'Colin Andrew Mochrie' (born
November 30,
1957) is a
Scottish-
Canadian actor and
improvisational comedian. He has over 25 years of performing experience.
Biography
Born in
Kilmarnock,
Scotland, he moved with his family to Canada in
1964. Mochrie graduated as a
Valedictorian from
Killarney Secondary School in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, in
1975. He is an alumnus of
Toronto's famous
Second City comedy troupe, where he co-wrote and starred in three productions as well as directed three seasons of their national touring company.
After nine years as a regular on the British
Channel 4 hit improvisation series ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', he appeared in every episode of the
American version hosted by
Drew Carey on
ABC. He was frequently mocked by his co-stars on the show for being Canadian and for his receding hairline. At the same time, he starred in the Canadian comedy series ''
Blackfly'' and ''
Supertown Challenge''. More recently he appeared in ''
This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' on
CBC TV from
2001 through
2003, on The
WB Television Network series ''
Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'' in
2004, and starred in ''
Getting Along Famously'' in
2006.
Mochrie was a guest star of ''
The Drew Carey Show'' for three episodes: "She's Gotta Have It" (1999), "Drew Live" (1999), and "Drew Live II" (2000).
He also appeared on
Nickelodeon's ''
Figure It Out'' as a celebrity guest penalist. He eventually ended up getting slimed as an aspect of the show.
Among his best known impressions are
Peter Graves,
Colonel Klink and
CBC news anchor
Peter Mansbridge. He is also known for his 'impression' of
Craig T. Nelson. However, this is a joke, as he uses his own voice while calling himself 'Craig T. Nelson'.
Mochrie also played a minor role in the movie ''
The Tuxedo'' (2002). He starred as the curator of a museum, which
Jackie Chan's character frequently visited to see a female employee. At the end of the movie, Mochrie's character was
tazed.
In 2003, Mochrie along with
Leslie Nielsen,
Wayne Gretzky, and
Roy Halladay, appeared in print and television advertising to get people to visit Toronto again after the
SARS outbreak that struck the city.
In May 2004, he hosted a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving animal attacks on
Animal Planet known as ''Wild Survival Guide''. He has done a commercial supporting
Habitat For Humanity. He appears briefly in a commercial for Buckley's Cough Syrup, and he was featured in a commercial for
New York Fries, manning a
steamroller. He has appeared on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' as the
superhero Overly Sensitive Man.
By 2004 Mochrie was appearing in so many media spots that a new Canadian television series, ''
Corner Gas'', made light of it by having him do a
cameo appearance in the tenth episode. The gag had Mochrie appear shortly after the character of Brent mentioned that Colin Mochrie has a cameo in nearly everything. In March 2005, a
Nabisco advertising campaign starred Mochrie as the "Snack Fairy", in which he wears a
tutu. At the end of each commercial, he declares "Snack happy!" and waves his scepter with a smile.
Mochrie was a guest on the series ''
Distinguished Artists''. Teamed up with
Brad Sherwood, he tours the
United States and Canada performing classic improv games from ''Whose Line''. He also sometimes is found touring with other ''Whose Line'' alumni in the ''
Improv Allstar'' shows. Mochrie has also made two small guest appearances on ''
The Red Green Show'' as Frank Kepke, an expert on all kinds of hot dogs and wieners.
Along with
Rosie O'Donnell, Mochrie hosts a video introduction to a tour of the bakery in the Pacific Wharf area of
Disney's California Adventure. In the video, he helps explain how
sourdough bread is made.
On
December 25,
2005, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation premiered the TV movie ''The Magical Gathering''. Mochrie starred in this and his son Luke co-starred as Mochrie's character at a younger age.
In February 2007, he made a guest appearance as a priest in the seventh episode of ''
Little Mosque on the Prairie'', a Canadian television comedy series.
On March 28, 2007, Colin and fellow ''Whose Line is it Anyway?'' actor Brad Sherwood hosted part of the
Press Correspondents' Dinner with the President. In that event, Brad and Colin featured Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Karl Rove rapping. Rove's only line was, "MC Rove".
On August 29, 2007, Colin was announced to host the Canadian version of FOX's hit game show ''
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?''.
The image of Mochrie's face is used extensively in
Animutation, a style of
Flash animation.
Neil Cicierega, the father of Animutation, would place Colin in almost every Animutation he made, making the inclusion of him in Animutation somewhat of a
running gag. Mochrie is aware of his status among Animutation artists and fans, having been quoted, "It's pretty cool, but you've got to admit, it's pretty weird."
Awards
Mochrie has been nominated for 5
Canadian Comedy Awards, and has won 2. He has also won a
Gemini Award and a
Writers Guild of Canada award for
This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
[1]
Personal life
In
1989, Mochrie married
Debra McGrath. They both voiced characters in the children's television series ''
Seven Little Monsters'' (2000–03). They have a son, Luke (b. 1990).
[2]
He became close friends with fellow improv comedian
Ryan Stiles after meeting him at Second City.
[3] It is said, in the Second City 40th Anniversary Retrospective, that at one point, Stiles made Colin's wife (Deb McGrath) laugh so much, that she peed her pants.
[4]
Notes
1. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595110/awards
2. http://www.corporateartists.com/comedy_colin_mochrie.html
3. Shown in the documentary ''First Family of Comedy''
4. ''Patinkin, Sheldon, and Robert Klein.'' 'The Second City: Backstage At the World's Greatest Comedy Theater.' 1st ed. Vol. 1. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Inc., 2000. 99-107.
External links
Profiles and General Information:
★
Official website
★
★
TV.com profile
Work Related Websites:
★
Evening with Colin & Brad live tour
★
Getting Along Famously
Interviews:
★
TVNow and D.V.L. Spencer Present Colin Mochrie (Interview) 2000
★
An Interview with...Colin Mochrie 03/02/2005
★
The Comedy Couch Colin Mochrie Interview May 10, 2005
★
Interview From September of 2005
★
Audio interview with Colin Mochrie January 18th, 2006
★
Interview December 2006