Sometimes my name trips people up on the phone. In 2008, for example, Hulk Hogan wrestled with it. “Bill Brioux–sounds like a wrestling name,” said the WWE’s ultimate showman. Hogan was on the line to promote the finale of American Gladiators, then in its first incarnation on NBC and City-TV. The Hulkster was shocked to
This has been going on for months now, half a year at least. Every time Donald Trump burps out another middle-of-the-night tweet or lurches into another Oval offside about Canada becoming the “51st State,” the fiercest pushback comes during the opening monologues of at least half a dozen US late night talk shows. The folks
You might want to have a drink handy for a toast: George Wendt died May 20, on the 32nd anninversary of the Cheers‘ series finale. His death at 76, peacefully in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, will no doubt inspire editorial cartoons of his Cheers character Norm Petersen arriving at the pearly
I have a rough rule of thumb when choosing a book to read: anything over 400 pages is just, as the kids say, TMI. More than that tells me that the author simply couldn’t decide what to take out, so they left everything in, say, the subject’s great-great grandfather came to America in 1852 and
I have to thank the folks at LateNighter for a cool assignment — explaining and providing a Canadian point of view on the impact of Mike Myers’ “elbow’s up” rallying cry on Saturday Night Live. You can read the full story here. As the credits started to roll, Myers flashed the double-secret “elbows-to-action” signal at
Sunday night, viewers can settle in for a three-hour salute to 50 years of Saturday Night Live (8/9c, NBC and Global). Over the years, Canadian comedy talent has shone on the series. Let’s start with creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels. I remember former New York Times TV columnist Bill Carter rhetorically asking me, “who has been
This weekend, Saturday Night Live celebrates a half century of laughs with SNL50: The Anniversary Sprecial (NBC, Peacock+,Global, STACKTV). The three hour tribute follows a re-broadcast this Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. of the very first episode of the series. Hosted by George Carlin, that premiered Oct. 11, 1975. Twenty five years ago, in 1999,
In June of 1996 I flew to Winnipeg to interview Dan Aykroyd. At the time, the former Not Ready for Prime Time Player was on location and starring as aviation executive Gordon Crawford in the CBC miniseries The Arrow. Gordon was the maverick behind the Avro Arrow, a twin-engine fighter-interceptor built by Toronto’s A.V. Roe