Second City celebrates 50th anniversary

The Second City has given dozens of comedains their start.

Source: https://improv.com/irvine/comic/second+city+comedy/

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The members are a who’s who of comedy legends – John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and more. Although they achieved national and international notoriety with their network television series on Global TV, CBC and NBC, Second City came before the show and continues on to this day offering opportunities to comics.

This morning I heard the sketch and improve comedy company Second City in Toronto is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

What a ride it has been.

In the beginning
Second City started in Chicago in 1959, and first arrived in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1963. It was in 1973 that Second City officially made its home in Toronto at an old 19th Century fire house called “The Old Firehall” at 110 Lombard Street.

The Second City website explains Second City Toronto opened, going international, in 1973. There was no air conditioning, no liquor licence, and almost no audience.

In 1975, “Saturday Night Live” premieredd on NBC in the United States, with alumni of Second City including John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Gilda Radner. Bill Murray joined the next season.

In 1976, the skech and improv comedy company created the television show “SCTV”, hitting the Canadian airwaves.

Martin Short joined Second City in 1977, taking over for John Candy in “The Wizard of Ossington”, Second City Toronto’s ninth revue.

Also in 1977, Second City signed a syndication deal for “SCTV”, making it available to the world.

Dawn of the decade
Second City continued to gain a wider audience at the dawn of the 1980s.

In 1981, “SCTV” came to NBC, where the network aired the show as a late night, 90-minute program called “SCTV Network 90” on Fridays, after the Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson.

That same year Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, released a record based on their “SCTV”characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, which were dreamed up as the result of the CBC’s requirement for identifiable Canadian content. With the singing of Geddy Lee, the lead singer of Canadian band Rush, the album, entitled “The Great White North” hit the top 10.

In 1982, “SCTV” won its first Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program. One year later, in 1983, “SCTV” repeated the feat, taking home a second Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program.

In 1984, the Second City’s 25th anniversary special filmed at Chicago’s Vic Theatre and aired on HBO in the United States, and the CBC in Canada.

In 1986, the world received its first glimpse at “Wayne’s World”, and what would become iconic in comedy. Mike Myers performed a character named “Wayne” in the Toronto Second City Mainstage revue, “Not Based on Anything by Stephen King”.

In 1987, another icon got his start when Stephen Colbert took a job at the Second City office in Chicago, answering phones in the box office and selling t-shirts in exchange for free classes.

In 1988, Second City Toronto turned 15. A one hour CBC and Showtime special aired featuring clips of the 15th anniversary reunion show at Toronto’s Second City.

In 1989, Gilda Radner, who had her start at Second City, died on May 20 of ovarian cancer. She was 42 years old. That year, Second City turned 30, celebrating Chicago Second City’s 30th anniversary with a show called, “It Was 30 Years Ago Today”.

Second City kept on going, and continues to this day.

Parting thoughts
It is hard to believe the 1970s is 50 years ago now. That shouldn’t really be a surprise to me, because I was born in 1970, and that was 53-plus years ago.

But, in order to produce as many great talents as Second City has, it has to be 50 years old.

Second City Toronto has produced so many amazing comedians in the 1970s and 1980s, including Dan Aykroyd; Jayne Eastwood; Joe Flaherty; Gilda Radner; John Candy; Eugene Levy; Catherine O’Hara; Andrea Martin; Dave Thomas; Steven Kampmann; Peter Torokvei; Martin Short; Derek McGrath; Tony Rosato; Debra McGrath; Mike Myers; Colin Mochrie; and Patrick McKenna.

It is quite phenomenal the number of Canadian comedians who made it big in the United States over those years.

So much of that success is due to Second City Toronto.