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2021 Calendar

2021 Calendar

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November 10th, 2020
2021 Calendar
Bea Lillie

In a career that spanned more than five decades, Bea Lillie made her New York debut alongside the incomparable Gertrude Lawrence, performing the works of super-luminaries Cole Porter and Noel Coward. She is credited with the first public performance of Coward’s iconic Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

Links

Bea Lillie- Faries at the Bottom of My Garden

BEATRICE LILLIE TONIGHT SHOW “YODELING GOLDFISH” CHATTER CARSON

Don Harron (1924-2015) a.k.a Charlie Farquharson

Don described himself as being "addicted to the laughs. It's the strongest drug I've ever known. It makes heroin seem like aspirin. It wraps around you like love."

Don’t miss this clip of Don’s interview with Peter Gzowski. Peter begins with a clip from the 1950’s of Don promoting a new CBC Television program – an astonishing performance that makes Robin Williams look sedate.

Links
Johnny Wayne (1918-1990) and Frank Shuster (1916-2002)

English majors at UofT, Wayne and Shuster wrote their own material which combined a taste for Classical and Shakespearean themes with their consummate genius for slapstick silliness and a great love of alliteration. Ed Sullivan adored them, inviting the pair back to his show a record 67 times.

Shuster: Are you sure we're alone?

Wayne: Yes.

Shuster: Then who's that beside you?

Wayne: That's you!

Shuster: Yes. But can I be trusted?

Links

Rinse the Blood Off My Toga

Laughing at ourselves: Dave Broadfoot and Paul Gross

Luba Goy remembers comedy legend Dave Broadfoot

"Due South" Documentary "Ride forever"

An introduction to "due South"

Minding the store: King of Kensington and Kim's Convenience

King of Kensington and Kim's Convenience brought Canada into the mutlicultural heart of downtown Toronto, albeit in very different ways!

"We might have some cultural differences, but when it comes to family, we are all the same.” Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Mr. Kim)

King of Kensington

The Impact of Season One | Kim's Convenience

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Home on the Range

The Prairies may be flat, but they certainly aren't dull! Here are some clips from Corner Gas, featuring longtime FRIENDS supporter, Eric Peterson.

Best of Oscar Leroy | Corner Gas Season 1

Best of Hank Yarbo | Corner Gas Season 5

Laughing in the face of adversity

If you haven't seen, Qallunaat!: Why white people are funny, you should! You can watch it in full on the NFB Website.

You may also want to check out these sketches by Graham Greene on Air Farce and The Mercer Report.

Graham Greene on Air Farce 111894

Lakota commercial Spoof - Graham Greene on Rick Mercer Report

Laughing on the East Coast

Canada's Eastern provinces are famous for their natural beauty, their spellbinding music, and their truly unique sense of humour.

Mary Walsh has brough East Coast humour to the whole of Canada for many years. Here are some of her best clips, including her infamous alter ego, Marg Delahunty, who got up close and personal with many a Prime Minister!

More recently, Mary starred in CBC's Little Dog. Here she is on Little Dog, presenting Tucker's Tour of Towny Delights: Downtown St. John's.

The mis-spelling of St. John's in the video title is sadly beyond our control.

Downtown St. Johns - Tucker's Tour of Towny Delights | Little Dog

Mary Walsh Comedy

22 Minutes at 22 Years: Chrétien and Harper

Off the wall: The Frantics and Kids in the Hall

The Frantics created a panoply of bizarre and unforgettable characters. A fan favourite among their carnival of originals was Mr. Canoehead, a crime-fighting superhero who, while still a mild-mannered insurance salesman, had been struck by lightning while portaging his aluminum canoe which had, in consequence, become welded to his head.

Likewise, the Kids in the Hall pushed every conceivable boundary to produce some of the whackiest humour ever. The Head Crusher may be their most famous sketch of all. Check it out, below.

Links

The Frantics Last Will and Temperment [Better Audio]

Kids in the Hall: Head Crusher

The Kids in the Hall do "Chicken Lady".

Max Ferguson

The inimitable Max Ferguson requires no introduction.

Max in the Morning

Billy Van

Billy Van's distinctively whacky humour inspired a generation of Canadian cultural icons. Below, you can watch CBC Radio Host George Stroumboulopoulos discuss how Van's appearance in The Hilarious House of Frightenstein changed his life forever.

Strombo on the Hilarious House of Frightenstein | The Chesterfield

Hilarious House of Frightenstein (Full Episode)

Funny Ladies

So many of Canada's top comedians have been women, starting with Bea Lillie. Today, female comics are leading the way, on CBC and elsewhere. Here are some highlights from this year's calendar.

40+Hangover | Baroness Von Sketch Show

Women Fully Clothed

Mohawk Girls Awkward Moments Mashup

SCTV

Second City Toronto, the improv theatre and its wunderkind off-shoot SCTV launched the careers of scores of successful comedians. There are too many to list here.

SCTV has been off the air for years, but its legacy is ever present in Schitt's Creek, the hit CBC show created by SCTV alumni, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara!

The SCTV gang would lampoon just about anything. Below, they parody Jeopardy! with Eugene Levy playing Alex Trebek, who sadly passed away in 2020.

SCTV Half Wits

Great White North: Back-Bacon and Long Underwear

'Schitt's Creek' Cast and Comics Surprise Eugene Levy During His Lifetime Achievement Award

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