in London, then by the Global Television Network, before finally finding its permanent home at CBC Television for the 1997 season (its seventh) onward. The show was renamed The New Red Green Show upon its move to Global, and would keep this title until its second season at CBC.
The Red Green Show
The show ended April 7, 2006 after its 15th season with exactly 300 episodes. (This longevity inspired a joke in one episode, where Red says "The question is, can you do anything with crap? Obviously the answer is yes, we're in our fourteenth season.")
The Red Green Show
The last episode was filmed on November 5, 2005, at the Showline Studios Harbourside location. At the time the season began taping, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was locked out, rendering the show's studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre unusable. The last episode concluded with the show breaking the fourth wall by thanking the audience and fans for their popularity. In addition, the Man's Prayer was changed to "I'm a man / but I changed / because I had to / Oh, well."
The Red Green Show
The low-budget movie Duct Tape Forever (2002), was based on The Red Green Show. It was screened in select American theaters, but did not receive a wide release. It has since appeared occasionally on PBS stations during pledge drives. It is also available on DVD.
The Red Green Show
As the show gained popularity, Steve Smith also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, as Red Green, entitled North of 40 in which he would give advice to readers.
The Red Green Show
In previous years, the show would stage live mini-telethons (sometimes called "Red Green-a-thons") for public television stations in the United States. These usually coincided with national PBS fundraising drives, and featured contests between various PBS stations carrying the show. This was done to encourage new stations to carry Red Green, for those who already have it to continue it, and in one year Red playfully dumped stations that chose to discontinue the show in a wheelbarrow.
The Red Green Show
Since 2000, Red Green has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.
The Red Green Show
Smith says he has no intentions of ever reprising his character, partially because he has found it more difficult to maintain the character's distinctive gravelly voice as well as staying in-character.[citation needed] However, there is a Red Green cartoon, Planet Harold, in development, said to be a prequel in which Harold is a teenager.
The Red Green Show
DVD release
There are six compilation DVDs, labelled as "Stuffed and Mounted" volumes 1 through 6. Each DVD contains episodes from various seasons of the show, up to Season 10 (the most current season at the time these DVDs were released) however Season 2 was for some reason not featured on any of these volumes. Also, each episode on the "Stuffed and Mounted" DVDs features a spoken word introduction by Steve Smith (out of character, as evidenced by his higher pitched voice).
The Red Green Show
In May 2006, the seventh season of the show was the first complete season to be released on DVD. The eighth season DVD set was released on 15 May 2007. The ninth (1999) season was released on DVD February 26th 2008. The tenth (2000) will be released on September 16th 2008. The studio plans to release all 15 seasons on DVD, but no word has surfaced on the release dates of the other 11 seasons.
The complete season sets are identified by year, not season number; thus the 7th season is labelled as "1997 Season", the 8th season is "1998 Season", and so on.
Click here to see a great Red Green Show video clip
The Red Green Show
Main characters
Red Green
The title character of The Red Green Show, Red (Steve Smith) is the leader of Possum Lodge and a self-proclaimed handyman who is constantly extolling the virtues of duct tape ("the handyman's secret weapon"). He is married to Bernice Green and does not have any children. He is seldom seen without his trademark red-and-green suspenders.
According to Red's DVD biography, Red became the leader of Possum Lodge after gradually becoming more involved with it over time and becoming "the only guy nobody hated." At one point, he borrowed a large sum of money from his brother just before his brother lost his job. In repayment, Red employed his nephew Harold as the producer and director of The Red Green Show.
In addition to being a handyman, Red also has several main philosophies in life, some of which are passed on to the lodge as a whole. Chief among them is the phrase "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (pseudo-Latin for "When all else fails, play dead"). He also concludes each of his Handyman Corner segments with the phrase, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
Red owns what is known as "the Possum Van", an early 80s model Dodge Ram cargo van, painted as a grey possum on a pale blue background, and with a license plate reading simply "POSSUM". It is one of Red's few vehicles that actually runs. It has played (and donated) many parts in Handyman's Corner projects.
Red's dry, often sarcastic wit is balanced by a strong sense of camaraderie with his fellow lodge members, partly because he directs most of his sarcasm toward Harold. Despite this, Harold and the rest of Possum Lodge seem to regard Red with a high level of respect, though occasionally some of the lodge members will challenge his authority in one way or another.
Harold Green
Harold (Patrick McKenna) is Red's nephew and the fictional producer and director of The Red Green Show. He is a nerd—he has a significant overbite, wears thick glasses, is very eager and sensitive, and is one of the most intelligent members of Possum Lodge. He is often appalled by the behavior of the other lodge members (and even Red himself), and he puts a lot of effort into trying to change everyone's behavior, usually with little to no success.
