Catherine Frederica "Cathy" Jones (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is known for her work for 28 years on the Canadian television series '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. Jones left the show in 2021.
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. She was 17 when her older brother, comedian Andy Jones, put in a good word for her with the Newfoundland Traveling Theatre Company. After a summer touring with this company Cathy joined Tommy Sexton, Greg Malone, Mary Walsh, and Dyan Olsen in Toronto to look for more work in theatre and there in the fall of 1973, they formed the comedy troupe
CODCO
''CODCO'' is a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1988 to 1993.Rick Mercer and former ''CODCO'' co-stars Mary Walsh and Greg Thomey created a new television series, '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. She played many unique characters on the show, and is known for playing both men and women often at the extreme edges of gender identity. Some of her more well known characters include Mrs. Enid, Babe Bennett, Joe Crow, and one of her personal favorites, 'Love Murphy', who played a love interest with her female character in the short film ''Outport Lesbian''. As of 2005, with the departure of Greg Thomey, Jones was the only remaining original cast member of ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' at the time of her departure. Jones left the show in 2021.
In 2020, Jones reprised her longtime ''22 Minutes'' character of Miss Enid in the CBC Gem web series '' Broad Appeal: Living with E's''.
Other work
Jones has toured extensively with her one-woman shows ''Wedding in Texas'' and ''Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends''. Her film career includes the lead role in her brother Mike Jones' film '' Secret Nation'', which aired on CBC Television, and a supporting role in Bruce McDonald's '' Weirdos''. A CBC '' Life and Times'' biopic titled ''Keeping up with Cathy Jones'' was produced in 2006 by Lynne Wilson, directed by
Barbara Doran
Barbara may refer to:
People
* Barbara (given name)
* Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter
* Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer
* Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...
Gemini Awards
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 ...
and three Canadian comedy awards for Best Writing in a Comedy Series for her work on ''22 Minutes'' and ''CODCO''.
Personal life
In 1996, Jones married American-born painter Paul Hannon, with whom she shares their daughter Eleanor. The couple divorced in 2000. For several years after 2004, Jones had a relationship with musician and artist Tom Wilson."Variety show spices up married life: Comic Cathy Jones weds her husband's music with her stand-up on a tour that gets the couple a little more together". ''
The Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published six ...
'', November 25, 2006. They have since separated. Jones' first daughter, Mara, was born in Newfoundland in 1981.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...
, Jones has been critical of mask wearing, restrictions and
vaccines
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.< ...
.The Coast: Cathy Jones is off CBC’s 22 Minutes after 28 years /ref> She commented that "people's health should be really in their own hands and not in the hands of the government."