Edmonton Comedy History

Brian Hegge was a fixture on the pro am comedy scene in the mid-2000s. The former SUNshine boy (newspaper pinup model) ran an open mic in Mill Woods called Livewire.   Brian passed away April 7, 2021 Kathleen McGee wrote this tribute. "I’ll never forgot the day Brian saved a car load of comics lives. We were driving back to Edmonton from a Comedy Monday Night show in Calgary. My boyfriend at the time was driving. Five people packed in my little Saturn. I think it was Kelly Dakus, Andrew Iwanyk and then Brian Hegge in the middle seat. We were all passed out except for Brian who casually asked my dozing off and driving boyfriend if he “wouldn’t mind staying awake while he drove.” The most casual life save ever. I will miss your smokers laugh and your morning radio DJ voice. I miss those Livewire nights.  RIP Brain I hope you’re offending fat chicks while flirting with them where ever you are ." My personal story of Brian's combination of debauchery and big heartedness was a

 Another treasure from the iheartedmonton blog, reviewing a comedy battle at the Hydeaway from 2011. http://www.iheartedmonton.ca/2011/02/edvent-edmonton-comedy-battle-episode-i.html

 BlakBar is only a few years old, but it has that classic anything-can-happen vibe I love and associate with my favorite bar shows like the Sidetrack, New City, and Filthy McNasty’s.  In the few months I've been attending, I've experienced patrons singing AHMED AHMED's name to the tune of the Ole soccer chant, HOWIE MILLER sightings, and a bizarre interaction between Vancouver comic MARK HUGHES and a trio of sombrero-wearing drunks that ended with two of the three ass-migos outside with their bare butts pressed against the window glass.  BlakBar was started in 2018 by WILL HANNIGAN and is currently run by LEIF OLESON-CORMACK who took over in early 2019. They have a dinosaur skull and play really cool movies before the show. Check it out.

KEVIN MCGRATH was active in comedy from 1984 until his death, June 28, 2021.  He played every major comedy club in Canada as well as colleges and universities. He appeared on CBC, CTV, and The Comedy Network. TRENT MCLELLAN shared some heartfelt  thoughts on Kevin's passing here . I am very fond of this clip, which Kevin posted in 2009 of himself performing at Yuk Yuks. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kxB0aUGTIM0

STERLING SCOTT reminded me of this room, which ran in the summer of 2007 out in St Albert and was run by BARBARA MAY. It was not a great room, made harder by the fact most nights the host would be getting progressively drunker and doing more and more time between acts with less and less coherency  as the night went on. It was a good idea to try and be up early. I got to know JEFF NEESER a little bit at this show; he was a regular attendee and would often drive me home. I also started to develop my spontaneity on this stage. There was no value in doing prepared material, so I committed myself to going up with nothing and winging it.

"I was more happy to meet people who are nice. If the shows went good, I didn't care." - Winston Herbert Winston Herbert started comedy in 1989 and performed regularly until entering semi-retirement in 2011. He started doing comedy at the Yuk Yuks when it was next to the Point After in the south side as well as the venerable Sidetrack Café. His contemporaries included Rob Ross, Jamie Davis, Tim Koslo, Bill Cowen, Terry Ireland, and Dan Trouton. His first paid shows were the four night Yuks Saskatchewan run (Yorkton, Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford) opening for Kenny Robinson Yuk Yuks so dominated the local comedy scene at the time that when Winston worked a few shows for independant promoter Bob Angeli, he did it under a pseudonym to avoid trouble with Yuks. Winston enjoyed working with Tommy Chong, " a real nice man" and hung out with Emo Philips when the acclaimed joke writer and comic  was in town.