Brenda Donohue on SCTV
Thezbleeds
Does anyone know anything about Brenda Donohue? She appeared in a hilarious
sketch called WITNESS TO YESTERDAY. It was her and John Candy in a parody of
MEETING OF MINDS.
Here's what I know so far: She died in 1979, so that sketch had to be from the
early syndicated years. She was from Canada and there is a Toronto theater
that has an award named after her.
I'm curious about how she died (she was only 28), and if anyone knows of any
other SCTV sketches that feature her or if any other work of hers is on video.
Please let me know if you know anything.
Thanks,
Trace
scottmcf
Are you sure that's not Jayne Eastwood, who Dave mentions in his book
(Page 63) as appearing in several early shows? Whoever that is, I agree
that she was very funny. She was in the "Match Unto My Feet with Father
Duffy" sketch in that same episode I believe, a well-written sketch where
Father Duffy visits the Dithers family who are observing a Jewish holiday
(I forget which one).
Thezbleeds
It was definately Brenda Donohue, she was listed in the closing credits of that
episode.
james widmark
Lookr...@ibm.net wrote:
>
> In <61700s$oha$1...@news.magma.ca>, da...@magmacom.com writes:
> >
> >Anyone remember Peppy Longsocks? One of the finest uses of dummies
> >ever by SCTV. Too bad there was never a sequel like "Peppy in the
> >South Seas"
> >
> >Dandelion
> Would you like to play "jump the weeds" and then later we could have some potatos!
Look, Peppy, I'm a potato! See, ha, ha, a potato!
Amy Bradburn
da...@magmacom.com wrote in article <61700s$oha$1...@news.magma.ca>...
>
> Anyone remember Peppy Longsocks? One of the finest uses of dummies
> ever by SCTV. Too bad there was never a sequel like "Peppy in the
> South Seas"
>
> Dandelion
>
How about the potato joke?
Ah yes, they really knew about the fine art of flinging around stuffed
people. Other great sketches using dummies:
* Mel's Rockpile (dummy Mel gets kicked around during slam dance contest)
* Battle of the PBS Stars (Joan Sutherland gets trampled by passing
sprinters, Carl Sagan goes flying up into the cosmos)
* People's Golden Global Choice Awards (Tattoo getting crushed by the
entire overentusiastic cast of Hill Street Blues)
Any others I'm forgetting?
Jason Kaifesh
In article <01bcd3a5$aeea8180$c2c0...@MyHost.McMaster.CA>,
Don't forget "Maudlin's Eleven". The scene where Skip Bittman accidentally
runs over his own gang. Dummies flying everywhere!
JK
Hey all you crazy beatniks, there's gonna be a heist!
umst...@cc.umanitoba.ca
use of dummies:
Jackie Rogers Jr getting dragged by a limousine
after having his scarf slammed in the door upon
his arrival at the Primrose Ranch in "Gimme Jackie".
"Jackie's been hit!!"
"Don't hurt the dude. He know not what
he do, dig."
What's up with Showcase pulling the plug on
our show?! I'm disapointed with this decision,
as it gave me a reason to wake up in the
morning.
biohazard
On 8 Oct 1997 04:42:03 GMT, "Amy Bradburn"
<brad...@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
>Any others I'm forgetting?
Which character got tossed over the counter in the SCTV cafeteria
during the "Elephant Man" episode? ("Hey, watch it, will ya, I got a
shepherd's pie back there!")
...and don't forget the exploding Bonar "Hank" Bain dummy...
"You guys know this is an Advent screen! Get over here where I can see
you!"
Trudi Marrapodi
In article <01bcd3a5$aeea8180$c2c0...@MyHost.McMaster.CA>, "Amy Bradburn"
<brad...@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
> da...@magmacom.com wrote in article <61700s$oha$1...@news.magma.ca>...
> >
> > Anyone remember Peppy Longsocks? One of the finest uses of dummies
> > ever by SCTV. Too bad there was never a sequel like "Peppy in the
> > South Seas"
> >
> > Dandelion
> >
> How about the potato joke?
