Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series, Individual or Ensemble explained
The Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble) is a defunct award category, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 1992 to 2000 as part of its Gemini Awards program.
When the Gemini Awards were first introduced in 1986, awards were presented for Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[1] However, as Canadian television comedy was dominated in that era primarily by sketch comedy, comedy-drama or stand-up performance shows, rather than traditional sitcoms, comedy performance categories were discontinued after the 2nd Gemini Awards in 1987;[2] for the next few years, performances in comedy-drama shows were eligible to be nominated in the drama performance categories, while sketch comedy performers could be nominated for Best Performance in a Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series.[2]
Beginning with the 6th Gemini Awards in 1992, the Academy introduced a single award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series, whose winners or nominees could be either an individual or an ensemble;[3] however, the award was almost always won by an ensemble, with the cast of the sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes winning it five of the ten times it was presented. Separate awards for individual performance and ensemble performance were then introduced for the 16th Gemini Awards in 2001.[4]
After 2010, with the reemergence of scripted comedy series in Canadian television, separate categories for Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series were reintroduced, alongside new categories for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, as of the 26th Gemini Awards in 2011. Since 2012, all four of the separate categories have continued to be presented as part of the contemporary Canadian Screen Awards.
Winners and nominees
| Year | Actor | Series | Ref |
|---|
1992
6th Gemini Awards |
| Sandra Shamas | Adrienne Clarkson Presents "Spitting Nickels"
| [5] |
| George Buza | Maniac Mansion | [6] |
| Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson | The Kids in the Hall |
| Tommy Sexton, Greg Malone, Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, Andy Jones | CODCO |
1993
7th Gemini Awards |
| Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson | The Kids in the Hall | [7] |
| Mike MacDonald | My House, My Rules | [8] |
| Radio Free Vestibule | Just for Laughs |
1994
8th Gemini Awards |
| Tommy Sexton, Greg Malone, Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh | CODCO | [9] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | 1992: Year of the Farce | [10] |
| Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson | The Kids in the Hall |
| Steve Smith | The Red Green Show |
1995
9th Gemini Awards |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | [11] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | Royal Canadian Air Farce | [12] |
| Dan Redican | The Dan Redican Comedy Hour |
| Tim Steeves | Comics! |
1996
10th Gemini Awards |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | [13] |
| Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson | The Kids in the Hall | [14] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | Royal Canadian Air Farce |
| Karen Hines, Wayne Flemming, Jeremy Hotz, Mark Farrell, Ken Finkleman, Rosemary Radcliffe, Robert Cait, Angela Asher | Married Life |
| Patrick McKenna | The Red Green Show |
1997
11th Gemini Awards |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | [15] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | Royal Canadian Air Farce | [16] |
| Russell Peters | Comics! |
| Steve Smith | The Red Green Show |
| Shawn Thompson | One Minute to Air |
1998 (1)
12th Gemini Awards |
| Ken Finkleman, Tanya Allen, Mark Farrell, Jeremy Hotz, Peter Keleghan | The Newsroom "The Campaign"
| [17] |
| Dave Broadfoot | Dave Broadfoot: Old Enough To Say What I Want | [18] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | Royal Canadian Air Farce |
| John Rogers | Comedy Now! |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes |
1998 (2)
13th Gemini Awards |
| Patrick McKenna, Steve Smith | The Red Green Show | [19] |
| Brent Butt | Comedy Now! | [20] |
| Luba Goy, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, John Morgan | Royal Canadian Air Farce |
| Ellie Harvie | The Improv Comedy Olympics |
| Ronnie Edwards, Kedar Brown, Kenny Robinson, Satori Shakoor | Thick and Thin |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes |
1999
14th Gemini Awards |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | [21] |
| Tom Green | The Tom Green Show | [22] |
| Shaun Majumder | Comedy Now! |
| Leah Pinsent, Peter Keleghan, Dan Lett, Rick Mercer | Made in Canada "A Death in the Family"
|
| Bob Robertson, Linda Cullen | Double Exposure |
2000
15th Gemini Awards |
| Greg Thomey, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | [23] |
| Dave Broadfoot | David Broadfoot: Old Dog, New Tricks | [24] |
| Gavin Crawford | Comedy Now! |
| Patrick McKenna, Jerry Schaefer, Wayne Robson, Steve Smith, Peter Keleghan, Bob Bainborough, Jeff Lumby, Joel Harris, Graham Greene | The Red Green Show |
| Harland Williams | Comedy Now! | |
Notes and References
- "Green Gables big Gemini awards winner". Windsor Star, December 5, 1986.
- Mike Boone, "No drama in Gemini comedy category - no comedy either". Montreal Gazette, December 5, 1989.
- "And the nominees are..." Hamilton Spectator, March 7, 1992.
- "CTV's Nuremberg leads Gemini nominations". The Telegram, September 18, 2001.
- "Here are major winners of the 1992 Gemini Awards". Toronto Star, March 9, 1992.
- "And the nominees are...". Hamilton Spectator, March 7, 1992.
- "Gemini winners". Edmonton Journal, March 8, 1993.
- Greg Quill, "CBC on Gemini trail via Road To Avonlea". Toronto Star, January 20, 1993.
- "Sunday's Gemini winners". Edmonton Journal, March 7, 1994.
- Greg Quill, "The Gemini nominees are...". Toronto Star, January 26, 1994.
- "The winners at yesterday's Gemini Awards gala". Montreal Gazette, March 6, 1995.
- "Gemini Awards '95 -- the major nominees". Edmonton Journal, January 18, 1995.
- Tony Atherton, "Six Geminis for Due South: Mountie in Chicago drama most honored show of the year". Calgary Herald, March 4, 1996.
- "Major Gemini nominees; Awards gala to be broadcast March 3". Montreal Gazette, January 25, 1996.
- "Due South, 22 Minutes earn Geminis". Halifax Daily News, March 3, 1997.
- Christopher Harris, "CBC-TV tops Geminis News, current affairs lead nominations". The Globe and Mail, January 15, 1997.
- John McKay, "Hiroshima, Traders dominate Geminis final night". Canadian Press, March 1, 1998.
- "Gemini Nominations". Calgary Herald, January 14, 1998.
- John McKay, "Traders star basks in double Gemini win". Hamilton Spectator, October 6, 1998.
- John McKay, "CBC tops Gemini nominations but Bach doc gets single-show nod". Canadian Press, August 11, 1998.
- "Milgaard, Da Vinci top Gemini Awards: The stars come out to honour the best in Canadian TV". Chatham Daily News, November 8, 1999.
- "Major Gemini Awards nominations". Toronto Star, September 22, 1999.
- [Michael Posner (journalist)|Michael Posner]
- "Gemini Nominations". Toronto Star, October 29, 2000.
