Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, musician and film director. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his work as a member of the comedy troupe

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, ...

, including starring in the TV series of the same name. He was also a writer for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

''. McCulloch has appeared on other series including '' Twitch City'' and ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...

''. He directed the films ''

Dog Park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...

'', '' Stealing Harvard'' and ''

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

''. He also wrote and directed the romantic comedy ''Comeback Season'' which toured film festivals before its release on DVD in 2007. He was the creator and head writer of the 2007-2008 ABC sitcom ''

Carpoolers ''Carpoolers'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2007, to March 4, 2008. The show was created by Bruce McCulloch, who also executive produced alongside Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, David Miner, Marsh McCall, Jo ...

''.

Early life

McCulloch was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, Alberta on May 12, 1961. He attended Strathcona Composite High School in Edmonton and competed in both track-and-field and swimming, winning two individual provincial titles. He moved to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

and attended Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School. McCulloch is a graduate of

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. History Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8, ...

in Calgary. He got his start in performing sketch comedy in a troupe called "The Audience" where he met longtime friend and collaborator

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

Career

The Kids in the Hall

As a member of

comedy troupe, McCulloch starred in the 1989-1995

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 ...

series ''

'', which aired for five seasons in Canada and the United States. For the show, he frequently wrote surreal monologues, films and songs. He also directed several of the filmed sketches. Memorable characters included the Flying Pig, Cabbage Head, talkative schoolchild Gavin, pop starlet Tammy, secretary Kathie, and grumpy middle-aged man Gordon. McCulloch appeared in ''The Kids in the Hall'' movie ''

Brain Candy Brain Candy may refer to: * ''Brain Candy'' (TV series), 2003 standup comedy variety TV series on BBC Three * ''Brain Candy'' (album), 2020 album by Australian duo Hockey Dad * '' Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy'', 1996 Canadian comedy film by ...

'', released in 1996. McCulloch drew controversy with his Cancer Boy character, introduced on the series' final episode, in which he plays a dying young cancer patient using wheelchair who relates otherwise depressing news, in monotone, with a cheerful smile, and even releases a hit single entitled "Whistle When You're Low."

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

fought to edit out the offending scenes, yet they were kept in. Among other characters, McCulloch also appeared as Grivo, a depressed rock star whom becomes upbeat when he starts taking the drug. He co-wrote, starred in, and was executive producer of the Kids in the Hall 2010 reunion project ''

Death Comes to Town ''The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town'' (or simply ''Death Comes to Town'') is an eight-episode Canadian mini-series that aired on CBC Television on Tuesdays between January 12 and March 16, 2010. The show takes place in a fictional Ontario ...

''.

Music

McCulloch has released two albums: 1995's ''

Shame-Based Man ''Shame-Based Man'', released on April 11, 1995, was the first album by the comedian Bruce McCulloch. Produced and arranged by Bob Wiseman It has 20 tracks of McCulloch's comedic music. Track listing #"Grade 8" (Bruce McCulloch, Bob Wiseman, Br ...

'' produced by Bob Wiseman, (praised by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

as the "most remarkable of comedy albums: one that bears (frequent) repeated listenings") and 2002's ''

Drunk Baby Project ''Drunk Baby Project'', released on October 1, 2002, is the second album by the comedian Bruce McCulloch. It has 14 tracks of McCulloch's unique comedic music. Track listing #"Drunk Baby Project" (Brian Connelly, Bruce McCulloch) – 3:09 #"Bob ...

''. McCulloch also directed the music video for the

Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

's song " My Music at Work," for which he won the award of " Best Director" at the 2000

MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018. Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMu ...

. McCulloch was close friends with Tragically Hip frontman

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...

. The video shares much in common with many ''The Kids in the Hall'' sketches, including its office setting, camera angles, and some thematic elements. McCulloch also starred in and co-directed the music video for 1997's "Make You Mad" by Canadian band

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

Movies

McCulloch played Fred Wright in the 1987 TV mini-series ''

Anne of Avonlea Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...

''. He also had a role in the 1999 comedy film ''

Dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

''. McCulloch also co-wrote and had a bit part in ''Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel'' (1988). In the CBS prime-time special, (also featuring

Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

Jan Hooks Janet Vivian HooksJan Hooks obituary
liteseyfh.com; accesse ...

, and others) he played a patron of a store that, among other things, sold counterfeit

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...

. He also played a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in the movie '' Super Troopers 2''.

Publishing

McCulloch's memoir -- ''Let's Start A Riot: How A Young Drunk Punk Became A Hollywood Dad'' ()-- was published by HarperCollins in 2014.

Television

McCulloch played the judge in "To Kill a Chupacabraj" in season 3 of ''

Workaholics ''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to Ma ...

'', Father Marsala in season 4 of ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'', and Tobin on ''

''. He created and starred in the sitcom ''

Young Drunk Punk ''Young Drunk Punk'' is a Canadian television sitcom, which debuted on City on January 21, 2015. Created by Bruce McCulloch based on his autobiographical theatrical show of the same title, the series stars Tim Carlson as Ian McKay, a young punk ...

'', which debuted in 2015, and wrote and played a small part in the 2018 web series '' This Blows''. In 2019, he signed on as a producer of the Canadian sketch comedy series ''

TallBoyz ''TallBoyz'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy troupe best known for their 2019-2022 CBC Television sketch comedy series. The series stars Guled Abdi, Vance Banzo, Tim Blair and Franco Nguyen, who have worked for several years in stage-base ...

''.

Discography

* ''

'' (1995) * ''

'' (2002)

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCulloch, Bruce 1961 births 20th-century Canadian comedians 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male comedians Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male television writers Canadian male voice actors Canadian screenwriters Canadian sketch comedians Canadian television personalities Canadian television writers Comedians from Alberta Comedy film directors Film directors from Edmonton The Kids in the Hall members Living people Male actors from Edmonton Writers from Edmonton