>
> Ah yes, they really knew about the fine art of flinging around stuffed
> people. Other great sketches using dummies:
>
> * Mel's Rockpile (dummy Mel gets kicked around during slam dance contest)
>
> * Battle of the PBS Stars (Joan Sutherland gets trampled by passing
> sprinters, Carl Sagan goes flying up into the cosmos)
>
> * People's Golden Global Choice Awards (Tattoo getting crushed by the
> entire overentusiastic cast of Hill Street Blues)
>
> Any others I'm forgetting?
The Incredible Bulk. When The Incredible Bulk got mad, he threw people out
windows.
--
Trudi
President for Life, International Skate-Trolling Union
www...@forgetaboutit.net
To mail me, replace "forgetaboutit" with "frontiernet"
Scott Lucas
On 8 Oct 1997, Jason Kaifesh wrote:
> Date: 8 OCT 1997 18:27:46 GMT
> From: Jason Kaifesh <hug...@merle.acns.nwu.edu>
> Newgroups: alt.tv.sctv
> Subject: Re: Peppy Longsocks
>
> In article <01bcd3a5$aeea8180$c2c0...@MyHost.McMaster.CA>,
> Amy Bradburn <brad...@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
> >
> >
> >da...@magmacom.com wrote in article <61700s$oha$1...@news.magma.ca>...
> >>
> >> Anyone remember Peppy Longsocks? One of the finest uses of dummies
> >> ever by SCTV. Too bad there was never a sequel like "Peppy in the
> >> South Seas"
> >>
> >> Dandelion
> >>
> >How about the potato joke?
> >
> >Ah yes, they really knew about the fine art of flinging around stuffed
> >people. Other great sketches using dummies:
> >
> >* Mel's Rockpile (dummy Mel gets kicked around during slam dance contest)
> >
> >* Battle of the PBS Stars (Joan Sutherland gets trampled by passing
> >sprinters, Carl Sagan goes flying up into the cosmos)
> >
> >* People's Golden Global Choice Awards (Tattoo getting crushed by the
> >entire overentusiastic cast of Hill Street Blues)
> >
> >Any others I'm forgetting?
>
> Don't forget "Maudlin's Eleven". The scene where Skip Bittman accidentally
> runs over his own gang. Dummies flying everywhere!
>
And don't forget Oliver Grimley pitched out the window for asking for
more gruel!
The first (and senitmental favorite) use of a dummy I remember on SCTV
was in the Fantasy Island parody, where Mr. Roarke first rips a huge
chunk of hair out of poor 'Pattoo's" head, then later boots him across
the room. "Must have been fourth and long yardage..." the Hope and
Crosby characters say.
Jim Bennie
In <01bcd3a5$aeea8180$c2c0...@MyHost.McMaster.CA>, "Amy Bradburn"
<brad...@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
> Any others I'm forgetting?
Weren't dummies involved in the 'Towering Inferno' spoof?
I'm sure Joe Flaherty didn't go down those 100-plus floors
of stairs as Guy Caballero.
Jim
consumer
Amy Bradburn wrote:
> Ah yes, they really knew about the fine art of flinging around stuffed
> people. Other great sketches using dummies:
>
> * Mel's Rockpile (dummy Mel gets kicked around during slam dance contest)
>
> * Battle of the PBS Stars (Joan Sutherland gets trampled by passing
> sprinters, Carl Sagan goes flying up into the cosmos)
>
> * People's Golden Global Choice Awards (Tattoo getting crushed by the
> entire overentusiastic cast of Hill Street Blues)
>
>
Can't recall the name of the "Miracle Worker" spoof where Edith Prickley
as the Anne Bancroft character is trying to get through to the Helen
Keller/Patty Duke character played by Catherine. After several
"progressive humanist" approaches, they end up in a knock-down drag-out
fist fight, with Ms. Prickley throwing poor Helen against a wall, HARD,
the end result being her complete transformation into a mini-Edith. The
final scene of them dancing down a country road together singing
"Mockingbird" never fails to bring a tear.
