Ron James (comedian)

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Ron James
Ron james on set (cropped).JPG
Ron James taping his show in 2011.
Born (1958-01-31) January 31, 1958 (age 66) [1]
Alma mater Acadia University
Occupation(s) Stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, author
Years active1980s–present
Website www.ronjames.ca

Ron James (born January 31, 1958) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, author, and voice actor.

Contents

Early life and career

James was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia; his family later moved to Halifax during his youth. [2] He attended Acadia University, studying history and political science with the intention of becoming a history teacher. [1] During his time at Acadia he came under the influence of Evelyn Garbary, [3] who headed the theatre program, as a result of a course he was taking. [2] After graduating, he moved to Toronto and joined The Second City troupe there, working with them during the 1980s. [2] In 1989, he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Genie Awards, for his performance in the film Something About Love . [4]

He later moved to Los Angeles during the early 1990s for three years [1] and got a spot on a late-night syndicated series produced by Ron Howard’s Imagine TV, where he landed the role of Bucky Fergus, a Canadian transplant who worked for the City of Derby, Wisconsin in the Talk parody sitcom My Talk Show , which ran from 1990 to 1991 (in one episode, he bonded with another Canadian, William Shatner, after he used Canadian phrases and sayings Shatner recognized). [5] After that show was cancelled, he made some guest appearances in TV shows (such as Get A Life and Wings ) and an appearance in the movie Ernest Rides Again but mostly experienced rejection during this time [2] while incurring sizable debts. [5] He returned to Canada in 1993 [6] and turned his experience in L.A. into a stage show in 1994 called Up & Down in Shaky Town: One Man's Journey through the California Dream, which was also shown as a special on The Comedy Network. [7] Afterwards, he came across the work of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, whose style helped shape his own [2] and inspired him to start doing stand-up. [1]

Other work and awards

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 James and Jonny Harris. CBC Live at Sherway Ron James Johnny Harris.jpg
Ron James and Jonny Harris.

James starred in the television series Blackfly and Made in Canada , and won two Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Stand-up (2000) and Best One Person Show for his stand-up show The Road Between My Ears in 2004. He has also won a Gemini Award as part of the writing team for This Hour Has 22 Minutes [8] and received a Genie Award nomination for best supporting actor in the film Something About Love. [9] He had his own CBC Television series, The Ron James Show , from 2009 to 2014.

James has appeared at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, as a headliner with his own show. [10] [11] A book by Ron James, titled All Over the Map: Rambles and Ruminations from the Canadian Road was published by Doubleday Canada on September 28, 2021. It was an immediate national bestseller, entering the Canadian non-fiction list at number eight on the week of its release.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Steven Mazey (2009-01-31). "The funniest man in Canada". Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved 2009-03-21.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Richard Ouzounian (2009-03-21). "The bitterly funny life of Ron James". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  3. "Entertainment correction for March 24 - Toronto Star". The Toronto Star. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. "Dead Ringers leads Genie nominations". Ottawa Citizen , February 18, 1989.
  5. 1 2 Stephen W. Smith (2004-12-02). "All Over the Place". FFWD. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  6. Pat St. Germain (2006-11-29). "Comic Ron James credits Billy Connolly". Jam! Showbiz. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2009-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. Rob Salem (2006-12-30). "Mirth, birth and party hats". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  8. Kathryn Lyzun (2006-03-03). "Get Yourself Gone With Ron". Thunder Bay's Source. Retrieved 2009-03-21.[ dead link ]
  9. Chris Traber (2008-03-31). "Nothing's sacred as Ron James performs in Markham this week". yorkregion.com. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  10. "The Comedy Couch - Ron James Interview". www.comedycouch.com. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  11. "Ron James". IMDb. Retrieved 22 July 2017.