George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight this week
This week features some interesting guests. Four of the guests have a connection to
This Hour Has 22 Minutes and six of them have a connection to the CBC. Seven guests are from the East Coast with one from Saskatoon, another from Scotland and two others from outside Canada. So without any further adieu, let us get to know our guests a little bit more.
Mary Walsh was born in St.
John’s, Newfoundland. She grew up in a troubled home and left to study theatre at Ryerson University in Toronto. She did not complete
her degree in pursuits to work with CODCO, produced on the East Coast, which ran on CBC from 1987 to 1992.
CODCO transformed into
This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
The 60 year old award winning
actress, comedian and social activist lives with macular degeneration. The
condition affects older adults with a loss of vision due to a damaged retina.
Mary uses her experiences to occasionally serve as the spokesperson for the
Canadian National Institute for the Blind. She married an English professor at
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Don Nichol, in 2002.
Maggie Cassella is the
youngest in a family of six children. Her Italian heritage and Catholic-Jewish
roots have influenced her along with her degrees in Philosophy and Women’s
Studies. She taught Philosophy and Religion to Connecticut students in a boarding
school. She later became a lawyer for 8.5 years helping marginalized individuals
and the gay community.
She fell in love with
a girl from Toronto and relocated where she became a Stand Up Comedian. She
performed Because I Said So in Provincetown for 21 years before appearing
regularly on STAR. She turned that experience into her own talk show called
Because I Said So, which allowed her to interview high profile celebrities and
produce a stint at TIFF. She’s written a book and two screenplays while doing
comedy on radio.
She currently stars
in
The Vent and has a production company, A Sweet Little Production Company, in
Toronto.
TUESDAY
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian
mockumentary takes place in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth,
Nova Scotia. The series ended in 2008, but the films continued afterwards in
2009 and 2013.
Mike Smith was born
in New Glasglow, Nova Scotia and grew up in Thorton. He has an English degree
from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He was once
considered a guitar prodigy and even played in the band, Sandbox. He has played
with Rush and Guns N’ Roses.
Rob Wells and
John
Paul Tremblay grew up on the same street in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. They
attended the same high school. Rob was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and moved
to Cole Harbour when he was eight. Rob is also a distant cousin to Stephen
Harper.
Frank Spadone attended Humber
College in the Photography program, which led to his career as a Comedian. He
worked with some of the top photographers and entertained crew with his sense
of humour and imitations. He began his career as a Stand Up Comedian in 1997. He
credits Second City and his grandparents for perfecting his craft. He also starred in
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle like another guest coming up this week. In addition, he has appeared on CBC's
Laugh Out Loud.
WEDNESDAY
David Sutcliffe was
born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He has an English degree from University of Toronto
where he played varsity basketball and served as a waiter before he sustained a
knee injury. He has worked with Sandra Oh, Diane Lane, Antonio Sabato Jr, and
Heather Graham in his television and film career. The 43 year old actor has
appeared on
Will and Grace, Friends,
CSI, Private Practice, and
Gilmore
Girls.
He currently stars as
Aidan Black on
Cracked as a police
offer who transfers to Emergency Task Force after struggling with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. The show revolves around people with mental illness.
Shaun Majumder was
born in Burlington, Newfoundland 40 years ago to a European mother and Bengali
Hindu Indian mother. He has explored his roots in the Canadian version of
Who Do You Think You Are?
He also explores his
background in his HBO documentary,
Every
Word Is Absolutely True. Shaun’s new show,
Majumder Manor, aired their season finale two weeks ago. It tracks
his quest to build an eco-luxe and modern four to five bedroom house in Burlington NL.
Shaun has a long
career in theatre, stand-up comedy, and improv. The Gemini winner has appeared
in
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Pushing
Tin, Unhitched, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 24, Republic of Doyle and
The Firm.
He currently
resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Shelby, and their dog Jazz.
THURSDAY
Ron James was born in Glace
Bay, Nova Scotia but later moved to Halifax. He has a History and Political
Science degree from Acadia University and intended to be a History Teacher.
James headed into theatre instead and eventually joined Second City in Toronto.
After spending time in Los Angeles doing mostly voice work for
Star Wars: Ewoks and appearing in TV
shows like
Wings, he came to Canada
where he won a writing award for
This
Hour Has 22 Minutes. He separated from his wife in 2011 and currently lives
in Toronto.
Jonny Harris is originally
from Whitehorse, Yukon before spending most of his life in St. John’s,
Newfoundland. He currently stars as George on
Murdoch Mysteries where he has received two Gemini nominations for
Best Supporting Lead in a Dramatic Series.
He’s also been a guest writer on
This Hour Has 22 Minutes along with a
long career in comedy.
FRIDAY
Billy Connolly has an
intriguing past. He first appeared with the Scottish Opera in 1978 after
working as a welder in the shipyards and performing a folk band called The
Humblebums. He has released videos, books and acted in London’s West End, The
Royal Albert Hall, Hammersmith Oden. He broke the Hammersmith’s record for
longest run in 1991. He has traveled across Australia, New Zealand, Mozambique,
Ireland, Canada, The Middle East, Hong Kong, USA, and the UK.
He’s starred with
Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Whoopi Goldberg, Dame Judi Dench, Malcolm McDowell,
Michelle Pfeiffer, Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger, Gerard Butler, Ken Watanabe,
Timothy Spall, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman. He
married Pamela Stephenson in Fiji in 1990. He’s enjoyed a long career in
comedy, theatre, BBC, and film.
Chuck Byrn has been a
professional comedian for 19 years. He’s done several comedy festivals, commercials
and appeared in
Monk and
Last Comic Standing.
