Jim Carrey, Eugene Levy and Martin Short All Nominated for the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame, Which They Somehow Aren’t Already In
This February, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, humor heads from across the Great White North will convene for the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame Festival where Jim Carrey, Eugene Levy and Martin Short will be among a list of artists from whom voters will choose inductees to the hallowed hall of Canuck comedy. If those guys aren’t in the hall of fame already, then who the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is?
That, of course, is the biggest question an American comedy fan with little experience north of the border would think to ask upon hearing that news — well, that, and, “Why would anyone ever have a winter festival in Canada for anything besides hockey or ice sculptures?” It’s important to note that the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame is barely three years old, and Carrey, Levy and Short will be among just the third wave of potential inductees. However, the CCHF board and members will only choose five inductees from the full list of 10 nominations, so there is a non-zero chance that not all three of the icons who found success in their neighboring country to the south will be honored in February.
Though Carrey, Levy and Short seem like shoe-ins, they’ll be up against the entire cast of SCTV (which also includes Levy) as well as domestically beloved comics such as Steve Smith and Elvira Kurt. It turns out that getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a significantly less competitive affair than getting named one of the funniest Canadians.
Among those Canadian comedy legends already in the Hall of Fame are some no-brainers like John Candy, Norm Macdonald and Lorne Michaels, while some contemporaries of the current crop of nominees have already earned their stripes, too. Catherine O’Hara, Phil Hartman, Leslie Nielsen, Dan Aykroyd and Michael J. Fox all made the hall at last year’s festival.
The mission statement of the CCHF is, “To celebrate, promote and preserve Canadian achievements in comedy,” of which there are so many that iconic figures like Rick Moranis, Mike Myers and everyone from Kids in the Hall haven’t even sniffed acceptance from the exclusive organization. “Canada has been leading the world in comedy since the country was first founded,” argues the CCHF on their official website under, “Rationale,” saying, “Truth is our British, American and Indigenous influences combine with a mosaic of cultural expression to form a world view that creates, not only a unique Canadian take on the word (sic), but a take the world can laugh at.”
“Besides,” the CCHF continues, “it’s cold for six months and you have to do something to keep warm.” This February, American comedy fans will keep the CCHF plenty warm when we cross the border with our torches and pitchforks if they don’t vote in Carrey, Short and Levy.
