Strombo this week Jan 27 - Feb 1

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight this week

Sunday Jan 27  
The Strombo Show on CBC Radio 2 every Sunday night at 8pm -11pm.

Monday Jan 28
The star of Majumder Manor Shaun Majumder

Shaun Majumder was born in Burlington, Newfoundland to a Bengali Hindu Indian father and a European descended mother. This Gemini Award winner appeared in 24, Da Kink in My Hair, Robson Arms, Republic of Doyle, The Firm and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. His film work includes Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and Pushing Tin. His documentary, Every Word is Absolutely True, debuted on HBO and gained critical praise. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Shaun will be discussing his new show, Majumder Manor, where he invites audiences to his hometown of 350 people as he builds a 2.6 million, 5 star environmentally friendly lodge with high end guest cabins, a food supply and guided tours. You can see how his community, family, and friends feel about his quest to rejuvenate Burlington every Monday at 7pm on the W Network.  

Panel guest actress Jamillah Ross

Jamiliah Ross is an actor, singer and comedian who enjoys making brownies and is happy to see Wynne become the Ontario premier.

Tuesday Jan 29
Steve-O of Jackass fame.

Steve O was born Stephen Gilchrist Glover and is a stunt performer, comedian and TV personality best known for his work on Jackass. He was born in London, England to a Canadian mother and American father who was the president of the South American division of Pepsi-Cola. He moved between Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Uganda and United States. Tommy Lee mentioned Steve in his autobiography as he was impressed by the young boy’s passion to meet Motley Crue that he phoned every hotel until he was able to track down the band. Steve now hosts a reality singing competition, Killer Karaoke, on Friday’s at 9pm on truTV. 

Panel guest comedian Pat Thornton

Pat was born in Kingston, Ontario and was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Performance by a Male- Television for Comedy Bar in 2012. He won the CCA for Best Sketch Troupe in 2007. He has appeared in various TV series such as Warehouse 13, Call Me Fitz, and Jon Dore Television Show.

Wednesday Jan 30
From Vancouver George interviews Oprah Winfrey

Oprah born in impoverished Mississippi to a teenage single mother before creating an empire under her name. Her name was intended to be Orpah after a biblical character in the Book of Ruth, but it was misspelled on her birth certificate and Oprah stuck. She has overcome childhood rape and becoming pregnant at 14 only to lose her son in infancy. She landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news by the time she was 19. Although she began her career with a reputation for classy and intimate conversations with her subjects, she eventually revolutionized the tabloid talk show. Oprah is also no stranger to controversy and even her attempts to focus on literature, self-help and spirituality did not escape the critics. Her influence over the public didn't seem effected and her support for Obama delivered over a million votes in the 2008 Democratic primary race. George had the opportunity to interview Oprah last week in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Watch tonight for an exclusive interview he had in Vancouver.

Panel guest comedian Lawrence Morgenstern

Lawrence Morgenstern is a stand-up veteran of over 20 years and played in every major comedy club in Canada and the United States. He has written material for David Schwimmer, Richard Lewis and Andre Philippe Gagnon in addition to Saturday Night Live and Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Thursday Jan 31
Actor and model Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa is best known for his role as Ronon Dex on Stargate: Atlantis and Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, but this former model has also appeared as the title character in Conan the Barbarian. His father is Hawaiian while his mother is German, Irish and Native American. He has two children with Lisa Bonet. He was slashed in the face with a broken beer glass on November 15, 2008 and received around 140 stitches in reconstructive surgery and careful viewers can see his scars in later work. Jason teams up with Sylvester Stallone in Bullet to the Head in an action crime thriller about an assassin and detective who join forces to bring down a common enemy.

Panel guest comedian Jean Paul

Jean Paul was born in Trinidad, raised in Brooklyn and currently lives in Toronto. He is known for his spunk and diverse accents.

Friday Jan 1
Best of the week

Special thanks to Amanda Parsons for the words.