Harold's advanced knowledge of computers, television and technology originally landed him the job of producer and director of the TV show. Later in the show's history, he became employed at Multicorp and went to work in the neighboring town of Port Asbestos. He later became the publicity manager for Possum Lake, and eventually fell in love with Bonnie, a commercial truck driver who shares nearly all of his unusual mannerisms. The two were married in the final episode of the series.
Harold and Red spend much of their time on the show trading insults and poking fun at each other. While they have shown they can cooperate with one another at times, Harold is often very critical of Red's ideas and schemes, but usually ends up going along with them anyway.
In the movie Duct Tape Forever, Harold is not a member of the Possum Lodge. At the end, the brotherhood accept him and take him in.
The Red Green Show
Main Characters continued
Dalton Humphrey
Dalton (Bob Bainborough) is the owner of Humphrey's Everything Store and is one of Red's best friends. He is one of the few financially successful lodge members, most notably because he makes up fake history for the junk he sells in his store and fools gullible city people into thinking they're priceless antiques and paying a fortune for them. He is also a notorious cheapskate. In the meantime, he tries to conserve money as much as possible, shortchanging and cheating people if necessary. When he isn't complaining about the state of things at his store, he generally complains about his troubled marriage to Ann Marie and their daughter's spending habits. ("Thirty dollars for a pair of jeans! Can you believe it?!")
Dalton has been with the show since season 4 and takes part in the vast majority of the show's main storylines. He has a strong relationship with Red, joining him on his regular fishing trips and taking part in many aspects of the Possum Lodge operations. He also takes his fatherhood very seriously, often trying to pass on his ideas and wisdom to other people (most notably Harold). He generally tells people exactly what he thinks of them, even if it means offending them.
Ann Marie only appeared onscreen once, in the final episode where she and Dalton renewed their wedding vows (her face was obscured by her bridal veil), however she was sometimes seen in shadow in scenes set near their home (her voice was provided by Jennifer Irwin). Their daughter, Tabitha, appeared in the film Duct Tape Forever although there she goes by the name Mandy.
Mike Hamar
Mike (Wayne Robson) is a career criminal who joined Possum Lodge while on parole from federal prison. He has become another of Red's best friends and often tries to help out around the Lodge, though he is not very good at handyman tasks in general. He talks a lot about his troubled childhood—mostly about his mother (an exotic dancer) and many fathers. Mike suffers from low self-esteem and poor planning, usually causing those around him to try to cheer him up again. ("No, that's okay Mike. The wall looks good with the hole in it.") He is the only character who regularly refers to Red as "Mr. Green." As revealed in the final episode, Mike eventually becomes a police officer, causing the crime rate to plummet... since he now has a full-time job.
Winston Rothschild, III
Winston (Jeff Lumby) is the owner and sole employee of Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services. Like Dalton and Mike, Winston is one of Red Green's friends and takes part in the day-to-day operations at Possum Lodge. He is always seen wearing a hard hat, a white button-down shirt, a bowtie, hip waders, and heavy boots. He is generally upbeat and has a positive outlook on life, and is usually able to look on the bright side of things even in the face of certain disaster. He is also a fan of self help speakers Anthony Anthony (whom he likes to quote) and Walter Mollusk.
A true entrepreneur, Winston describes sewage and septic sucking as his lifelong dream. He owns his own equipment and a septic truck—apparently his only means of transportation, even on his usually unsuccessful dates. Throughout the series, he appears in a wide variety of commercials advertising his septic sucking business, almost always with a humorous quip ("We're number one in the number two business"; "We'll take that smell off your hands"; etc.). In later episodes, his commercials tend to parody the advertising campaigns of numerous Canadian companies.
The Red Green Show
Secondary characters
The following characters appear frequently on the show, but almost never within the main story segments.
Bill Smith
Bill (Rick Green) is the star of the "Adventures with Bill" segment, in which he and at least one other character (usually Red) attempt to perform relatively simple tasks or try a sport or game in the clumsiest, most accident-prone way possible. (These segments are done in a silent home-movie format with a voiceover by Red, which, interestingly, seems to switch back and forth between past and present tense.) Bill rarely actually speaks, and has only appeared on the main set of the show in the second season (still silently) and in the series' final episode—these are also the only times Bill is ever seen in color, since the "Adventures" segments are shot in black & white. In some segments, Bill can be heard speaking in gibberish, but the explanation for not hearing him clearly is usually that the camera they use for these segments has a weak microphone. Later in the show's history, the "Adventures with Bill" segment was expanded to include more characters and not necessarily Bill himself.
In each "Adventures" segment in which Bill appears, he usually attempts to do something of an outdoors nature, such as backpacking, building something, chopping down a tree, or playing a sport. Each of his actions are basically slapstick comedy routines—for example, when he swings an axe, it flies out of his hands and smashes into another character or Red's Possum Van. In what has become a classic occurrence, Bill often manages to knock the side mirrors, or one of them, off the van. He can also store large tools and miscellaneous items in his overalls, and pull them out on demand. Many segments show Bill getting hurt somehow, but apparently not seriously or permanently. (One segment in particular ends with Bill's arms crushed and flattened in a grape press.) There is generally no continuity from one "Adventures" segment to the next, and Bill comes back in the following episode good as new.