Consumer
Jason Kaifesh
In article <344159...@interaccess.com>,
It was "Gangway for Miracles", starring Edith Prickley and Regan Duke Astin
(Catherine) as "Mad Dog". Pthtbth-HA!
JK
(hand to face) Fine China!
Greenpail
><brad...@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
>Weren't dummies involved in the 'Towering Inferno' spoof?
>I'm sure Joe Flaherty didn't go down those 100-plus floors
>of stairs as Guy Caballero.
find a really really tall building to do it, eh? :D ).
I recall the dummies jumping from the observation deck and landing on the
ground below where Charleton Heston was thinking "if we could use a ladder
we could....awwwww, DAMN!"
That episode was heavy on using the cast members in double roles (note the
oversized Edith Prickley body double).
biohazard
On 13 Oct 1997 05:46:14 GMT, hug...@merle.acns.nwu.edu (Jason
Kaifesh) wrote:
>(hand to face) Fine China!
ARM and a LEG!!!
DAN-NY and the JUN-IORS!!!
Trudi Marrapodi
In article <61t09j$j...@examiner.concentric.net>, "Greenpail"
<*torrell1*@cris.com> wrote:
They noted it, too! That was part of what I loved about it. All of a
sudden you realize that Andrea Martin is playing another character in the
scene, and Mrs. Prickley always has her back to the camera and looks way
too big to be Mrs. Prickley. And it's just about at that point that Guy
says something like "Come on, let's go--you too, Mrs. Prickley's double!"
I just died laughing. It's like they realized what a corner they'd painted
themselves into with all these characters and the fact that they had an
actor who looked nothing like Mrs. P even from the back, so they just
decided to admit it. I think there's even a point where someone asks
"Where's Mrs. Prickley's double?"
Antman
>> How about the potato joke?
>>
>> Ah yes, they really knew about the fine art of flinging around stuffed
>> people. Other great sketches using dummies:
>>
>> * Mel's Rockpile (dummy Mel gets kicked around during slam dance contest)
>>
>> * Battle of the PBS Stars (Joan Sutherland gets trampled by passing
>> sprinters, Carl Sagan goes flying up into the cosmos)
>>
>> * People's Golden Global Choice Awards (Tattoo getting crushed by the
>> entire overentusiastic cast of Hill Street Blues)
>>
>> Any others I'm forgetting?
>
>The Incredible Bulk. When The Incredible Bulk got mad, he threw people out
>windows.
>
Fantasy Island. Ricardo Montalban throws Tattoo across the bar after he
dry-humps a Stradivarius violin, breaking it into pieces.
"I love chicks, boss."
"Tattoo!! Stop it, you hopped-up litle twit!"
Antman
scottmcf
In the Casablanca bar, Montalban got especially agitated at Tattoo after
this exchange (not that I'm quoting it exactly)
M: And Hope and Crosby are classic comedians ... with fine lines ...
like the Cordoba ..
T: Boss, Boss!
M: The Cordoba ... ju see Pattoo, I wanted to pronounce it CORdoba, which
is the correct pronunciation, but those idiots, they made me say CorDOba
..
T: Get ahold of yourself, boss!
M: I'm sorry, Pattoo, I was mesmerized.
T: Speaking of Corinthian leather, boss ... I know what your fantasy is!
You want to tie women up in Corinthian leather, and then rub (I forget
what it is) all over their bodies ..
M: Pattoo, you idiot, I'll crush you ...
Allan Liscum wrote:
>
> Antman (szan...@ucdavis.edu) writes:
> >>
> > Fantasy Island. Ricardo Montalban throws Tattoo across the bar after he
> > dry-humps a Stradivarius violin, breaking it into pieces.
> >
> > "I love chicks, boss."
> >
> > "Tattoo!! Stop it, you hopped-up litle twit!"
> >
> > Antman
>
> Just to be nit-picky here, I think the first time Montalban got angry at
> 'Pattoo' was when the guests were first arriving and one of them gave Mr.
> Montalban a Stradivarius as payment which Pattoo destroyed by humping it.
