Howard Busgang 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 and television producer."A comic with chutzpah: He opens a Montreal-style deli in B.C". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', August 25, 2018.

Comedy career

Originally from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, he studied political science at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

before beginning to perform as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

in 1979. He had some supporting roles in film and television, including the film ''

Terror Train ''Terror Train'' is a 1980 slasher film directed by Roger Spottiswoode in his directorial debut and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and Hart Bochner. Set aboard a moving train on New Year's Eve, the film follows a group of pre-medical sc ...

'' and guest roles in the television series ''

The Edison Twins ''The Edison Twins'' is a Canadian children's television program which ran for six seasons on CBC Television from March 3, 1984 to December 17, 1986. The Disney Channel also picked up the rights in the mid-1980s. Six seasons were produced by Ne ...

'' and '' Check It Out!'', before he and Shawn Thompson created the short-run comedy series ''We Don't Knock'', in which they performed improvised pranks on real people, for

CBC Television 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 ...

in 1986. In the same year, he was one of the performers in ''The Young Comedians All Star Reunion'', a stand-up comedy special on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

that also included Howie Mandel,

Harry Anderson Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series '' Night Court''. He later starred in the ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

. Following the end of ''We Don't Knocks run, Busgang and

Dale Martindale Dale Martindale (born January 21, 1961), is a Canadian born vocalist best known as the lead singer for the new wave band Images in Vogue. In addition to his work with Images in vogue, Martindale has had several side projects, including 69 Duste ...

became cohosts of CBC Television's youth series '' Switchback''. After leaving that show, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he continued to perform comedy, including an appearance on ''

An Evening at the Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in ...

'' and touring as an opening act for Mandel."Comic says opening for Mandel beats being bait". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', May 12, 1990. He also appeared in the comedy film ''

A Man Called Sarge ''A Man Called Sarge'' is a 1990 American parody film, written and directed by Stuart Gillard, starring Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, Gretchen German and introducing a young Natasha Lyonne. The humour is built on slapstick and verbal puns, in the ...

''.

Television writing and production

In the early 1990s Busgang began working as a writer, story editor and producer, working on television series such as ''

Good Advice ''Good Advice'' is a 2001 comedy film starring Charlie Sheen, Angie Harmon, and Denise Richards. The film also features Jon Lovitz and Rosanna Arquette as a married couple in supporting roles. Plot Ryan Turner is a hotshot broker living an u ...

'', ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and famil ...

'' and ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

''. He later returned to Canada, working in television as creator, writer and producer of series such as ''The Blobheads'', ''

An American in Canada ''An American in Canada'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004. The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to acce ...

'', '' The Tournament'', '' Sophie'',"Sophie shakes up her life; CBC's new sitcom is a French-to-English adaptation. Will it cross cultures easily?". ''Montreal Gazette'', November 20, 2007. ''

Single White Spenny ''Single White Spenny'' was a Canadian mockumentary television series that aired briefly on Showcase in 2011. The series chronicles the misadventures of a fictionalized version of Spencer Rice, played by himself, as he dates various women after ...

'' and ''

Working the Engels ''Working the Engels'' is a Canada, Canadian-United States, American sitcom television series that premiered on Global Television Network, Global on March 12, 2014, and was also a part of NBC's summer schedule, having premiered on July 10, 2014. ...

''.

Current activity

In 2018, Busgang opened a Montreal-style

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

, Buzzy's Luncheonette, on

Saltspring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled b ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Busgang, Howard Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian television hosts Canadian television writers Canadian television producers Comedians from Montreal Writers from Montreal Male actors from Montreal Jewish Canadian comedians Jewish Canadian writers Living people McGill University alumni Canadian male television writers Year of birth missing (living people)