The Red Green Show
Secondary characters continued
Edgar K. B. Montrose
Edgar Montrose (Graham Greene) is Possum Lodge's explosives enthusiast. He believes that any problem (including leaky roofs and invasive weeds) can be solved with explosives. He is usually seen wearing singed overalls, a cracked construction helmet and a pair of ear protectors, though he rarely covers his ears with them. According to himself, Edgar was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and he started using explosives at a young age. He later enlisted in the Army and was dishonorably discharged after only three weeks, when he blew up the main office ("turns out they were only thinking of building a new one").
Edgar's heavy use of explosives over the years has caused him to lose most of his hearing. As he says, "What doesn't kill you, makes you hard of hearing." This often leads to nonsensical responses to questions. (For example, Red asks him, "What have you brought for us today, Edgar?" and Edgar responds, "Oh, just fine, Red.") He is also missing a finger on his left hand, though the story of how he lost it changes each time he tells it. He claims not to have many friends, and according to his DVD biography, he "has yet to meet a woman that likes to spend a Saturday night watching him blow a fully grown Douglas Fir tree clean over the lake."
Edgar's middle initials, K.B., are rumored to stand for "Ka Boom!", his favorite catchphrase. His favorite movie is The Bridge on the River Kwai, saying, "Did you see that baby go up at the end?"
After seeing the movie Dances With Wolves, Edgar thought that the "native guy" (Kicking Bird) should have received an Oscar for his role. (Graham Greene played both roles.)
Hap Shaughnessy
Hap Shaughnessy (Gordon Pinsent) is the water-taxi captain of Possum Lake, but he is much better known at Possum Lodge for his tall tales. In virtually every appearance he makes on the show, he makes a ridiculous claim to have been a significant person in history, or to have accomplished some incredible feat. Nobody else on the show believes him, but he will go to great lengths to tell his stories anyway. For example, he has claimed that he invented basketball while working undercover for the CIA, that he once filled in for Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and that he even fought a whale for "ten, twenty months." In one episode, it is hinted that he lies about his past because he has a poor self-image.
Hap is always seen wearing a Royal Canadian Regiment baseball cap, which is a nod to Pinsent's own military service as a soldier in the Regiment during the early 1950s.
Ed Frid
Ed Frid (Jerry Schaefer) is the animal control officer of Possum Lake. Ironically, he is deathly afraid of almost all animals and believes they are out to get him. (He is most afraid of hamsters—"They're evil. E-vil.") He is featured on The Red Green Show in the "Talking Animals" segment, in which Red tries to get Ed to show the audience a small animal, such as a weasel or a leech. Invariably, something goes wrong and causes Ed to panic, usually bringing an abrupt and comedic end to the segment.
Ranger Gord
Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) is the local forest ranger who spends almost all of his time alone in Fire Watch Tower 13, and, later in the series, Tower 3. His full name is Gordon Ranger, but he prefers not to be called "Ranger Ranger." He is always seen wearing his ranger outfit (which he apparently launders using only a blow dryer), and he finds various eccentric ways to pass his time, even while Red is visiting. For example, he has been seen making nature-sounds tapes by mimicking animal noises into a tape recorder, and he claims to use baked beans as his alarm clock. In one episode, he even is found by Red to be hibernating.
Gord has worked in his watch tower for more than fourteen years without a paycheck, and claims to have been a forest ranger his entire life. His apparent reason for becoming a ranger was that he thought Smokey the Bear was talking directly to him in one of his famous public service announcements ("Only you can prevent forest fires"). He frequently breaks out in tears during Red's visits as he talks about how lonely he is and/or how much of a sacrifice he makes at his job. During one visit, Gord claimed to have gotten so lonely that he ate the watch tower, then later moved on to another tower in season 7. Gord sometimes laments about his lack of recognition. Once, he thought that someone had left him some honorary medallions, only to learn from Red that they were beer bottle caps (Gord thought that a Budweiser cap was for being a "bud of the forest").
Later in the series (seasons 9 to 13, between 1999 and 2004), Ranger Gord made a series of 23 short "educational" cartoons about the environment. Written, animated, produced, directed and voiced by Gord himself, these films always feature an animated version of Gord as a muscle-bound super-hero type, and Red and Harold Green make appearances as a possum and beaver, respectively. (Dalton and Mike also appear in one short, depicted as a bear and a raccoon, respectively.) The cartoons' subjects have included finding money at the end of a rainbow, planting a cell phone to grow a telephone pole, and a fire fight against the Sun and its deadly ultraviolet rays. (The cartoons were actually written by staff writers, and were designed, directed and animated by Bryce Hallett of Frog Feet Productions.)
