The 13th Canadian Comedy Awards, presented by the Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence (CCFE), honoured the best live, television, film, and Internet comedy of 2011. The ceremony was held at the
Fairmont Royal York
The Fairmont Royal York, formerly and still commonly known as the Royal York, is a large historic luxury hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West, the hotel is situated at the southern end of the ...
Hotel in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, on 26 August 2012 and was hosted by
Alan Thicke
Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...
.
Canadian Comedy Awards
The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.
Th ...
, also known as Beavers, were awarded in 26 categories. Winners in 5 categories were chosen by the public through an online poll and others were chosen by members of industry organizations. The awards ceremony concluded the Canadian Comedy Awards Festival which ran from 23 to 26 August.
The TV series ''
Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays'' led with seven nominations followed by the bilingual film ''
French Immersion
French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...
'' with five. They each won a Beaver for best male performance. The big winner was Halifax-based comedy troupe
Picnicface
Picnicface was a Canadian sketch comedy troupe based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, consisting of Mark Little, Andrew Bush, Kyle Dooley, Cheryl Hann, Brian MacQuarrie, Evany Rosen, Scott Vrooman and Bill Wood. Formed in 2006, the group were most noted ...
, which won three Beavers for
their eponymous TV series and three for their debut film, ''
Roller Town
''Roller Town'' is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Andrew Bush and released in 2011.Robert Bell"Roller Town: Andrew Bush" ''Exclaim!'', September 20, 2012. Featuring the sketch comedy troupe Picnicface, the film is set in the 1970s, and stars ...
''.
This ceremony also introduced the Phil Hartman Award which went to
Jo-Anna Downey
Jo-Anna Downey (February 1, 1967—December 2016) was a Canadian stand-up comedian.
She was the host of two weekly Toronto, Ontario comedy shows, ''Open Mike at Spirits'' (since 1996) and ''Standing on the Danforth''.
Downey was diagnosed with ...
.
Festival and ceremony
The 13th
Canadian Comedy Awards
The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.
Th ...
(CCA) was held in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. The gala awards ceremony was held on 26 August 2012
in the
Imperial Room
The 500-seat Imperial Room is a major events venue at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hall is located on the lobby level of the hotel and has hosted major events, such as addresses to the Empire Club of Canada, but was more ...
of the
Fairmont Royal York
The Fairmont Royal York, formerly and still commonly known as the Royal York, is a large historic luxury hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West, the hotel is situated at the southern end of the ...
Hotel.
The ceremony was produced by Gary Rideout, Jr.
and hosted by
Alan Thicke
Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...
, a veteran actor who at that time was the honorary chair of Canadians Abroad, a group that organized Canadian events in Los Angeles.
Each nominee for Best TV Show had already been cancelled.
This was played-up in a video inspired by Billy Crystal's Oscar montages, where
Gavin Crawford
Gavin Crawford (born 2 April 1971) is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for ''The Gavin Crawford Show'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He currently hosts the panel show, ''Because News'', on CBC Radio One.
Early life
Crawford was bo ...
visited the cancelled shows' empty sets, was faced with his own cancelled shows, and was replaced as CCA host by Thicke. Also entertaining at the ceremony were
Seán Cullen
Seán Cullen (born 29 August 1965) is a Canadian actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for combining improvisation with mimicry and music. He is known for providing voices of characters in shows like '' Best Ed'', '' Seven Little Monsters,'' ...
and
Colin Mochrie
Colin Andrew Mochrie (; born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, producer and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and American versions of the improvisational TV show ''Whose Line ...
.
The awards ceremony concluded the four-day Canadian Comedy Awards Festival which ran from 23 to 26 August, showcasing performances by nominees at various Toronto venues.
Many stand-ups also took part in a 27 August AltDotComedy Lounge show at
The Rivoli
The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian comedy and musi ...
.
Winners and nominees
Nominees were announced on 7 June 2012 in Toronto, and voting took place between 14 June and 29 July.
Members of the Canadian public voted for the categories Canadian Comedy Person of the Year, Best TV Show, Best Film, Best Web Clip, Best Web Series, Best Podcast, and Best Radio Program or Clip, with industry members deciding the remaining categories. There was record participation, with 88% more public voting and 113% more industry members voting compared to 2011.
This year's ceremony introduced the Phil Hartman Award for "an individual who makes the Canadian comedy community better."
The award went to long-time Toronto
open-mic night host
Jo-Anna Downey
Jo-Anna Downey (February 1, 1967—December 2016) was a Canadian stand-up comedian.
She was the host of two weekly Toronto, Ontario comedy shows, ''Open Mike at Spirits'' (since 1996) and ''Standing on the Danforth''.
Downey was diagnosed with ...
.
Awards were also introduced for podcasts and web series, giving this ceremony more award categories than any previous year.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface:
Multimedia
Live
Television
Film
Internet
Special Awards
Multiple wins
The following people, shows, films, etc. received multiple awards
Multiple nominations
The following people, shows, films, etc. received multiple nominations.
Footnotes
References
External links
Canadian Comedy Awards official website
{{Canadian Comedy Awards
Canadian Comedy Awards
The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.
Th ...
Canadian Comedy Awards
Awards
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award may be d ...
Awards
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award may be d ...