Canadian humour - Personalities

Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. Canadians have excelled at comedy and humour in many domains. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical situation in North America and the world. Various trends can be noted in Canadian comedy. One thread is the portrayal of a "typical" Canadian family in an on-going radio or television se ...

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• Canadian humour - Literature
• Canadian humour - Music
• Canadian humour - Radio
• Canadian humour - Television
• Canadian humour - Personalities

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From the first major work of Canadian humour, Thomas McCulloch’s Letters of Mephibosheth Stepsure (1821-23) in the Halifax weekly Acadian Recorder, Canadian humourous writing has tended more towards prose than poetry. McCulloch's satirical letters have been described by Northrop Frye as "quiet, observant, deeply conservative in a human sense…” McCulloch's satirical persona, the "conventional, old-fashioned, homespun" farmer, is part of a tradition that originates with Addison and Swift. Compared to McCulloch’s dry, and ...

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Canadian humour, Canadian humour - Literature, Canadian humour - Music, Canadian humour - Radio, Canadian humour - Television, Canadian humour - Personalities

Read more here: » Canadian humour: Encyclopedia II - Canadian humour - Literature

Many of Canada's comedy acts and performers have started out on radio, primarily on the national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) network. While individual comedy show and segments have been around almost as long as the network, the focus has tended be more on specific shows featuring particular groups of comedians. The real beginnings of Canadian radio comedy began in the late 1930s with the debut of The Happy Gang, a long-running weekly variety show that was regularly sprinkled with corny jokes in between tunes. It deb ...

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Canadian humour, Canadian humour - Literature, Canadian humour - Music, Canadian humour - Radio, Canadian humour - Television, Canadian humour - Personalities

Read more here: » Canadian humour: Encyclopedia II - Canadian humour - Radio

Particularly in recent years, Canada has produced a number of famous musical groups who have been described as "comedy rock". Bands such as Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Früvous and Rheostatics are sometimes misunderstood as being strictly novelty bands, but in fact many of their songs use humour to illuminate more serious themes. A number of other acts, such as Corky and the Juice Pigs, Arrogant Worms and Bowser and Blue write specifically comedic songs. Nancy White is a noted Canadian musical satirist, whose comedic folk songs about Canadian culture and politics have ...

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Canadian humour, Canadian humour - Literature, Canadian humour - Music, Canadian humour - Radio, Canadian humour - Television, Canadian humour - Personalities

Read more here: » Canadian humour: Encyclopedia II - Canadian humour - Music

Many of Canada's most popular and enduring comedy shows are in the sketch comedy genre. Paradoxically, Canadian television has fared poorly with conventional, American-style sitcoms, but has often fared better with dramedies and other types of programming that break the sitcom form. Canadian television comedy begins with Wayne and Shuster, a sketch comedy duo who began on radio in 1946 before moving to television. They became one of Canada's most enduring comedy teams, not just on Canadian television, but in the United States as well: ...

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Canadian humour, Canadian humour - Literature, Canadian humour - Music, Canadian humour - Radio, Canadian humour - Television, Canadian humour - Personalities

Read more here: » Canadian humour: Encyclopedia II - Canadian humour - Television