''Cream of Comedy'' was an annual award show broadcast by

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 ...

that promoted emerging

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 ...

comedic talent in the early stage of their careers. The show was established in the memory of Toronto comedic performer

Tim Sims Tim Sims (1962 – February 2, 1995) was a Canadian actor and comedian. He is known for his roles as Jack the Cave Man on ''The Red Green Show'' and as Circle Researcher Rory Tate in a series of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials in the 1990 ...

and has raised significant annual contributions for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award (TSEF). Contestants included various comedy acts (often stand-up comics and character performers but also improvisers, duos, musicians and sketch troupes). A jury of comedy professionals would choose five finalists from a larger field of entrants/contestants to perform in the televised showcase. The ''Cream of Comedy'' special featured clips and 15-minute comedy performances by these five finalists, taped before a live audience for broadcast. The jury kept the winners' names strictly confidential until they were announced at the end of the ''Cream of Comedy'' special taping, and then the winners were presented with the Tim Sims Award, $5,000 and (in later years) a scholarship to the Toronto Second City Training Centre. The show started in 1996 when

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 ...

's Toronto location donated its venue for the event. Four people donated money to begin the TSEF. The event was considered a training ground for relatively young comics, providing them national exposure for their talent. Past winners have included

Gavin Crawford Gavin Crawford (born 2 April 1971) is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for ''The Gavin Crawford Show'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He currently hosts the panel show, '' Because News'', on CBC Radio One. Early life Crawford was b ...

Nathan Fielder Nathan Joseph Fielder (born May 12, 1983) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating, directing, and starring in the Comedy Central parody reality show '' Nathan for You'' (2013� ...

, Ron Sparks,

Katie Crown Katherine Crown (born November 23, 1985) is a Canadian voice actress and writer. She is known for voicing Izzy in ''Total Drama'', Fin in '' Stoked'', Mary Wendle and Melanie Baker in ''Clarence'', Tulip in ''Storks'' and Ivy in ''Amphibia''. In ...

and

Fraser Young Fraser Young is a stand-up comedian who lives in Toronto, Ontario but headlines right across Canada, and as far away as Hong Kong. Young has won the prestigious Tim Sims Encouragement Fund, awarded to the best up and coming comic in Toronto th ...

. Patrick McKenna hosted the inaugural show and returned to host again in 2002. That year, the jury became hopelessly deadlocked and so two winners were named: Tim Polley and Brad Hurt. To avoid this in the future, a new rule was made giving a tie-breaking vote to comedian Lindsay Leese, widow of Tim Sims and founder of the TSEF. 1998 winner Gavin Crawford and 2000 nominee Aurora Browne returned to co-host the show in 2006. 2005 winner Jeff McEnery hosted the show in 2014. On October 26, 2015, Toronto's Second City staged the last ''Cream of Comedy'' show. It was the award event's 20th year.

References

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External links

Cream of Comedy
at The Comedy Network
Cream of Comedy
at Imdb * http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/26/1069825832918.html * http://www.blogto.com/arts/2013/10/this_week_in_comedy_cream_of_comedy_laugh_sabbath_monkey_toast_and_the_dark_comedy_fest/ Canadian television specials