The original fire watch tower shown in seasons 1–2 appeared to be a simple treehouse. From seasons 3–6, it was filmed in an actual watch tower (in reality, located at Port Carling, Ont.). By season 8, it was a set. Gord appeared in the Lodge during season 7, saying that he eaten the front two legs of the tower and caused it to fall over. In the movie Duct Tape Forever, the tower had burned down and Ranger Gord was then in charge of a train station.
The Red Green Show
PBS Airing Notes
During Season 12, SDPB aired the final episodes of that year before Canada did. This was because at that time SDPB aired Red Green five days per week.
*************************************************
Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
*************************************************************
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Format: Sitcom,Sketch comedy
Created by: Steve Smith, Rick Green
Starring: Steve Smith, Patrick McKenna, Rick Green
Country of origin: Canada
No. of episodes: 300
Production
Camera setup: Multiple-camera and Single camera Running time: 21 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel: CHCH, CFPL, Global, CBC Television
Picture format: 240p (Deinterlaced 480i SDTV)
Original run: 1991 – April 7, 2006
The Red Green Show is a television comedy that aired on CBC Television in Canada and on PBS in the United States from 1991 until the series finale 7 April 2006 on CBC. Reruns currently air on CBC Television, The Comedy Network, and various PBS stations. It was produced by S&S Productions, which is owned by Steve and Morag Smith, and directed by William G. Elliott.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
The Red Green Show
The show
The Red Green Show is essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy series, and is a parody of home improvement, do-it-yourself, fishing, and other outdoors shows (particularly The Red Fisher Show). The plot of a typical episode is expressed through a series of comedic sketches that are spread throughout the episode. These sketches draw from the same single set of characters and almost always take place inside Possum Lodge. Between the main plot sketches are an assortment of usually unrelated segments that touch on a variety of topics, from home improvement and marriage advice to slapstick comedy. Throughout the fifteen seasons, none of the cast portrayed more than one character, which is very unusual for a sketch comedy show.
The Red Green Show
The title character, Red Green (Steve Smith), is a lazy handyman who generally tries to find shortcuts to most of his projects, trusting the vast majority of his work to duct tape (which he calls "the handyman's secret weapon" and the "universal adapter"). He is the president of the Possum Lodge, a fictional men's club in the small town of Possum Lake, Canada, near the also-fictional town of Port Asbestos. He and his fellow lodge members have their own TV show (which is more or less the show itself), in which they give humorous lessons and demonstrations in repair work and outdoor activities (such as fishing and camping), and advice for men on relating to women, among other things. The characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, from SCTV's Great White North sketch, are an obvious comparison and a likely inspiration (with Dave Thomas, who played Doug McKenzie, appearing on The Red Green Show along with his real life brother Ian Thomas, as Ben and Dougie Franklin).
The Red Green Show
The show's basic concept is that it is a cable TV show, taped in part on a hand-held camera by Red's nephew Harold. The show's structure has evolved over time and now includes several regular segments that appear in almost every show. These segments are interspersed with each episode's three main plot segments, and they include such staples as the "Possum Lodge Word Game", "Handyman Corner", and "Adventures with Bill" (a slapstick home movie-style sketch with a voiceover by Red).
The Red Green Show
In "Handyman Corner", Red attempts to demonstrate creative and often humorous ways to tackle relatively common tasks, such as taking out the trash or making use of derelict cars. Memorable examples include a paddlewheeler made out of a van on pallets and a revolving door, a jetpack made from two propane tanks, a hybrid car from recycled golf carts and satellite dishes, and a kiddie ride made from a bar stool attached to the agitator of a washing machine. Green often uses duct tape in these projects; in one episode, he even tried to duct tape the Ontario-Quebec border as a potential solution to Quebec separatism. The segment customarily concludes with the aphorism "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
The Red Green Show
"Adventures with Bill" is a black-and-white segment in the form of a narrated home movie, in which Red and Bill attempt to accomplish a task, trying out a sport, or go on some adventure, invariably leading to slapstick comedy. (Later in the series, other characters would be featured, sometimes without Red or Bill.) Red narrates each Adventure as the action occurs.
The Red Green Show
Red also gives sage advice from behind his fly tying workbench, "North of Forty", usually talking to older men about married life or coping with changing society ("Let's face it," he quips in one episode, "these days, if you're not young, you're old.") This segment always concludes with "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together." "Buddy System" involved Red and another character giving men advice on how to get out of a jam with their wives, although Red was usually replaced by another character in later seasons.
The Red Green Show
"The Possum Lodge Word Game" usually appears as the second or third segment of the show, immediately following the first plot segment. It is structured much like Password and Pyramid, in which the objective is to get a contestant to say a certain word in thirty seconds by giving them various clues. On this program, however, the contestant almost always gives either way off or odd answers through the segment, but finally says the correct word by accident, usually as part of a punch line.
