Pickle Barrel
COMEDY FANS GOT deservedly excited when the Second City reunion was announced for May 5 (with a second show added May 6) at the Mercer Street location. Members of the original cast, including Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and Dave Thomas would be onstage together in a rarer than rare appearance.
The tickets? Not cheap at $250 and $500, but the proceeds go to a worthy charity — the Second City Alumni Fund.
Seeing these great sketch performers would take us back to the groovy, moustachioed days of the early ’70s. I was 21, a university student, and would often head down to the Old Firehall for the free improv sets at the end of the show. I loved the way the characters seemed like real people, not the cartoonish burlesques found in other shows. The talent was clearly world-class, and we all knew it.
But I also found something missing. The scenarios felt a little well scrubbed for my taste. Some of us were longing for something darker, sexier, more rock ’n’ roll than what was happening on Lombard Street. But we all kept going back, charmed by the incredible talents up there on the stage. All of them were beloved in a very rare way, and we became fans for life.
If you doubt this, consider the post–Second City careers of these illustrious alumni. And then remember that I’m only, due to limitations of space, listing their obvious credits.
Eugene Levy has probably had the most visible career of late, thanks to his role in the American Pie movies and his leads in Bringing Down the House and The Man. These are movies I can take or leave, but it’s his stellar work in the Christopher Guest vehicles that are a true career high. His portrayal of Mickey, the burnt-out folkie in A Mighty Wind, shows both his comic range and his humanity.
Catherine O’Hara turns in classy work whenever she performs. As the mom in Home Alone, she was part of a cast that appeared in one of the top grossing comedies of all time. Again, with Chris Guest at the helm, her character work in his improv comedies shows why she is one of the most respected and beloved comediennes.
Martin Short continues to be the comic that other comics wish they could be. His fey wedding planner in Father of the Bride one and two is a hilarious character masterpiece, and his showbiz parody talk show, Jiminy Glick, has been a source of great Hollywood satire since its inception.
Dave Thomas, after creating the Mackenzie Brothers juggernaut (TV, film, records), has had a lot of TV success. There are few shows he hasn’t been on or contributed to, although he’s best known for his role on the sitcom Grace Under Fire. Thomas would go to Comedy Heaven if only for his note-perfect Bob Hope impression.
Andrea Martin toured her Broadway show around the world, and it’s generally considered one of the finest examples of a one person show. She also appeared as Aunt Voula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Under her name on an online movie and TV database, there are 111 entries, a testimony to her talent and staying power.
Joe Flaherty, much loved as SCTV’s Count Floyd, has recurring roles in such series as King of Queens and Robson Arms. But it’s his role as Harold Weir in Freaks and Geeks that marks his post–Second City career best.
Missing from the lineup are Rick
Moranis, who was the only SCTV
regular not to have been a member
of the live cast; Dan Ackroyd; and of
course, John Candy and Gilda
Radner. Both passed before their
time, which is why reunions can be
so joyous and yet so bittersweet. 
Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin, is the founder and owner of the Canada-wide Yuk Yuk’s chain of comedy clubs. The former comedian and TV producer is also the author of several books, including Control Freaked.
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