George is hosting a Q and A with Oprah

This week coming up is a busy one for George Stroumboulopoulos but not in the studios of the CBC in Toronto but in Edmonton Monday Jan 21, Calgary on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday with Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah is bringing her inspirational talk to those 3 Canadian cities and George just announced on The Strombo Show, he will be hosting a Q and A for an hour on stage with Oprah for those three dates, then they part ways and he is headed to Ottawa for a solo appearance at Algonquin College on Friday the 25th. I asked him if Oprah would be on his show this season. He said he would ask her.

Update on how it's going.
Here is an interview from Calgary Eyeopener of David asking George about interviewing Oprah. Listen 

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: January 21-25,2013

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight this week

MONDAY 21 JANUARY 2013

Wab Kniew was on last year and presented George with a sacred gift. Tonight Wab will present another gift and a surprise which you can see here

Wab Kinew is a member of the Midewin and has won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Award for his hip hop. He is an acclaimed journalist who hosted the series 8^th Fire and is currently the Director of Indigenous Inclusion at the University of Winnipeg. He has been one of the voices in the Idle No More movement and an advocate for creating a harmonious relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. He surprised the audience recently be asking them to participate in a flash mob. You can see the video below.

Kurt Smeaton has seen his share of our nation. He was born in Vancouver, grew up in Kanata, went to high school in Ottawa and now lives in Toronto. He is a television writer, producer, and sketch/improve comedian. He is also one of the founding members of Catch23 Improv.

  

TUESDAY 22 JANUARY 2013

Dolly Parton is a country music icon who is most known for her hits I Will Always Love You, Jolene, and 9 to 5. She has also starred in several movies including Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk. She began composing music when she was four years old. She can also play the autoharp, banjo, drums, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, flute, pennywhistle and piano. Not only is she one of the bestselling artists of all time and has her own theme park, her work has been adapted for the stage and featured on American Idol. Listen to her talk to George about country music, holidays, life story, charity work, and her new book.

Jackie Kashlan is an Armenian-American stand up comedian.  She has a half hour special on Comedy Central and was a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing. She has toured internationally and has a podcast called The Dork Forest.

WEDNESDAY 23 JANUARY 2013

 
Michael J Fox is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner who is most famous for his work on Family Ties, Back to the Future, Spin City and guest roles on Boston Legal, The Good Wife, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Rescue Me. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1991 and disclosed his condition in 1999. He has received honorary doctorate degrees for his work advocating a cure for Parkinson’s.

Chuck Byrn has been a professional comedian for 18 years. He has appeared on Sue Thomas F.B. Eye, Last Comic Standing, Monk and Comedy Now.

THURSDAY 24 JANUARY 2013

Allan Hawco's last visit with George was hugely popular for Allan's attempts at teaching George some Newfie phrases. You can see Allan and his co-star, Mark O'Brien, on Republic of Doyle.

Allan Hawco was born on Bell Island, Newfoundland but moved to Goulds, Newfoundland when he was young.  He started a business degree at Memorial University before pursuing acting at the National Theatre School of Canada. He is the youngest recipient of the school’s prestigious Gascon Thomas Award. After a great career in theatre, he became the Co-Artistic Director of The Company Theatre. His most recognizable role is from his own creation, Republic of Doyle. He is the Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Lead Actor, and Head Writer for the show. His parents and brother work on the production as well.  It currently airs in 96 countries and maintains over a million viewers a week.

Allan delighted the audience by surprising them with trays of Jam Jams, a beloved jam filled cookie from Newfoundland, and a Q &A after the interview.

Sandy Jobin-Bevan is a member of the three time Canadian Comedy Award winning improvisation troupe, Slap Happy. He was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba and has appeared in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and Dawn of the Dead along with several other television programs and films.

Friday's show will feature the best of the week and remember to tune in every Sunday for The Strombo Show on CBC Radio 2 at 8pm-11pm.

The Strombo Show's The Hundo is on iTunes

2012 was an intriguing year for music. We saw the return of some classic icons and the emergence of new artists. The Strombo Show compiled their top 100 songs and released The Hundo on December 21, 2012.

Here is some interesting trivia about the list of artists appearing on The Hundo:

39% are American.

36% are Canadian.

10% appear twice.

9% are from England.