The Red Green Show
In earlier episodes, Red often recites small bits of poetry in the woods, and the segments are named depending on the season and a humorous twist on a famous saying. For example, a winter segment is named "Winter of Our Discount Tent". In later seasons, the characters give brief biographical sketches (consisting of various odd historical photos accompanied by narration) of "famous" Possum Lake residents.
The Red Green Show
Other regular segments include "The Experts", where Red and another character answer alleged letters from viewers and always give ridiculous advice; Ranger Gord's "educational" safety cartoons (featuring anthropomorphic animals that look like Red and Harold); and occasional advice segments by Dalton Humphrey and Mike Hamar. Hap Shaughnessy appears in many segments and always tells outlandish stories about his life—among other things, he claims to have been an astronaut, to have invented television and basketball, and to have once advised Walt Disney on how many fingers to put on Mickey Mouse.
The Red Green Show
The show usually concludes with Red giving a message to his wife, Bernice (usually a double entendre), and delivering his signature piece of life advice in the form of a hockey metaphor: "Keep your stick on the ice." This is followed by a general meeting of the Possum Lodge membership, which begins with the ritual stating of the Lodge motto: "Quando omni flunkus moritati" (Pseudo-Latin for "When all else fails, play dead"). From season 6 onward, this is followed by the Man's Prayer: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."
The Red Green Show
History of the show
Smith originally created the character of Red Green for his 1979–1985 sketch comedy series Smith & Smith. The sketch was a parody of the long-running Canadian outdoors show The Red Fisher Show (1968–1989), starring BH "Red" Fisher, in which Red and his friends would show silent films of their fishing trips with commentary at "Scuttlebutt Lodge". The character also appeared in Me & Max and The Comedy Mill before becoming the focus of his own series.
The Red Green Show
The Red Green Show was produced first by CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario, then by CFPL in London, then by the Global Television Network, before finally finding its permanent home at CBC Television for the 1997 season (its seventh) onward. The show was renamed The New Red Green Show upon its move to Global, and would keep this title until its second season at CBC.
The Red Green Show
The show ended April 7, 2006 after its 15th season with exactly 300 episodes. (This longevity inspired a joke in one episode, where Red says "The question is, can you do anything with crap? Obviously the answer is yes, we're in our fourteenth season.")
The Red Green Show
The last episode was filmed on November 5, 2005, at the Showline Studios Harbourside location. At the time the season began taping, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was locked out, rendering the show's studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre unusable. The last episode concluded with the show breaking the fourth wall by thanking the audience and fans for their popularity. In addition, the Man's Prayer was changed to "I'm a man / but I changed / because I had to / Oh, well."
The Red Green Show
The low-budget movie Duct Tape Forever (2002), was based on The Red Green Show. It was screened in select American theaters, but did not receive a wide release. It has since appeared occasionally on PBS stations during pledge drives. It is also available on DVD.
The Red Green Show
As the show gained popularity, Steve Smith also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, as Red Green, entitled North of 40 in which he would give advice to readers.
The Red Green Show
In previous years, the show would stage live mini-telethons (sometimes called "Red Green-a-thons") for public television stations in the United States. These usually coincided with national PBS fundraising drives, and featured contests between various PBS stations carrying the show. This was done to encourage new stations to carry Red Green, for those who already have it to continue it, and in one year Red playfully dumped stations that chose to discontinue the show in a wheelbarrow.
The Red Green Show
Since 2000, Red Green has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.
The Red Green Show
Smith says he has no intentions of ever reprising his character, partially because he has found it more difficult to maintain the character's distinctive gravelly voice as well as staying in-character.[citation needed] However, there is a Red Green cartoon, Planet Harold, in development, said to be a prequel in which Harold is a teenager.
The Red Green Show
DVD release
There are six compilation DVDs, labelled as "Stuffed and Mounted" volumes 1 through 6. Each DVD contains episodes from various seasons of the show, up to Season 10 (the most current season at the time these DVDs were released) however Season 2 was for some reason not featured on any of these volumes. Also, each episode on the "Stuffed and Mounted" DVDs features a spoken word introduction by Steve Smith (out of character, as evidenced by his higher pitched voice).
The Red Green Show
In May 2006, the seventh season of the show was the first complete season to be released on DVD. The eighth season DVD set was released on 15 May 2007. The ninth (1999) season was released on DVD February 26th 2008. The tenth (2000) will be released on September 16th 2008. The studio plans to release all 15 seasons on DVD, but no word has surfaced on the release dates of the other 11 seasons.
The complete season sets are identified by year, not season number; thus the 7th season is labelled as "1997 Season", the 8th season is "1998 Season", and so on.
Click here to see a great Red Green Show video clip
The Red Green Show
Main characters
Red Green
The title character of The Red Green Show, Red (Steve Smith) is the leader of Possum Lodge and a self-proclaimed handyman who is constantly extolling the virtues of duct tape ("the handyman's secret weapon"). He is married to Bernice Green and does not have any children. He is seldom seen without his trademark red-and-green suspenders.
