Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, but grew up in North Carolina and also spent some time in England. He describes his humor as a cross between American and British sensibilities and lists Andy Griffith, Bob Hope, Jonathan Winters and Peter Sellers as influences in the development of his comedy.

Thomas earned a master's degree in English literature from McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) and got his first taste of performing in the Toronto cast of "Godspell." But three months later, the show closed and the young actor hit a dry spell. He got a job in advertising on the strength of some fake ads he mocked up for his portfolio, and went on to become a successful advertising writer. But he quit the business at age 27 because he believed "actors should never play second fiddle to boxes of soap."

Returning to show business, he joined the Toronto company of Second City after a week-long audition. He then became a regular on "The David Steinberg Show," but later returned to the Second City revue where he and cast members from both the Toronto and Chicago companies created Second City Television ("SCTV"). A year later, Thomas won Canada's Actra Award for Best Performer in a Variety Show; and in subsequent years, received a second Actra and three nominations. In addition to directing hundreds of hours of "SCTV," he garnered an Emmy Award and five Emmy nominations as the show's head writer. He also received a CableACE Award nomination for his starring role in "Public Enemy Number 2" on cable television.

Thomas is best known to American audiences as a member of the innovative "SCTV" ensemble and as half of the McKenzie Brothers, the act which rocketed him and partner Rick Moranis to stardom. The McKenzie Brothers became a part of American lore when "SCTV" became a part of late-night television. Their comedy album, "Bob and Doug McKenzie's Great White North," went gold in the U.S. and triple platinum in Canada. It won a Juno Award for Best Comedy Album and a Grammy nomination. The McKenzies became movie stars with the feature, "Strange Brew," which Thomas co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in with Moranis. It received Canada's Golden Reel Award as the highest grossing film of 1983.

Spooked by this success ride, Thomas took a break and retreated to his home in Canada, writing and producing network television pilots and spending time with his family. He returned to Hollywood when he began to miss performing in sketch comedy. Thomas co-created and was co-executive producer of "America's Funniest People" for ABC in 1990.

His feature-film work includes roles in "Stripes"; "Follow That Bird," starring Chevy Chase; "Moving," starring Richard Pryor; and he directed "The Experts," starring John Travolta. He co-scripted "Spies Like Us" with Dan Aykroyd. In addition to his work on "SCTV," his television appearances include "Jonathan Winters' Salute to Baseball," "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," "Late Night With David Letterman," "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Later With Greg Kinnear." Thomas also guest-starred on "Bob Hope's 90th Birthday Special," and co-hosted "Bob Hope Salutes Young Comedians" with Bob Hope and Crystal Bernard. He was executive producer, star and writer of "The Dave Thomas Show." He also directed, produced, wrote and starred in the cable special, "The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood." He was seen on the movie screen in "Boris and Natasha," as Bullwinkle Moose's arch-enemy, Boris, opposite Sally Kellerman's Natasha; and in "The Coneheads," with Dan Aykroyd.

In 1994, during his hiatus from "Grace," Thomas starred in "Mr. Foster's Field Trip," a movie for television. In 1995, Dave's production company, Maple Palm Productions, sold a pilot, "Family Challenge." Currently, the production company has three feature film scripts on its development slate. Maple Palm takes up most of Dave's time on hiatus.

He resides in Los Angeles when he's not off somewhere directing or performing. He has three children.

VITAL STATISTICS
BIRTHPLACE: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
BIRTHDATE: May 20
HEIGHT: 5'10"
HAIR: Sandy brown
EYES: Blue