> :) I don't think Montalban took it out on Pattoo physically though, just
> yelled at him.
>
> The bar scene where a dummy of Pattoo gets kicked across the room and out
> the window happened because he was saying, "Oh, I know what your fantasy
> is, boss! You want those chicks, boss!" and Mr. York (I think they called
> him that instead of Rork [Rorque? Wrorque??]) was telling him to shut up
> about it and then sent him flying when he wouldn't.
>
> RorK: "Shut up, Pattoo! Shut up!"
> *CLUNK*
> Pattoo: "Aaaaaaaghhh!"
>
> Earlier in that scene he also pulled out Pattoo's hair, but I can't
> remember why. Just remember it being really funny :)
>
> Speaking of Fantasy Island parodies, anyone remember the one they did in
> Bizarre where John Beiner (Biner?) was playing Tattoo? The site gag here
> was that John didn't have any leg below his knees, making him look really
> short. :)
>
> Al
Allan Liscum
Starr
scottmcf wrote:
>
> In the Casablanca bar, Montalban got especially agitated at Tattoo after
> this exchange (not that I'm quoting it exactly)
>
> M: And Hope and Crosby are classic comedians ... with fine lines ...
> like the Cordoba ..
> T: Boss, Boss!
> M: The Cordoba ... ju see Pattoo, I wanted to pronounce it CORdoba, which
> is the correct pronunciation, but those idiots, they made me say CorDOba
> >
> > Just to be nit-picky here, I think the first time Montalban got angry at
> > 'Pattoo' was when the guests were first arriving and one of them gave Mr.
> > Montalban a Stradivarius as payment which Pattoo destroyed by humping it.
> > :) I don't think Montalban took it out on Pattoo physically though, just
> >
> > Speaking of Fantasy Island parodies, anyone remember the one they did in
> > Bizarre where John Beiner (Biner?) was playing Tattoo?
> >
My turn to get nit-picky....Shouldn't that be FUN...-ta-see Island???
(Not unlike CORdoba).......!!
Gloria
st...@durham.net
kitter
My brother and I did the same thing, we made audio tapes of the NBC shows
and listened to them all week long, and usually ended up with the
sketches memorized. The audio alone has lots of intrinsic humor in it as
well as all the great dialogue ...
Scott Lucas wrote:
>
> On Thu, 16 Oct 1997, Starr wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 16 OCT 1997 16:22:07 -0400
> > From: Starr <st...@durham.net>
> > Newgroups: alt.tv.sctv
> > Subject: Re: Peppy Longsocks
> >
> > scottmcf wrote:
> > >
> > > In the Casablanca bar, Montalban got especially agitated at Tattoo after
> > > this exchange (not that I'm quoting it exactly)
> > >
> > > M: And Hope and Crosby are classic comedians ... with fine lines ...
> > > like the Cordoba ..
> > > T: Boss, Boss!
> > > M: The Cordoba ... ju see Pattoo, I wanted to pronounce it CORdoba, which
> > > is the correct pronunciation, but those idiots, they made me say CorDOba
> > > ......
> > > >
> > > > Just to be nit-picky here, I think the first time Montalban got angry at
> > > > 'Pattoo' was when the guests were first arriving and one of them gave Mr.
> > > > Montalban a Stradivarius as payment which Pattoo destroyed by humping it.
> > > > :) I don't think Montalban took it out on Pattoo physically though, just
> > > > yelled at him.)
> > > >
>
>
> Yes, mayhem was visited upon Pattoo twice: first, when he constantly
> peppers Montalblan with questions about the plot. Finally, Montalblan
> yells in exasperation "Questions! Questions!" and pulls a huge chunk of
> Pattoo's hair out. [He also calls him "you cheap device for exposition"]
>
> The second is when Pattoo begins to reveal Ricardo's own fantasy--to
> tie women up in corinthian leather. That's when Motalblan boots him out of
> the bar and Bob Hope says "whew, must have been 4th and long yardage!"
>
> My brother and I loved that episode of SCTV so much that we put a
> tape recorder up to the TV so we could record it and memorize the lines!