According to Red's DVD biography, Red became the leader of Possum Lodge after gradually becoming more involved with it over time and becoming "the only guy nobody hated." At one point, he borrowed a large sum of money from his brother just before his brother lost his job. In repayment, Red employed his nephew Harold as the producer and director of The Red Green Show.
In addition to being a handyman, Red also has several main philosophies in life, some of which are passed on to the lodge as a whole. Chief among them is the phrase "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (pseudo-Latin for "When all else fails, play dead"). He also concludes each of his Handyman Corner segments with the phrase, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
Red owns what is known as "the Possum Van", an early 80s model Dodge Ram cargo van, painted as a grey possum on a pale blue background, and with a license plate reading simply "POSSUM". It is one of Red's few vehicles that actually runs. It has played (and donated) many parts in Handyman's Corner projects.
Red's dry, often sarcastic wit is balanced by a strong sense of camaraderie with his fellow lodge members, partly because he directs most of his sarcasm toward Harold. Despite this, Harold and the rest of Possum Lodge seem to regard Red with a high level of respect, though occasionally some of the lodge members will challenge his authority in one way or another.
Harold Green
Harold (Patrick McKenna) is Red's nephew and the fictional producer and director of The Red Green Show. He is a nerd—he has a significant overbite, wears thick glasses, is very eager and sensitive, and is one of the most intelligent members of Possum Lodge. He is often appalled by the behavior of the other lodge members (and even Red himself), and he puts a lot of effort into trying to change everyone's behavior, usually with little to no success.
Harold's advanced knowledge of computers, television and technology originally landed him the job of producer and director of the TV show. Later in the show's history, he became employed at Multicorp and went to work in the neighboring town of Port Asbestos. He later became the publicity manager for Possum Lake, and eventually fell in love with Bonnie, a commercial truck driver who shares nearly all of his unusual mannerisms. The two were married in the final episode of the series.
Harold and Red spend much of their time on the show trading insults and poking fun at each other. While they have shown they can cooperate with one another at times, Harold is often very critical of Red's ideas and schemes, but usually ends up going along with them anyway.
In the movie Duct Tape Forever, Harold is not a member of the Possum Lodge. At the end, the brotherhood accept him and take him in.
The Red Green Show
Main Characters continued
Dalton Humphrey
Dalton (Bob Bainborough) is the owner of Humphrey's Everything Store and is one of Red's best friends. He is one of the few financially successful lodge members, most notably because he makes up fake history for the junk he sells in his store and fools gullible city people into thinking they're priceless antiques and paying a fortune for them. He is also a notorious cheapskate. In the meantime, he tries to conserve money as much as possible, shortchanging and cheating people if necessary. When he isn't complaining about the state of things at his store, he generally complains about his troubled marriage to Ann Marie and their daughter's spending habits. ("Thirty dollars for a pair of jeans! Can you believe it?!")
Dalton has been with the show since season 4 and takes part in the vast majority of the show's main storylines. He has a strong relationship with Red, joining him on his regular fishing trips and taking part in many aspects of the Possum Lodge operations. He also takes his fatherhood very seriously, often trying to pass on his ideas and wisdom to other people (most notably Harold). He generally tells people exactly what he thinks of them, even if it means offending them.
Ann Marie only appeared onscreen once, in the final episode where she and Dalton renewed their wedding vows (her face was obscured by her bridal veil), however she was sometimes seen in shadow in scenes set near their home (her voice was provided by Jennifer Irwin). Their daughter, Tabitha, appeared in the film Duct Tape Forever although there she goes by the name Mandy.
Mike Hamar
Mike (Wayne Robson) is a career criminal who joined Possum Lodge while on parole from federal prison. He has become another of Red's best friends and often tries to help out around the Lodge, though he is not very good at handyman tasks in general. He talks a lot about his troubled childhood—mostly about his mother (an exotic dancer) and many fathers. Mike suffers from low self-esteem and poor planning, usually causing those around him to try to cheer him up again. ("No, that's okay Mike. The wall looks good with the hole in it.") He is the only character who regularly refers to Red as "Mr. Green." As revealed in the final episode, Mike eventually becomes a police officer, causing the crime rate to plummet... since he now has a full-time job.
Winston Rothschild, III
Winston (Jeff Lumby) is the owner and sole employee of Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services. Like Dalton and Mike, Winston is one of Red Green's friends and takes part in the day-to-day operations at Possum Lodge. He is always seen wearing a hard hat, a white button-down shirt, a bowtie, hip waders, and heavy boots. He is generally upbeat and has a positive outlook on life, and is usually able to look on the bright side of things even in the face of certain disaster. He is also a fan of self help speakers Anthony Anthony (whom he likes to quote) and Walter Mollusk.