4% are from another country (Australia, Estonia, Jamaica, and Scotland)

2% are from France.

Majority of the Canadian artist come from Toronto; followed by Vancouver and Montreal.

There are also artists from AB, BC, ON, MB, NS, and QC.

The music can be broken down into the following categories:

52% is Alternative

18% is Hip Hop/Rap

15% is Rock

10% is Other (Country, Dance, Downtempo, Experimental, Pop, R&B, Reggae, World, etc)

You can buy the entire collection for $116.31 on iTunes here. You also have the option of paying $1.29 for single songs.

You can also listen to the playlist in two parts on George’s website here

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: Jan 14-18, 2013

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight this week
 

Our guests include eclectic group of family oriented people this week hailing from USA, Haiti, Scotland, and Denmark. Our panelists feature Canada’s diversity in Stand Up comedy.

MONDAY 14 JANUARY 2013

Giovanni Ribisi may be known for his work on Friends, Avatar and now Gangster Squad, but did you know that his first name is Antonio and he has a twin sister, Marissa? He’s 15 minutes older. This Sicilian/German/English actor has also starred in Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, Lost in Translation and Public Enemies.  He has also appeared in Keane’s music video for Single Ball and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's music video Talk About the Blues. Giovanni (along with his twin sister and brother in law, Beck) are Scientologists.  His daughter, Lucia Santina (born August 6, 1997), was featured on Beck's album, The Information. He received an Emmy nomination for his guest role on My Name is Earl and a SAG nomination for Saving Private Ryan.

Ron Josol  is a Canadian-Filipino stand-up comedian who shares his thoughts on life, Filipino culture and the entertainment industry in Asia and North America.

TUESDAY 15 JANUARY 2013

Allison Williams not only stars on Girls, but is also the daughter of NBC’s news anchor, Brian Williams.This Yale graduate is mostly known for her internet popularity, Funny or Die sketches, andCollege Humor. 

Wyclef Jean is known for many things, but most do not know he was born on the same day as Eminem. This former cab driver has been married for 18 years.  There have been a few discrepancies in his narrative with a revelation that he is three years older than previously claimed and whether or not he was shot in the hand. Doctors and police claim he was cut by glass. He is, however, a three time Grammy winner. He lost his presidential candidacy for not living in his Haiti for the requisite five years.  He has been in the news for mismanagement of funds and improper expenditures for his charitable work in Haiti. He is a former member of The Fugees and has been a solo artist since 2000.

Chuck Byrn has been a professional comedian for 18 years. He has appeared on Sue Thomas F.B. Eye, Last Comic Standing, Monk and Comedy Now. 

WEDNESDAY 16 JANUARY 2013

Billy Connolly is from Glasgow, Scotland. He’s had an interesting career as a welder in the shipyards, reserve soldier in the parachute regiment of Territorial Army, banjo player and now comedian. He was married to his first wife for 16 years before he met his current wife of 23 years. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Entertainment. He will star in the two upcoming sequels to The Hobbit, but you may know him from Pocahontas, Muppet Treasure Island, The Last Samurai, Lemony Snicket, Open Season, Boondock Saints, Gulliver’s Travels, Brave, Quartet. Like Ribisi, he has also starred in The X Files.

Trixx is a regular on Much Music’s Video On Trial and has opened for Russell Peters, Cedric The Entertainer, and Tracy Morgan.

THURSDAY 17 JANUARY 2013

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is probably best known for his role as Jamie on the hit series Games of Thrones, but he has been a Danish star since 1994 when he starred in Nattevagten (Nightwatch). The role was later reprised by Ewan McGregor. He later appeared in a movie with Ewan when he starred in Black Hawk Down. He has also starred in Enigma, Kingdom of Heaven, Wimbledon, and Firewall. He is also a reputable writer, director and producer in his homeland. He’s been married for 14 years and has two children.

Dave Merheje was NOW’s 2011 Best of Toronto Award for Best Male Stand Up. This Lebanese-Canadian is known for politically incorrect and no fears attitude. You may know him from Just for Laughs, Dear Dave, We Ain’t Terrorists, Laugh Out Loud, and The Debaters.

