Thomas Sexton (July 3, 1957 – December 13, 1993) was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, he was the youngest member of the ''

CODCO ''CODCO'' is a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1988 to 1993.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 anch ...

. After briefly working on a children's touring theatre show, he landed his first television role in the drama series '' Police Surgeon''. Sexton and colleague Diane Olsen subsequently wrote ''Cod on a Stick'', a comedic play which launched CODCO. In 1975, Sexton took a brief sabbatical from CODCO to study at the

Toronto Dance Theatre The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regula ...

. He subsequently returned, working on other shows with CODCO and subsequently touring with colleague Greg Malone in two co-written works, ''

The Wonderful Grand Band The Wonderful Grand Band is a Canadian music and comedy group formed in 1978 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. History The group was founded in 1978, and included comedians Greg Malone and Tommy Sexton. They released their first albu ...

'' and '' Two Foolish to Talk About''. In 1985 and 1986, Sexton and Malone wrote and performed in a series of television specials for the CBC, called '' The S and M Comic Book'', which in turn led to CODCO landing its own series in 1987. After CODCO's run concluded in 1993, Sexton and Malone wrote and starred in a CBC television special, ''The National Doubt'', satirizing the

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...

debates of the early 1990s. Sexton subsequently wrote a semi-autobiographical film, ''Adult Children of Alcoholics: The Musical'', which was in production in November 1993 when Sexton, who was openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, fell ill due to complications from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. He died on December 13 of that year. Malone subsequently campaigned for HIV and AIDS education in Sexton's memory. His sister, filmmaker

Mary Sexton Mary Sexton is a Canadians, Canadian film and television producer, who is partner with Edward Riche in Rink Rat Productions and with Mary Walsh (actress), Mary Walsh in 2M Innovative. She is best known for her 2001 National Film Board documentary ...

, produced a documentary film about him, ''Tommy...A Family Portrait'', in 2001. Along with Malone and their ''CODCO'' co-star Andy Jones, Sexton was a posthumous recipient of the Earle Grey Award, the lifetime achievement award of Canadian television's

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

, in 2002. The Tommy Sexton Centre, a new assisted housing complex for people living with HIV and AIDS, was opened in St. John's in 2006. In 2009, several

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

s in the city put together "Ravishing in Red", a tribute show to Sexton, as a fundraiser for the Sexton Centre."Queens pay tribute to clown prince"
''

The Telegram ''The Telegram'' is a daily newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays (as ''The Weekend Telegram'') in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. History ''The Evening Telegram'' was first published on April 3, 1879 by William James Herd ...

'', December 21, 2009. One performer, Betty "Boo" Kakke, singled him out as Newfoundland's "clown prince". Sexton's mother, Sara Sexton, became a major figure in HIV/AIDS awareness in Newfoundland and Labrador following her son's death. Sara Sexton was announced as an inductee to the

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (french: Ordre du Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Instituted in 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Arthur Maxwell House granted Roy ...

in 2013, and was inducted in February 2014.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Tommy 1957 births 1993 deaths Male actors from Newfoundland and Labrador AIDS-related deaths in Canada Canadian television personalities Gay comedians People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian gay actors Canadian male television actors 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian sketch comedians 20th-century Canadian comedians Comedians from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian male comedians 20th-century LGBT people Canadian LGBT comedians