A true entrepreneur, Winston describes sewage and septic sucking as his lifelong dream. He owns his own equipment and a septic truck—apparently his only means of transportation, even on his usually unsuccessful dates. Throughout the series, he appears in a wide variety of commercials advertising his septic sucking business, almost always with a humorous quip ("We're number one in the number two business"; "We'll take that smell off your hands"; etc.). In later episodes, his commercials tend to parody the advertising campaigns of numerous Canadian companies.
The Red Green Show
Secondary characters
The following characters appear frequently on the show, but almost never within the main story segments.
Bill Smith
Bill (Rick Green) is the star of the "Adventures with Bill" segment, in which he and at least one other character (usually Red) attempt to perform relatively simple tasks or try a sport or game in the clumsiest, most accident-prone way possible. (These segments are done in a silent home-movie format with a voiceover by Red, which, interestingly, seems to switch back and forth between past and present tense.) Bill rarely actually speaks, and has only appeared on the main set of the show in the second season (still silently) and in the series' final episode—these are also the only times Bill is ever seen in color, since the "Adventures" segments are shot in black & white. In some segments, Bill can be heard speaking in gibberish, but the explanation for not hearing him clearly is usually that the camera they use for these segments has a weak microphone. Later in the show's history, the "Adventures with Bill" segment was expanded to include more characters and not necessarily Bill himself.
In each "Adventures" segment in which Bill appears, he usually attempts to do something of an outdoors nature, such as backpacking, building something, chopping down a tree, or playing a sport. Each of his actions are basically slapstick comedy routines—for example, when he swings an axe, it flies out of his hands and smashes into another character or Red's Possum Van. In what has become a classic occurrence, Bill often manages to knock the side mirrors, or one of them, off the van. He can also store large tools and miscellaneous items in his overalls, and pull them out on demand. Many segments show Bill getting hurt somehow, but apparently not seriously or permanently. (One segment in particular ends with Bill's arms crushed and flattened in a grape press.) There is generally no continuity from one "Adventures" segment to the next, and Bill comes back in the following episode good as new.
The Red Green Show
Secondary characters continued
Edgar K. B. Montrose
Edgar Montrose (Graham Greene) is Possum Lodge's explosives enthusiast. He believes that any problem (including leaky roofs and invasive weeds) can be solved with explosives. He is usually seen wearing singed overalls, a cracked construction helmet and a pair of ear protectors, though he rarely covers his ears with them. According to himself, Edgar was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and he started using explosives at a young age. He later enlisted in the Army and was dishonorably discharged after only three weeks, when he blew up the main office ("turns out they were only thinking of building a new one").
Edgar's heavy use of explosives over the years has caused him to lose most of his hearing. As he says, "What doesn't kill you, makes you hard of hearing." This often leads to nonsensical responses to questions. (For example, Red asks him, "What have you brought for us today, Edgar?" and Edgar responds, "Oh, just fine, Red.") He is also missing a finger on his left hand, though the story of how he lost it changes each time he tells it. He claims not to have many friends, and according to his DVD biography, he "has yet to meet a woman that likes to spend a Saturday night watching him blow a fully grown Douglas Fir tree clean over the lake."
Edgar's middle initials, K.B., are rumored to stand for "Ka Boom!", his favorite catchphrase. His favorite movie is The Bridge on the River Kwai, saying, "Did you see that baby go up at the end?"
After seeing the movie Dances With Wolves, Edgar thought that the "native guy" (Kicking Bird) should have received an Oscar for his role. (Graham Greene played both roles.)
Hap Shaughnessy
Hap Shaughnessy (Gordon Pinsent) is the water-taxi captain of Possum Lake, but he is much better known at Possum Lodge for his tall tales. In virtually every appearance he makes on the show, he makes a ridiculous claim to have been a significant person in history, or to have accomplished some incredible feat. Nobody else on the show believes him, but he will go to great lengths to tell his stories anyway. For example, he has claimed that he invented basketball while working undercover for the CIA, that he once filled in for Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and that he even fought a whale for "ten, twenty months." In one episode, it is hinted that he lies about his past because he has a poor self-image.
Hap is always seen wearing a Royal Canadian Regiment baseball cap, which is a nod to Pinsent's own military service as a soldier in the Regiment during the early 1950s.
Ed Frid
Ed Frid (Jerry Schaefer) is the animal control officer of Possum Lake. Ironically, he is deathly afraid of almost all animals and believes they are out to get him. (He is most afraid of hamsters—"They're evil. E-vil.") He is featured on The Red Green Show in the "Talking Animals" segment, in which Red tries to get Ed to show the audience a small animal, such as a weasel or a leech. Invariably, something goes wrong and causes Ed to panic, usually bringing an abrupt and comedic end to the segment.
Ranger Gord
Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) is the local forest ranger who spends almost all of his time alone in Fire Watch Tower 13, and, later in the series, Tower 3. His full name is Gordon Ranger, but he prefers not to be called "Ranger Ranger." He is always seen wearing his ranger outfit (which he apparently launders using only a blow dryer), and he finds various eccentric ways to pass his time, even while Red is visiting. For example, he has been seen making nature-sounds tapes by mimicking animal noises into a tape recorder, and he claims to use baked beans as his alarm clock. In one episode, he even is found by Red to be hibernating.
