Dave Broadfoot
Encyclopedia
Dave Broadfoot is a Canadian
comedian
who was born on December 5, 1925 in North Vancouver, British Columbia
, Canada
. In 1943, he joined the merchant navy
serving until 1947. He gained experience for a professional career in theater by working community theatre
, eventually gravitating towards comedy
.
For ten years he was a writer
and performer in the influential stage revue
Spring Thaw. From 1973 to 1993 he was a member of the radio
version of the Royal Canadian Air Farce
. He retired from regular performing when the troupe moved to television, although he continued to appear on the show as an occasional guest star, including the TV series finale.
In addition to stand-up
routines in the traditional format, Broadfoot creates routines based around a number of recurring characters including, most notably:
Broadfoot also starred in the short-run sitcom XPM
. He has received several ACTRA
and Juno
awards and is an Officer of the Order of Canada
. He is the author of an autobiography, Old Enough to Say What I Want (ISBN 0-7710-1657-3). He retired in 2005.
He also did voices for two animated Christmas specials George and the Christmas Star and Bluetoes the Christmas Elf and made a guest appearance as a hospital patient in the hit TV series Puppets Who Kill
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who was born on December 5, 1925 in North Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1943, he joined the merchant navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
serving until 1947. He gained experience for a professional career in theater by working community theatre
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
, eventually gravitating towards comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
.
For ten years he was a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and performer in the influential stage revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Spring Thaw. From 1973 to 1993 he was a member of the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
version of the Royal Canadian Air Farce
Royal Canadian Air Farce
Air Farce Live, also credited as Air Farce, previously Royal Canadian Air Farce, and Air Farce—Final Flight! for the final season, was a Canadian comedy series starring the comedy troupe The Royal Canadian Air Farce that previously starred in an eponymous radio show on CBC radio from 1973 to 1997...
. He retired from regular performing when the troupe moved to television, although he continued to appear on the show as an occasional guest star, including the TV series finale.
In addition to stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
routines in the traditional format, Broadfoot creates routines based around a number of recurring characters including, most notably:
- Big Bobby Clobber, a professional hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who seemed to have taken a few too many hits or else was not very sharp to begin with. - David J. Broadfoot, the Honourable Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Kicking Horse Pass, representing the New Apathetic PartyNew Apathetic PartyThe New Apathetic Party is a fictional political entity created by writers for the Royal Canadian Air Farce in the early 1970s. The party has continuously held the fictional electoral riding of Kicking Horse Pass The New Apathetic Party is a fictional political entity created by writers for the...
. (Kicking Horse PassKicking Horse PassKicking Horse Pass is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta/British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff National Parks...
is a mountain pass in the Canadian RockiesCanadian RockiesThe Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
with a negligible population.) - Sgt. Renfrew of the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP). Broadfoot performed this character for the RCMP on a number of occasions, receiving a 'promotion' each time. As of 2004, he was an honorary Sergeant-Major.
Broadfoot also starred in the short-run sitcom XPM
XPM (TV series)
XPM was a short-lived Canadian sitcom broadcast in 2004 on CBC Television. It was centred around shamed former Prime Minister Bennett Macdonald who was trying to adjust to a life where the best job he could find was at a small law firm in a shopping mall...
. He has received several ACTRA
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television, film and radio industry. Organized and presented by ACTRA, the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, which represented performers, writers and broadcast journalists, the Nellie statuettes...
and Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
awards and is an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. He is the author of an autobiography, Old Enough to Say What I Want (ISBN 0-7710-1657-3). He retired in 2005.
He also did voices for two animated Christmas specials George and the Christmas Star and Bluetoes the Christmas Elf and made a guest appearance as a hospital patient in the hit TV series Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill is a Canadian television comedy programme co-produced by The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada on the Comedy Network in 2002, and in Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004....
.