ON STAGE
What: Gerry Dee with Ivan Decker
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Thursday April 4, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $51.25-$103.75 at the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online from
Toronto comic Gerry Dee is reconnecting with audiences across the country this month, after spending much of the past eight years focused almost entirely on Mr. D, his successful CBC TV series. Dee has returned to the comedy circuit for his 20 Years of Stand Up tour, which stops at the Royal Theatre tonight as part of a cross-country run.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always fun to get on stage,鈥� Dee, 50, said from his home in Toronto. 鈥淚t鈥檚 where it started for me and it鈥檚 nice to get back to that.鈥�
His specialty 鈥� both as a standup comic and as the writer-star of Mr. D 鈥� is finding the funny in the mundane. Mr. D introduced CBC viewers in 2012 to the character of Gerry Duncan, a somewhat inept high-school teacher whose students at a tony private school present him with no shortage of problems. Dee based the show, which wrapped its eighth and final season last year, on his real-life experience as a high school teacher.
His on-stage persona has the same dry, deadpan appeal, but differs in terms of content: Parenting and marriage are the core of his act, and his approach to both is no-nonsense.
One of his most popular standup bits is based on his harrowing experiences in the labour delivery room during the birth of his children. Now that his progeny are maturing (his daughters are 11 and nine, and his son is six), Dee鈥檚 act has changed.
鈥淭he baby-diaper-stage humour is a lot different from the 鈥檛ween stage, which I鈥檓 entering now. A lot of it writes itself, as they say. But I鈥檓 going to be in a lot of trouble when my kids get older and watch this show, because a lot of it is at their expense.鈥�
Before he entered his parenting years, Dee鈥檚 teaching career gave him a sneak peak of what was coming 鈥� which wasn鈥檛 necessarily a good thing. 鈥淚鈥檓 not excited about my daughters and son going into high school. Big kids, big problems. It鈥檚 a stressful thing, being a parent, and I think it just gets more stressful.鈥�
Dee was born Gerard Donoghue in Scarborough, Ont. He was an excellent athlete, and played one year of varsity hockey when he was a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.
He graduated with a degree in physical education, which he put to good use as a gym teacher during the mid-1990s at De La Salle College, a private high school in Toronto that he attended as a teen.
He broached the idea of a comedy career when he was teaching, and in 1999 took the plunge, participating in an open-mic night at Yuk Yuk鈥檚 in Toronto. Dee was an immediate success, and quit teaching in 2003.
鈥淚 basically forced myself out of teaching,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淚 was starting to make money and get success [as a comic] and it was absolutely ludicrous that I was still a teacher in my fifth year of standup.鈥�
Four years after his Yuk Yuk鈥檚 debut, he placed third in the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing, and became a sports reporter with The Score sports network in Toronto.
Dee put a sarcastic spin on the traditional athlete interview, which produced a series of awkward but appealing (to viewers, at least) segments. His sports reporting eventually broke Dee nationwide.
He was perfectly cast in the role, having excelled at both hockey and golf. His children have tried playing hockey and volleyball, but golf is the chosen sport in the Dee household. 鈥淐hosen by me 鈥� as in, they didn鈥檛 have any say in it,鈥� Dee said with a laugh. 鈥淚 put them in sports that I like. We鈥檙e not doing synchronized swimming. That鈥檚 out. We鈥檙e not doing dance. Golf and swimming are the mandatory sports in our house.鈥�
With his TV career on hold, Dee has turned his attention back to standup. Two decades on the comedy circuit is a lifetime in the real world, Gee said. Most comics, especially in sa国际传媒, give up long before that mark.
Dee came into comedy through the side door, so to speak, so he was able to manage the early difficult years until his career picked up speed.
鈥淚 always had a full-time job. It鈥檚 not a high-paying job for most, but I鈥檝e been lucky. When you start, it鈥檚 not high paying for anyone. I had a job, and would do standup on the side. It was a hobby at first. I know a lot of comics who went the full-time route, and made it, and I have a lot of respect for them. I always had teaching to fall back on. For me, the stress was never there.鈥�
He is currently pitching shows to various networks. He hopes to explore his dramatic side on a few of them, but expects his re-entry will be in comedy.
鈥淭here are so many irons in the fire that most of them will never happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven having eight years of a sitcom, it doesn鈥檛 guarantee me anything. I鈥檓 back to the drawing board. I love acting, I love performing, I love writing and creating. But it鈥檚 not my decision.鈥�
