Albert Howell is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

comedian, actor and writer, most noted as a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

nominee and

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

winner for his work on the writing team for the sketch comedy series ''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics wi ...

''.Scott Stinson, "Going to America; For Albert Howell, it's Rob Ford lessons and a new kind of work". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', December 23, 2013. Originally from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, where he did improv comedy with

Loose Moose Theatre The Loose Moose Theatre Company (LMTC), is a theater company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was co-founded in 1977, by Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken. LMTC has an international reputation for developing the theatrical style of improvisation ...

while studying political science at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

,Eric Volmers, "Night Shift; It's been a wild ride for Calgary native Albert Howell since he got the call from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', November 16, 2013. he later moved to Toronto to join

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

, appearing in several shows with the company in both Toronto and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

between 1993 and 1996.

Sketch comedy

After leaving Second City, Howell and colleague Andrew Currie formed the comedy duo The Devil's Advocates; styling themselves as devil-horned spokesmen for

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

, they began regularly appearing on

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

's ''

Speakers Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking, open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the northeast corner of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London, England. Historically there ...

'' to present sarcastic commentary on videos recorded by other contributors. Their segments became one of the most popular features of the program, particularly after a senior citizen named Harry began recording his own videos criticizing their videos, turning into a recurring feud.Maryam Sanati, "Devilish duo score heavenly CTV deal". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 19, 1998. They attracted such a following that at least one special episode of the series was devoted entirely to a "best of" compilation of Devil's Advocate appearances."Speakers Corner: an oral history"
''

The Grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

'', January 7, 2014. Archived fro
the original
on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2021. In 1998, Howell and Currie were given their own show, ''

Improv Heaven and Hell ''Improv Heaven and Hell'' is a Canadian comedy television series, which aired on The Comedy Network from 1998 to 2001. Hosted by Albert Howell and Andrew Currie, a comedy duo billed as The Devil's Advocates,"Heaven & Hell offers devilish fun". ' ...

'', on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octo ...

, which saw the duo as the hosts of an improv comedy competition similar to ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

''. The series ran for three seasons, ending in 2001. Following the show's conclusion, Howell and Currie appeared in the improvisational stage show ''Sin City: The Live Improvised Soap Opera'' at the

Poor Alex Theatre Poor Alex Theatre was a theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Poor Alex opened in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood in the 1960s in a property owned by Ed Mirvish and took its name as a parody of the Mirvish-owned Royal Alexandra The ...

, alongside Pat Kelly,

Peter Oldring Peter James Edward Oldring (born August 25, 1971) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Early life Oldring was born on August 25, 1971, in Drayton Valley, Alberta. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School in 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, a ...

, Herbie Barnes, Kirsten Van Ritzen, Joanne O'Sullivan, Mark McIntyre and

Raoul Bhaneja Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer. Early life and studies Bhaneja was born in Manchester. His father is an Indian Sindhi and mother is Irish. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada and Ot ...

. In 2002, Howell appeared in ''Population 282'' at the

Tim Sims Playhouse The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

, alongside Janet van de Graaf,

Lisa Merchant Lisa Merchant is a Canadian comic improviser and actress. She played Brenda Murphy on ''Train 48'', and appeared on '' Improv Heaven and Hell''. She has won three Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Female Improviser (in 2001, 2003 & 2005). Alongside ...

, Melody Johnson,

Doug Morency Doug Morency is a Canadian actor and comedian who was a member of The Second City comedy troupe and The Williamson Playboys. He played Al Gore in a comedy show about global warming called ''An Inconvenient Musical''. Morency has won three Canadian ...

, Jack Mosshammer, Leslie Kaz, Adrian Truss and

Colin Mochrie Colin Andrew Mochrie (; born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, producer and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and US versions of the improvisational TV show ''Whose Line Is It A ...

. In 2003, he joined the cast of the sketch comedy series '' Comedy Inc.''. In the same year, he mounted a joke campaign for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

in the

2003 Toronto municipal election The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees. David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election). M ...

, running primarily on a platform of changing the city's

garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

collection practices.

Writing

Following the end of ''Comedy Inc.'', Howell joined the writing staff of ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'', remaining with the show for several years.Eric Volmers, "Calgary funnyman returns to his roots". ''

'', December 30, 2011. He subsequently also wrote for the television series ''

That's So Weird! ''That's So Weird'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television show produced by Halifax Film Company (later DHX Media Halifax), created by Jeff Copeland, broadcasts on YTV. The show has been described as '' SCTV'' or ''Mad TV'' for teenagers and inc ...

'' and ''First World Problems'', and was a story editor on the sitcom '' Satisfaction''. In 2013 he joined the writing staff of ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'', although he noted the irony that even though he had previously lived in Toronto and wrote several

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

sketches for ''22 Minutes'', he was largely sidelined from writing jokes about the crack scandal which broke a few weeks after he joined the show.

Acting

He has also had supporting or guest roles in the films ''

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (released in some international markets as ''Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies'') is a 2004 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner, written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and starr ...

'', ''

Childstar ''Childstar'' is a 2004 Canadian comedy film directed and co-written by Don McKellar, and starring McKellar, Peter Paige, Gil Bellows, Mark Rendall, Michael Murphy (actor), Michael Murphy, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Alan Thicke. It premiered a ...

'', ''Plain Brown Rapper'', '' Take This Waltz'' and '' First Round Down'', and the television series ''

The War Next Door ''The War Next Door'' is an American sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. The show used non-canon humor as one of the two main characters dies at the end of each episode, only to reappear alive the following episode as if nothing ha ...

'', ''

The Endless Grind ''The Endless Grind'' is a Canadian comedy anthology television series, which aired on The Comedy Network in 2001.Tony Lofaro, "Dark comedy pushes the limits: Oddball characters, uncanny situations standard fare in new Lawrence series". ''Ottawa Ci ...

'', ''

Little Mosque on the Prairie ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2012 on CBC Television, CBC. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian ...

'', ''

My Babysitter's a Vampire ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' (released as ''My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Movie'' in some regions) is a 2010 Canadian comedy horror television film directed by Bruce McDonald. It stars Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film's plot centers ...

'', '' The Next Step'' and ''

PEN15 ''PEN15'' is an American cringe comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Z ...

''.

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Albert 20th-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male comedians Canadian sketch comedians Canadian comedy writers Canadian television writers Comedians from Alberta Writers from Calgary Canadian Comedy Award winners Living people University of Calgary alumni Canadian Screen Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)