Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) 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 ...

actor, comedian, writer and motivational speaker. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in ''

Little Mosque on the Prairie ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2012 on CBC Television, CBC. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian ...

'', Jerry Whitehall in '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' and the voices of Gordon, Diesel 10 and Splatter in ''

Thomas and the Magic Railroad ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is a 2000 children's fantasy adventure film written and directed by Britt Allcroft and produced by Allcroft and Phil Fehrle. It is the only theatrical live-action/animated ''Thomas & Friends'' film in the franc ...

'' (2000) and reprises Gordon in the US dub in the reboot, '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!'' (since 2021). He appeared in films with roles as Officer Strauss in '' New York Minute'' (2004), Chuck in ''

Hollywoodland ''Hollywoodland'' is a 2006 American film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Paul Bernbaum. The story presents a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the death of actor George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck), the star of the ...

'' (2006), Keith in ''

The Rainbow Kid ''The Rainbow Kid'' is a 2015 Canadian drama film directed by Kire Paputts. It was shown in the Discovery section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film, an expansion of Paputts' prior short film ''Rainbow Connection'', star ...

'' (2015), Chief Borton in the 2017 remake '' It'' (2017) and its 2019 sequel, and George in '' Through Black Spruce'' (2018). His television credits include Bud Topper in the

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

children's television series '' Noddy'' (1999–2000), Ed Barnes in the sitcom ''

I Love Mummy ''I Love Mummy'' was a fantasy sitcom that ran for one season in 2002. It is composed of 26 episodes. The show was created by Ellis Iddon and Phil Meagher; and produced by Ellis Iddon, Phil Meagher, Mark Iddon, Ira Levy and Peter Williamson. The ...

'' (2002–2003), Ray Cooper in ''

Really Me ''Really Me'' is a Canadian teen situation comedy series that originally aired on Family. It premiered on April 22, 2011 and on the French-language VRAK.TV on August 31, 2011. On June 13, 2011, Family announced that the series was being renewed for ...

'' (2011–2013), Chief Crown Attorney Gordon in ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

'' (2013–2016), Ollie Jefferson in ''

Wind at My Back ''Wind at My Back'' is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of ''Anne of Green Gables'' and ''Road to Avonlea''. The ser ...

'' (1996–2000) and Mr. Leopold in ''

Endlings An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal ''Nature''. Alternative names put forth for the last indi ...

'' (2020–2021).

Early life and education

Crone was born on May 29, 1960, in

Scarborough, Toronto Scarborough (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated atop the Scarborough Bluffs in the eastern part of the city. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue ( ...

. He attended

Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate Institute Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute (equally known to as Sir John A. Macdonald CI, SJAM, Macdonald Collegiate or Mac , originally known as O'Sullivan Secondary School,http://www.metropolicyarchive.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/HSS-1146450- ...

and then studied radio and television arts at

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

before earning a degree in education from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He taught English and drama for three years at

King City Secondary School King City Secondary School, or KCSS, is a secondary education facility in King City, Ontario, Canada. It is a secular public school administered by the York Region District School Board. The school is located at 2001 King Road, and the current pr ...

before launching his acting career. He would land a role at 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 before moving onto its main stage.

Career

Crone did the voices of

Gordon the Big Engine This article is about the characters that have appeared in the books of ''The Railway Series'' by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry and Christopher Awdry. Unless otherwise stated on this page, the technical notes come from actual notes laid out by Wilbert ...

Diesel 10 The following article lists the characters from ''Thomas & Friends''. It only shows those which appeared in the films first. '' Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' '' Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is the only ''Thomas & Friends'' movie released ...

and Splatter from the film ''

''. He provided the voice of Phillip the Concierge in the ''

My Secret Identity ''My Secret Identity'' is a television series starring Jerry O'Connell and Derek McGrath. Originally broadcast from October 9, 1988 to May 25, 1991 on CTV in Canada, the series also aired in syndication in the United States. It was later shown ...

'' episode "Sour Grapes". He has also starred in ''

'', ''

The Red Green Show ''The Red Green Show'' is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States (airing on more than 100 PBS affiliates a ...

'', the CTV series ''

Power Play Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to: Sports * Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games * Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket * Power play (cur ...

'', and '' American Psycho 2: All American Girl''. He is also known for being a panelist on the Vancouver-based game show '' The Next Line'' and was the host of a children's game show called ''Wild Guess''. Crone portrayed radio host Fred Tupper on the

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 ...

situation comedy series ''

''. He also voiced

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

on the animated series ''

Iggy Arbuckle ''Iggy Arbuckle'' is an animated series that premiered in Canada on Teletoon in June 2007. Based on a comic strip from National Geographic Kids, the show is created by Guy Vasilovich, and focuses on a pig (Iggy Arbuckle) who happens to be a for ...

'', Reverend McRee in '' Bob and Doug'' and Dwayne in '' Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race''. Crone has appeared on international and syndicated shows such as Get Focused Radio with Kate Hennessy. Crone also played live-action roles such as Maddy's dad, Ray, in ''

'' and a cop at protest in ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''. He also writes regular articles for the

Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Toron ...

's ''This Week'' newspaper. In 2021, Crone reprised his role as Gordon the Big Engine in '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go'', a reboot of the original ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' series.

Personal life

Neil lives with his fiancee Kathryn Kelly in

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crone, Neil 1960 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian humour columnists Canadian male comedians Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian motivational speakers Comedians from Toronto Male actors from Toronto People from Scarborough, Toronto