Gord has worked in his watch tower for more than fourteen years without a paycheck, and claims to have been a forest ranger his entire life. His apparent reason for becoming a ranger was that he thought Smokey the Bear was talking directly to him in one of his famous public service announcements ("Only you can prevent forest fires"). He frequently breaks out in tears during Red's visits as he talks about how lonely he is and/or how much of a sacrifice he makes at his job. During one visit, Gord claimed to have gotten so lonely that he ate the watch tower, then later moved on to another tower in season 7. Gord sometimes laments about his lack of recognition. Once, he thought that someone had left him some honorary medallions, only to learn from Red that they were beer bottle caps (Gord thought that a Budweiser cap was for being a "bud of the forest").
Later in the series (seasons 9 to 13, between 1999 and 2004), Ranger Gord made a series of 23 short "educational" cartoons about the environment. Written, animated, produced, directed and voiced by Gord himself, these films always feature an animated version of Gord as a muscle-bound super-hero type, and Red and Harold Green make appearances as a possum and beaver, respectively. (Dalton and Mike also appear in one short, depicted as a bear and a raccoon, respectively.) The cartoons' subjects have included finding money at the end of a rainbow, planting a cell phone to grow a telephone pole, and a fire fight against the Sun and its deadly ultraviolet rays. (The cartoons were actually written by staff writers, and were designed, directed and animated by Bryce Hallett of Frog Feet Productions.)
The original fire watch tower shown in seasons 1–2 appeared to be a simple treehouse. From seasons 3–6, it was filmed in an actual watch tower (in reality, located at Port Carling, Ont.). By season 8, it was a set. Gord appeared in the Lodge during season 7, saying that he eaten the front two legs of the tower and caused it to fall over. In the movie Duct Tape Forever, the tower had burned down and Ranger Gord was then in charge of a train station.
The Red Green Show
PBS Airing Notes
During Season 12, SDPB aired the final episodes of that year before Canada did. This was because at that time SDPB aired Red Green five days per week.
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Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
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Bobby Collins
Bobby Collins (comedian)
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Bobby Collins
Birth name Robert Edward Collins
Born September 21, 1951 (age 61)
New York, New York,
United States
Medium Stand-up, film, television
Nationality American
Years active 1980 to present
Genres Stand-up comedy
Subject(s) Observational comedy
Influences Red Skelton, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Alan King
Website www.bobbycollins.com
Bobby Collins[1] is an American stand-up comedian and film actor and has released six comedy albums: I'm on the Boat, Women and Children First, On the Inside, I Wanna Go Home, You’re Not Coming With Us, Mr. New York and Out of Bounds.
He has opened for such showbiz stars as Frank Sinatra, Cher, Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett and Dolly Parton and was Rosie O'Donnell's predecessor in hosting “VH-1’s Standup Spotlight.”[2] He has also appeared in numerous television shows and movies, and is regularly featured on XM Satellite Radio.
Collins was nominated for a CableACE Award as well as for the American Comedy Awards 1997 “Stand-up Comic of the Year.” His second CD, “Out of Bounds,” was submitted for Grammy consideration. Described as a “perfect fusion of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis” by the New York Post, Collins is known for his live stage performances, cable TV specials, numerous talk show appearances, feature film roles and comedy CDs.
In April 2008, he release his DVD, “Bobby Collins: Live From New York City,"
Early life
(For more go to www.zanesmall.com)
Bobby Collins
Birth name Robert Edward Collins
Born September 21, 1951 (age 61)
New York, New York,
United States
Medium Stand-up, film, television
Nationality American
Years active 1980 to present
Genres Stand-up comedy
Subject(s) Observational comedy
Influences Red Skelton, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Alan King
Website www.bobbycollins.com
Bobby Collins[1] is an American stand-up comedian and film actor and has released six comedy albums: I'm on the Boat, Women and Children First, On the Inside, I Wanna Go Home, You’re Not Coming With Us, Mr. New York and Out of Bounds.
He has opened for such showbiz stars as Frank Sinatra, Cher, Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett and Dolly Parton and was Rosie O'Donnell's predecessor in hosting “VH-1’s Standup Spotlight.”[2] He has also appeared in numerous television shows and movies, and is regularly featured on XM Satellite Radio.
Collins was nominated for a CableACE Award as well as for the American Comedy Awards 1997 “Stand-up Comic of the Year.” His second CD, “Out of Bounds,” was submitted for Grammy consideration. Described as a “perfect fusion of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis” by the New York Post, Collins is known for his live stage performances, cable TV specials, numerous talk show appearances, feature film roles and comedy CDs.
In April 2008, he release his DVD, “Bobby Collins: Live From New York City,"
Early life
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