Friday’s show will feature the best of the week. 

Remember to tune into CBC Radio 2 to listen to The Strombo Show Sunday night from 8pm-11pm.

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: January 7-11, 2013

One of the greatest aspects of George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight is its promotion of Canadian content and this week is no exception. We get to meet our nation’s stars and listen to some fantastic in depth interviews. Here is what this week has in store for us.

MONDAY 7 JANUARY 2013

Yannick Bisson may have been born in Montreal, but he began acting when he moved to Toronto as a teenager. He starred in the TV movie Hockey Night with Megan Follows (Anne of Green Gables) and Rick Moranis.  Although he has starred in other Canadian series and features such as High Tide, Soul Food, Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye, and other projects he is often associated with his lead role in Murdoch Mysteries which has its sixth season premiere tonight at 9pm (9:30NT). Yannick is married to Chantal Craig and has three adult daughters Brianna, Dominique, and Mikaela. Yannick will discuss his career and life with George. Our panel includes

Lauren Hammersley When Lauren isn’t doing photography and stand-up comedy, she is acting full time. She has starred in Stag, Jon Dore Television Show, and Mr. D.

TUESDAY 8 JANUARY 2013

David Sutcliffe is originally from Saskatoon and holds an English Literature degree from University of Toronto. David’s varsity basketball career was short lived as he had sustained a knee injury and later moved to waiting tables at a greasy diner while he pursued acting. He is most known for his roles on Gilmore Girls, Private Practice and has now moved onto Cracked, an hour long crime drama on CBC. George will discuss acting, psychology and TV with David. And our panel features 

Shaun Majumder was born in Burlington, Newfoundland to a European descended mother and Bengali Hindu Indian father. He started his career on YTV’s Clips, but is most known for his work on CBC’s This Hour has 22 Minutes. Although he is associated with his alter ego, Raj Binder, Shaun has appeared on other shows like Republic of Doyle and The Firm. He also played Kumar’s brother in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.  Shaun is also proud of his Newfoundland heritage and it shows in his HBO documentary Every Word is Absolutely True. 

WED 9 JANUARY 2013

Adam Rueben Beach is a Canadian Saulteaux actor who was born in Ashern, Manitoba. He grew up on the Lake Manitoba/Dog Cree First Nation Reserve and lost his mother when he was eight years old to a drunk driver. Eight months after his mother’s death, his father drowned in a nearby community unable to deal with his grief. He and his brothers were put into residential schools before embarking on his illustrious career in television and film. Adam has starred in Smoke Signals, Walker Texas Ranger, Flags of our Fathers, Windtalkers, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Law and Order: SVU, Skinwalkers, Thief of Time and now the lead on Arctic Air. He is also currently involved in the Idle No More campaign. George discusses acting, filming up north, and getting older with Adam. The panel features stand-up comedian Darrin Rose

Darrin Rose can be seen as Bill on Mr. D. Audiences may also know him from his time on Videos on Trial.

THURSDAY 10 JANUARY 2013

Ron James was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and has a degree in History and Political Science from Acadia University. He originally intended to be a History Teacher, but fell under the influence of Helen Starr Bogg who ran the theatre program there. Upon graduating he moved to Toronto where he worked at Second City and later moved to LA where he had an interesting career. He has also done voice work in animation for shows including Star Wars: Ewoks and RoboCop: The Animated Series. James also played a bank security guard in Tommy Boy. Ron is mostly known for his stand-up comedy and associated with The Ron James Show, which debuted its fourth season premiere earlier this week.

Plus, our comedy panel features stand-up comedian Jonny Harris

Jonny Harris is a Canadian comedian from Pouch Cove, Newfoundland and can be seen as George on Murdoch Mysteries, which had its sixth season premiere on Monday night. He has also appeared on the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Halifax Comedy Festival, The Debaters and The Sketchertons. 

Friday’s show will feature the best of the week. 

Remember to tune into CBC Radio 2  tomorrow night to hear the conclusion of The Hundo on on The Strombo Show where George will count down the top 50 songs of 2012.