‘SCTV’ star Joe Flaherty dead at 82: ‘Dad was an extraordinary man’

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Comedian Joe Flaherty, who was best known for his role on the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV, has died at the age of 82.

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His daughter Gudrun told The Canadian Press that the Pittsburgh-born actor died Monday following a brief illness.

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“Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s,” she wrote in a statement.

“Cinema wasn’t merely a hobby for him; it profoundly influenced his career, particularly his unforgettable time with SCTV. He cherished every moment spent on the show, so proud of its success and so proud to be part of an amazing cast.”

Flaherty became a fan favourite of the series thanks to his roles as shady network boss Guy Caballero, news anchor Floyd Robertson and the vampiric TV host Count Floyd on the program, which also starred the late John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis.

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“After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss,” Gudrun wrote in a follow-up message shared with CBC News via SCTV producer Andrew Alexander.

“I take solace in the memories we shared and the incredible impact he had on those around him. His spirit, humour and love will be a part of me forever.”

Flaherty’s death comes little over a month after a fundraiser to support him while he was ill was shared by Short.

“Our beloved SCTV cast member, Joe Flaherty, is very ill. Joe is aware of the gravity of his failing health and would like to spend whatever time he has left at home rather than in a facility,” the message read (per the Daily Mail). “We are writing to our friends because we believe SCTV meant something to you, and that would not be the case if it were not for Joe Flaherty. He was a mentor, a director, and an inspiring improviser who gave us many of the tools we are still using in the careers he helped kickstart.”

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After spending seven years with Second City in Chicago, Flaherty came north of the border in the early 1970s to establish a Toronto branch of the comedy troupe.

After the show ended in 1984, the nine-time Emmy nominee maintained ties to the city serving as an artist-in-residence at Humber College.

Flaherty also appeared in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Happy Gilmore, Frasier, Freaks and Geeks, Slackers, Steven Spielberg’s 1941 and many more TV series and films.

His last credited screen role came in 2012 when he appeared on an episode of Call Me Fitz, which starred Jason Priestley.

In a 1999 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via The Hollywood Reporter), Flaherty said SCTV became a success because the cast “wrote for ourselves.”

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“We didn’t have a producer, nobody told us what to write, who to appeal to, we just wrote for ourselves,” he said. “We were the inmates running the asylum. We created our own little world and it paid off. … I wish we could do it again.”

In a 2022 interview with Postmedia, Aykroyd reminisced about the early years of SCTV.

“Queen and River — that was my neighbourhood. The 505 Club was where all the Second City kids went after the show. Everyone, (John) Candy, Gilda (Radner), the Murrays (Bill, Brian Doyle and Joel), (Joe) Flaherty, (Eugene) Levy, (Catherine) O’Hara … we’d be mixing with streetcar drivers and waiters and waitresses and nurses and doctors that had just come off shift. It was a great environment. It’s where I met (John) Belushi. We were listening to a Downchild Blues Band record and came up with the idea of doing (The Blues Brothers),” Aykroyd said.

On social media, Flaherty’s fans and colleagues mourned his death.

“RIP Joe Flaherty,” This Is Spinal Tap star Michael McKean wrote on X. “Lovely guy and good grief, he was funny.”

“I was incredibly fortunate to have worked with Joe Flaherty a few times,” Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Colin Mochrie added. “A sweet man that produced a lot of laughs. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

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