Mark Breslin, is a
Canadian entrepreneur, producer,
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 ...
and
actor best known for being the co-founder (along with Joel Axler) of
Yuk Yuk's, the largest chain of comedy clubs in
Canada. On December 29, 2017, he was appointed a Member of the
Order of Canada by
Julie Payette,
Governor General of Canada.
Breslin graduated from
York University with a B.A. Honours in English Literature.
Soon after graduating, he became Director of Theatre and Music for
Harbourfront Corporation, an innovative cultural organization which produces events and activities at numerous venues on Toronto's waterfront. He is a founding member of the
Canadian Comedy Awards, and was a comedy mentor for the B.C. Festival of the Arts.
In 1976, Breslin and his collaborator Joel Axler opened the first Yuk Yuk's, in the basement of Toronto's
519 Church Street Community Centre
The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency of the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, ...
. Four years later, Breslin and Axler opened Yuk Yuk's first permanent venue at 1280 Bay Street in the
Yorkville district. Over the next few decades, Yuk Yuk expanded its presence nationally and internationally. There are nine clubs across Canada.
Breslin made several guest appearances in the ''
Robocop: The Series'' television series. He also appeared in an episode of ''
Kenny Vs Spenny''. His most recent film credit was as "Bob" in the movie ''
Confessions of a Porn Addict''.
Breslin has produced such television programs as ''
The Late Show with Joan Rivers'' for
Fox Broadcasting, ''Yuk Yuk's'' - the TV show 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 ...
, ''Mondo Taboo'' pay-per-view specials for
The Movie Network and ''The Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' annual TV special for
The Comedy Network, which he also hosts. He was executive producer on ''
Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui'' for
CBC TV and ''Yuk Yuk's 25th Anniversary Special'' for the Comedy Network. He was also a story consultant for the first two seasons of ''
Kenny vs Spenny'' for CBC TV and Showcase and an associate producer of ''Petal Pushers'' on
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
.
In addition to television, Breslin has also worked in radio, developing "Live from Yuk Yuk's", a daily radio show syndicated by the
Telemedia Radio Network on over 80 stations coast to coast. Breslin was the
program director and an on-air personality on the
XM Satellite Radio channel
Laugh Attack, which features predominantly
Canadian comedy
Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian identity. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to ...
and is Canada's only 24-hour Canadian comedy channel. He hosted a call-in shows on
Q107 and
CFRB and has appeared as a featured panelist on multiple episodes of ROB TV's ''The ArtS Panel'' and Global Television's ''Grumps''. He has written four books so far: ''Zen and Now'' (Somerville House), a
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
joke book ''Son of a Meech'' (Random House), and an autobiographical novel, ''Control Freaked'' (Insomniac Press). Breslin also wrote and narrated two 5-CD audio book, published by HarperCollins, titled ''Yuk Yuk’s Guide to Canadian Stand-Up'' and ''Rarities and Road Warriors''. Add to this, book reviews for ''
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 ...
'', ''
The 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 ...
'' and ''
Quill and Quire'', and a monthly comedy column for the ''Village Post Magazine''. He also wrote a weekly movie review column alongside
Richard Crouse in the
''Metro'' newspaper.
In 2014, Breslin was included in the ''Toronto Star''s list of 180 most influential people to come out of Toronto.
References
External links
*
Yuk Yuk's main site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breslin, Mark
Canadian stand-up comedians
Jewish Canadian comedians
Canadian radio personalities
Living people
Members of the Order of Canada
1952 births
Canadian television producers
Canadian male comedians
Canadian Comedy Award winners