Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

actor and writer. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'', 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; the cast includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Didi Conn, Russell Mean ...

'' (2000) and voiced Dr. Chu In The ''

Pecola ''Pecola'' (, ) is an animated children's television series that features cube-shaped anthropomorphic animals in a place named Cube Town. The series is based on a series of children's picture books by Naomi Iwata. It was first aired on Teletoon ...

'' Series. Crone reprised his role as Gordon in the US dub of the ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...

'' 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 mystery drama 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 ( Ben Affleck), the ...

'' (2006), Keith in '' The Rainbow Kid'' (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 (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...

children's television series '' Noddy'' (1999–2000), Ed Barnes in the sitcom '' I Love Mummy'' (2002–2003), Ray Cooper in '' Really Me'' (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 ...

'' (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 (producer), Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of ''Anne of Green Gables (1985 film ...

'' (1996–2000) Ronnie Stewart in '' When Hope Calls'' (2019, 2021) 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 (journal), Nature''. Usage The 4 April 1996 iss ...

'' (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 in the eastern part of the City of Toronto. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue (Toronto), Steele ...

. He attended Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate Institute and then studied radio and television arts at

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

before earning a degree in education from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He taught English and drama for three years at King City Secondary School before launching his acting career. He would land a role at Toronto’s

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

Touring Company before moving onto its main stage.

Career

Crone did the voices of Gordon the Big Engine, Diesel 10 and Splatter from the film ''

''. He provided the voice of Phillip the Concierge in the '' My Secret Identity'' episode "Sour Grapes". He has also starred in '' I Love Mummy'', ''

The Red Green Show ''The Red Green Show'' was a half-hour Canadian television television comedy, comedy series. It aired on various channels in Canada from April 4, 1991 until April 7, 2006. The show was created and entirely co-written by Canadian comedian Steve S ...

'', the CTV series ''

Power Play "Power play" is a sporting term used to describe a period of play where one team has a numerical advantage in players, usually due to a rule violation by the opposing team. Temporary numerical advantage in players during a team sport In several ...

'', 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, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

situation comedy series '' Little Mosque on the Prairie''. 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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

on the animated series '' Iggy Arbuckle'', 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 '' Really Me'' 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), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

''. 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, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...

'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 ''

'' series.

Personal life

Crone is currently married to Kathryn Kelly.

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, Ontario