Valri Bromfield (born February 10, 1949) is a Canadian comedian, actress, writer, and television producer who started her career as one half of a comedy team with
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
. Together, they joined the first Toronto company of
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 ...
where she was one of the original players.
Career
She formed a comedy team with Dan Aykroyd. Bromfield was a regular performer on the 1974 ''
The Bobbie Gentry Show''. She performed comedy on the first episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' on October 11, 1975.
Between dress rehearsal and the live airing, Lorne Michaels told her she had to cut her monologue from five minutes to two.
She also appeared on another ''SNL'' episode in 1978. In 1979 she played "Mary Mary" on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
series ''
Angie''. In 1980, she appeared as the character "Debbie Smith" on ''
The David Letterman Show
''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.
Back ...
''. She played "Laney Gibbs" in ''
Best of the West
''Best of the West'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982.
Synopsis
The Old West spoof featured the misadventures of Sam Best (Joel Higgins), a Civil War veteran who becomes a marshal in Copper Creek ...
'' in 1981 and appeared on six episodes of ''
SCTV'' between 1983 and 1984. In 1984, she appeared on nine episodes of ''
The New Show
''The New Show'' is an NBC sketch comedy show produced by Lorne Michaels that ran for one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to Michaels' own ''S ...
'', another
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
show produced by ''Saturday Night Live'' creator
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
.
In 1993, she appeared as herself on ''
Friends of Gilda''. As the character "Faith Burdette", Bromfield appeared on nineteen episodes of ''
Grace Under Fire
''Grace Under Fire'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her ...
'' between 1993 and 1995. In 1995, she appeared on ''
Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater''.
Bromfield appeared on the
CBC's ''
90 Minutes Live
''90 Minutes Live'' was a Canadian television late-night talk show, which aired on CBC Television from April 19, 1976, to May 12, 1978. The program aired weekday evenings at 11:30 p.m.
Hosted by Peter Gzowski, the program was patterned aft ...
'' and the ''
BCTV'' show ''
Zig Zag
A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
'', both in her native Canada.
Film appearances
Her film credits include the role of "Doris" in the 1983 movie ''
Mr. Mom
''Mr. Mom'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti and produced by Lynn Loring, Lauren Shuler, and Aaron Spelling. It stars Michael Keaton (in his first lead role), Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, and Christopher Lloyd. It ...
'', the role of "Belle Haimes" in the 1987 movie ''
Home Is Where the Hart Is
''Home Is Where the Hart Is'' is a 1987 Canadian film, written and directed by Rex Bromfield. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Eric Christmas, and Martin Mull.
Plot summary
A cunning nurse and con artist Belle Haimes (Valri Bromfield) lives with her sim ...
'', the role of "Detective Casey" in the 1989 movie ''
Who's Harry Crumb?
''Who's Harry Crumb?'' is a 1989 American comedy-mystery film featuring John Candy as the title character. Paul Flaherty directed the film, which co-stars Annie Potts, Jeffrey Jones and Shawnee Smith. An uncredited cameo appearance is made by Jim ...
'', the role of "Miss Purdah" in the 1991 movie ''
Nothing but Trouble'', the role of "Brandy" in the 1992 movie ''
Caged Fear
''Fugitive Rage'' (also known as ''Caged Fear'') is a 1996 crime drama action film directed by Fred Olen Ray and starring Shauna O'Brien, Jay Richardson and Alexander Keith, credited as Wendy Schumacher. The film was released straight to video in ...
'', the role of Dawny in the 1992 movie ''
This Is My Life'', and the role of Wilma Jerzyck in the 1993 movie ''
Needful Things
''Needful Things'' is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Frase ...
'' (1993).
Voice acting
As a voice actor, she made her animation debut in the 1974 television movie ''The Gift of Winter''. A
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
-themed sequel four years later that was titled ''
Witch's Night Out
''Witch's Night Out'' is a Canadian animated television Halloween special that premiered on NBC October 27, 1978. Produced in a Toronto studio, it was the sequel to the 1974 special ''The Gift of Winter'' with the vocal talents from Dan Aykroyd ...
''. Bromfield was the voice of "Honey Bunny Funnybunny" on an
ABC Weekend Special
''ABC Weekend Special'' is a weekly 30-minute American television anthology series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997, which featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated. Similar to b ...
in 1994 based on the works of
Marilyn Sadler Marilyn Sadler is a children's writer with a deadpan sense of humor. She was born November 17, 1950 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of her best known works was made into a television Disney movie, under the title '' Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century ...
. She voiced "Nurse Molly" on ''
Camp Candy
''Camp Candy'' is a 1989-1992 animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated vers ...
'' and has provided voices for ''
Popples
Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored marsupial teddy bears with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character ...
'', ''
Animaniacs
''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, unti ...
'', ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...
'', ''
Superman: The Animated Series'' and other animated shows.
Other credits
Bromfield has worked behind the scenes in a creative capacity on numerous TV series. From 1986 to 1990, she was a creative consultant on ''
Head of the Class
''Head of the Class'' is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network.
The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) at the fictional Millard Fillmor ...
''. During the 1990–91 season, she served as a co-producer on ''
Going Places''. She was also a supervising producer on ''
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...
''. Bromfield has been credited as a writer on a number of shows in which she has appeared and other television shows such as ''
That Thing
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...
'' (1978) and ''
Space Cases
''Space Cases'' is a Canadian science fiction television series that aired on Nickelodeon for two seasons. Created by Peter David and Bill Mumy, it premiered on March 2, 1996 and ended on January 27, 1997 with reruns until 1998. It aired for a t ...
'' (1996).
Personal life
Her sister
Lois Bromfield is also a comedic actor, writer, and producer. Her brother
Rex Bromfield
Rex Bromfield is a Canadians, Canadian film and television director and writer."Filmmakers get serious in fall releases". ''Vancouver Sun'', September 12, 1987. He is best known for his 1982 film ''Melanie (film), Melanie'', which garnered seven Ge ...
is a writer and retired film director.
References
Works cited
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromfield, Valri
1949 births
20th-century Canadian actresses
Actresses from Toronto
Canadian film actresses
Canadian impressionists (entertainers)
Canadian sketch comedians
Canadian television actresses
Canadian television producers
Canadian women television producers
Canadian voice actresses
Comedians from Toronto
Living people
20th-century Canadian comedians