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SCTV cast remember Joe Flaherty was ‘funniest at the table,’ a mentor to young comics - The Globe and Mail

Flaherty, who was born in Pittsburgh, spent seven years at The Second City in Chicago before moving north of the border to help establish the theatre’s Toronto outpost

Flaherty, who was born in Pittsburgh, spent seven years at The Second City in Chicago before moving north of the border to help establish the company’s Toronto outpost. Even after The Second City was set up in Toronto in 1973 and “SCTV” aired its final episode in 1984, Flaherty continued to have an impact in Canada, helping to found Humber’s comedy writing and performance program back when it was still just a summer workshop. Flaherty was introduced to later generations through memorable turns as a jeering heckler in the 1996 film “Happy Gilmore” and as an old-fashioned dad in the TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks,” which ran from 1999 to 2000.

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