83. Kliph Nesteroff: Sorry, We’re Funny

“You can hardly move about Hollywood and Manhattan without bumping into Canadians,” wrote Variety in the 1960s. Scores of talented Canadian comics had already infiltrated American writers’ rooms and studios, while dreaming of a comedy scene they could call their very own. The infrastructure didn’t exist at home yet, so our comedians began to build it independently. Pushing back against cultural conservatism, media control, and national modesty, they invented a new and distinctly Canadian kind of comedy—sly, smart and subversive, character-driven and absurdist, and quietly revolutionary. Kliph Nesteroff, the “premier popular historian of comedy” (The New York Times), shares the impressive history of Canadian comedy in Sorry, We’re Funny and at this entertaining event. Moderated by Charlie Demers.

Presented in partnership with The Improv Centre.

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Charlie Demers

CHARLIE DEMERS is an author, comedian, actor, playwright, screenwriter, political activist, and one of the most frequently returning stars of CBC Radio’s The Debaters. His most recent book, Primary Obsessions, is shortlisted for the 2021 Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award.

Kliph Nesteroff

KLIPH NESTEROFF is the author of four books, including The Comedians. Called the "historian of comedy" by The New York Times, his work is praised by Mel Brooks and Steve Martin. A regular on WTF with Marc Maron, he appears on CNN and HBO, and has worked with Judd Apatow and Rob Reiner. Born in Castlegar, BC, he grew up watching Wayne and Shuster and The Kids in the Hall on CBC.