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 ''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 ...

''. Jones left the show in 2021.

CODCO

Jones was born in St. John's,

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 Thomas Sexton (July 3, 1957 – December 13, 1993) was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, he was the youngest member of the ''CODCO'' comedy troupe. Educated in St. John's, he was an honours student before quitting after Grade ...

, 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 Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and '' Rick Merc ...

and former ''CODCO'' co-stars Mary Walsh and

Greg Thomey Greg Thomey (born May 8, 1961) is a Canadian comedian, actor and playwright and a founding member of the long-running television program ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He has been a recipient of numerous Gemini Awards. Born in St. John's, Newfou ...

created a new television series, ''

''. 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 CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

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 ''Secret Nation'' is a 1992 political thriller written by Edward Riche, directed by Mike Jones and starring Cathy Jones. The film tells the story of Frieda Vokey, a graduate history student working to complete her history thesis on confederatio ...

'', 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, and featured several of her co-stars from both ''CODCO'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' including

Rick Mercer Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and '' Rick Merc ...

, Greg Malone, and Andy Jones.

Awards and accolades

Jones has won 18

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 a ...

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 si ...

'', 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 The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...

.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."

References

External links

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TheGreatCathyJones - YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Cathy 1955 births Living people Canadian television personalities Canadian Screen Award winners People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Buddhists Actresses from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian women comedians This Hour Has 22 Minutes Canadian sketch comedians Canadian women television personalities Comedians from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Comedy Award winners Canadian anti-vaccination activists