> That was back in the days before them newfangled VCRs and such...
Scott Lucas
JD396
> My brother and I loved that episode of SCTV so much that we put a
>tape recorder up to the TV so we could record it and memorize the lines!
>That was back in the days before them newfangled VCRs and such...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
that episode was in the eighties.
what year do you figure the vcr was invented?
jd
Rbhdb
>>That was back in the days before them newfangled VCRs and such...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>that episode was in the eighties.
>what year do you figure the vcr was invented?
But they were not as commonplace.
Scott Lucas
Exactly. Plus, AFAIK, that episode was the season finale of their
second season, c. 1978-1979, and not a product of the '80s. But I'm sure
this guy's just trolling...
scottmcf
Rbhdb wrote:
>
> >>That was back in the days before them newfangled VCRs and such...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >that episode was in the eighties.
> >what year do you figure the vcr was invented?
>
> But they were not as commonplace.
Exactly. They started to become common towards the mid-80's. That is
why despite a large coterie of devoted fans, there aren't that many tapes
of the SCTV shows in their original run (actually, I've never met anyone
who has any).
JD396
> Exactly. Plus, AFAIK, that episode was the season finale of their
>second season, c. 1978-1979, and not a product of the '80s. But I'm sure
>this guy's just trolling...
my mistake, i thought it came out later.
glad you are so sure i am trolling.
jd
Antman
I have all of the SCTV shows, with the exception of the original "Indian Head
Test Pattern" series of the 1st season. Actually, I think I may have a sketch
or two of that season, since Nickelodeon mixed and matched them rather liberally.
I even edited most of the commercials out.
And no, you can't have any copies.
Just thought I'd brag, since I seem to be the Old Man of the Newsgroup ...
Antman
BHott
>Exactly. They started to become common towards the mid-80's. That is
>why despite a large coterie of devoted fans, there aren't that many tapes
>of the SCTV shows in their original run (actually, I've never met anyone
>who has any).
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
I remember that time period well, I had all the episodes taped the catch is my
dad swore that betamax was the machine of the future. Turns out ole dad was
wrong
JD396
>I remember that time period well, I had all the episodes taped the catch is
>my
> dad swore that betamax was the machine of the future. Turns out ole dad was
> wrong
>
>
so do you still have the tapes and a working beta machine?
i'll bet they are a dime-a-dozen these days.
over to to your right, in front of the eight track players..
jd
sam...@gmail.com
> Does anyone know anything about Brenda Donohue? She appeared in a hilarious
> sketch called WITNESS TO YESTERDAY. It was her and John Candy in a parody of
> MEETING OF MINDS.
>
> Here's what I know so far: She died in 1979, so that sketch had to be from the
> early syndicated years. She was from Canada and there is a Toronto theater
> that has an award named after her.
>
> I'm curious about how she died (she was only 28), and if anyone knows of any
> other SCTV sketches that feature her or if any other work of hers is on video.
>
> Please let me know if you know anything.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Trace
She died of cancer.
She was very funny in that scene with Candy.
BTW - they weren't doing a parody of Meeting Of Minds, but rather a Canadian show with the same format:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_to_Yesterday
Here are 2 article in the Toronto Star from archives.
https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp;jsessionid=xaNWEhFLmlMpK9aCAAxzWrYU.tplapp-p-2b?Ntt=Donohue%2C+Brenda&Ntk=Subject_Search_Interface
B C
> Does anyone know anything about Brenda Donohue? She appeared in a hilarious
> sketch called WITNESS TO YESTERDAY. It was her and John Candy in a parody of
> MEETING OF MINDS.
> Here's what I know so far: She died in 1979, so that sketch had to be from the
> early syndicated years. She was from Canada and there is a Toronto theater
> that has an award named after her.
> I'm curious about how she died (she was only 28), and if anyone knows of any
> other SCTV sketches that feature her or if any other work of hers is on video.
> Please let me know if you know anything.
> Thanks,
> Trace
https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/255487/her-friends-plan-an-annual-theatre-award-for-actress-brenda