Marla Lukofsky is a Canadian-American stand-up comedian, actress, singer, writer, and keynote speaker. She's one of the pioneers of stand-up comedy in Canada and has performed in every major city in North America, the UK and the first female comedian to headline in Bermuda. Lukofsky has appeared in a variety of TV shows including ''

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 19 ...

'' with

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

, ''The Palace'' TV Variety Series with Jack Jones and ''

The Alan Thicke Show ''The Alan Thicke Show'' was a Canadian daytime talk show hosted by Alan Thicke. A replacement for '' The Alan Hamel Show'', which ran from 1976 to 1980, it aired on CTV between 1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Car ...

'' as well as starring in feature films such as ''

Honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

'' with

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself' ...

and

John Shea John Victor Shea III ( ; born April 14, 1949) is an American actor, film producer and stage director. His career began on Broadway theatre, Broadway where he starred in ''Yentl (play), Yentl,'' subsequently winning his first major award, the 1975 ...

and ''

Zero Patience ''Zero Patience'' is a 1993 Canadian musical film written and directed by John Greyson. The film examines and refutes the urban legend of the alleged introduction of HIV to North America by a single individual, Gaëtan Dugas. Dugas, better known ...

''. Lukofsky was a regular radio columnist on The

Vicki Gabereau Vicki Gabereau (born May 31, 1946) is a Canadian radio and television personality, best known for her longtime association with CBC Radio and her television talk show which aired on CTV from 1997 to 2005. Biography Vicki Frances Filion was born ...

Show and CBC's 'Basic Black' with host Arthur Black and became the regular last word columnist on CBC's national TV news show ''

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 12-hour clock, o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for 12-hour clock, meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for 12-hour clock, post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24 ...

'' with

Keith Morrison Keith Morrison (born July 2, 1947) is a Canadian broadcast journalist. Since 1995, he has been a correspondent for ''Dateline NBC''. Career Beginning his career in the 1960s, Morrison was a reporter and anchor at local stations in Saskatchew ...

and

Valerie Pringle Valerie Pringle (née Whittingham, born 5 September 1953) is a Canadian television host and journalist, hosting the Canadian edition of ''Antiques Roadshow'' on CBC since 2006. Pringle was born in Windsor, Ontario. Pringle began her career in ...

completing 100 segments. She has voiced many cartoon series including

The Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televisi ...

TV series and movies,

Alf Tales ''ALF Tales'' is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series that aired on NBC from September 10, 1988, to December 9, 1989. The show is a spin-off of '' ALF: The Animated Series'' which featured characters from that series playing various char ...

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for th ...

Pecola ''Pecola'' ( ja, ペコラ, ) is a 3D animated children's television series which stars cube-shaped anthropomorphic animals in a place called Cube Town. It is based on a series of children's picture books by Naomi Iwata. It was first aired on T ...

and

Fugget About It ''Fugget About It'' is a Canadian adult animated sitcom created by Nicholas Tabarrok and Willem Wennekers for Teletoon's late night block, Teletoon at Night. The show is rated 14A for sexuality, violence, and profanity, which makes it the first ...

Early life

Lukofsky was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in 1956 to Ruth and Louis Lukofsky and has two older sisters.

Career

Lukofsky started her career in 1973 as a funny folk singer at the famed

Riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

in Toronto and performed at every folk club in Toronto. In 1975, she became a regular at a new comedy club called 'The Improv' with Gene Taylor, along with other regulars including

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...

and

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

. By 1978, Lukofsky became a regular headliner at

Mark Breslin Mark Breslin, is a Canadian entrepreneur, producer, stand-up comedian 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 Me ...

Yuk Yuks Yuk Yuk's is a national comedy club chain in Canada, founded by former stand-up comedian Mark Breslin and established in 1976 by Breslin and long-time friend Joel Axler. The company is currently run by Breslin and his long-time partner and presi ...

Comedy chain and toured Canada sharing the bill with

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

and

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. I ...

. She was briefly a member of Toronto's

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 ...

Touring Company but preferred the nightclub circuit and returned to the road. For three consecutive years, the PROCAN Music Awards had Lukofsky and

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...

, host their awards event in 1985-1987. In 1990, Lukofsky 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' ...

and played a variety of nightclubs, sharing the bill with comedian

Sherri Shepherd Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, ''Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the day ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

's 'The Rose Tattoo' Cabaret and other establishments. In 2015 Lukofsky began singing jazz in Toronto, combining her comedy skills with her vocal talents and in 2016 was featured in the TD Toronto Jazz Festival.

Television

Movies

References

*''Stand-up becomes inspirational: Marla Lukofsky'' by

Diane Flacks Diane Flacks is a Canadian comedic actress, screenwriter and playwright. Early life and education Flacks was raised in the Jewish faith. Her early education took place in Jewish parochial schools. Flacks studied drama at Leah Posluns Institu ...

, ''

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 ...

'

*''Marla icLukofsky: Mini Mistress of Mirth'' by Andrew Clark,''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following ...

'

*''Breast cancer survivor tells her story through laughter'' by Lisa Queen, www.insidetoronto.com North York Mirror 10.03.08

'. *''Comic reinvents herself as jazz singer'' by Ruth Schweitzer, ''

The Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada‘s Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in ...

''

' *''Battling cancer with humour'' by

Ted Woloshyn Ted Woloshyn (born December 1953) is a Toronto broadcaster. He hosted ''The Ted Woloshyn Show'', mornings from 5:30 to 8:30 on CFRB-AM in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 3 November 1996 until 15 December 2006. He hosted ''Saturdays with Ted'' from ...

, ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'

'.

External links

*
Marla Lukofsky
at VoiceChasers.com
Marla Lukofsky website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukofsky, Marla 1956 births Living people Canadian women comedians Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses