Rick Mercer | |
|---|---|
 Mercer in February 2020 | |
| Born | Richard Vincent Mercer (1969-10-17)October 17, 1969 (age 56) St. John's,Newfoundland, Canada |
| Spouse | Gerald Lunz |
| Website | www |
Richard Vincent "Rick"MercerOC ONL (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadiancomedian, television personality,political satirist, andauthor. He is best known for his work on theCBC Television comedy showsThis Hour Has 22 Minutes andRick Mercer Report. He is the author of four books based on content from the shows and the two part memoir consisting ofTalking to Canadians (November 2021) andThe Road Years (October 2023). Mercer has received more than 25Gemini Awards for his work on television.
Mercer first came to national attention in 1990 when he created and presented his one-man stage showShow Me the Button: I'll Push It (orCharles Lynch Must Die)[1] at theNational Arts Centre's Atelier inOttawa.[2] A satirical political commentary on Canadian life afterMeech Lake,Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada.[2] In 1992, he created and performed his second stage show,I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again at theNational Arts Centre's Studio Theatre, which also became a popular touring show.[2]
In 1992, he began to work with formerCODCO membersCathy Jones andMary Walsh, and fellow NewfoundlanderGreg Thomey, to create a new television series forCBC Television which becameThis Hour Has 22 Minutes. In the first eight seasons of22 Minutes, Mercer provided some of the show's signature moments, including an Internet petition (on the 22 Minutes website) to forceCanadian Alliance leaderStockwell Day tochange his first name to Doris.[3][4][5] The website used for the petition was later repurposed as a way to have Canadians send Christmas cards to peacekeepers inBosnia. Mercer hand delivered these to the troops in a December 2000 special.[6] In 2001, following an incident in which an aide to federalmember of Parliament (MP)Rahim Jaffer posed as the politician in a radio interview, Mercer performed a parody rap based onEminem's "The Real Slim Shady", with the lyrics "Will the real Rahim Jaffer please stand up?
Mercer's two-minute "rants", in which he would speak directly to the camera about a current political issue, shot in a style similar to thoseDenis Leary used inMTV commercials, quickly became the show's signature segment. In 1998, he published a book,Streeters, which compiled many of his most famous22 Minutes rants. It became a national bestseller. In 2007 he published his second book,Rick Mercer Report: The Book.
In November 2010, Mercer contributed a rant he had previously recorded in 2007 on the subject of thebullying of gay and lesbian teens in high schools toDan Savage'sIt Gets Better Project.[7]
One of Mercer's comedy routines on22 Minutes wasTalking to Americans, in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with Americans on topics such as Canadian politics and weather, using the subject's ignorance about Canada for comedic effect. One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24-hour one used by the United States. He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa,Tom Vilsack. On another occasion he got the support ofArkansas GovernorMike Huckabee in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo".
Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled aTalking to Americans stunt on then-presidential candidateGeorge W. Bush. He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "JeanPoutine".[8][9] Bush was not amused at the time, but he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004. In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidateAl Gore to promise to visit the "Canadian capital city" ofToronto after his election. Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.
In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based onTalking to Americans, which attracted 2.7 million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated television special in Canadian history. Later, the respectedABC News programNightline would devote a show to it. This was his last major project related to22 Minutes—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show to focus on his other television show,Made in Canada.Talking to Americans was nominated for aGemini Award, but following the9/11 attacks, Mercer declined the nomination.
Mercer co-created the seriesMade in Canada, which ran for five seasons onCBC Television from 1998 to 2003. The show was a fast-pacedsituation comedy whichself-referentially satirized the Canadian TV production industry, often drawing from details of its own production companies and including thinly veiled parodies of contemporary programs. It was syndicated abroad asThe Industry and won severalGemini Awards (which were themselves satirized in subsequent episodes).
In 2003,Made in Canada ended its run, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series,Rick Mercer's Monday Report. Similar in format to22 Minutes andThe Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the show debuted in January 2004. Also in 2003, Mercer went toAfghanistan to visit theCanadian troops stationed there, resulting in the television specialChristmas in Kabul.[10][11]
Despite reports of a long-standing feud Mercer invited Walsh to appear onMonday Report as a special guest to promote her own seriesHatching, Matching and Dispatching.
At the end of its second season,Monday Report was the highest rated arts and entertainment show on the CBC. Former Prime MinisterPaul Martin gave him a private tour of24 Sussex Drive and formerNew Democratic Party leaderEd Broadbent made snow angels with Mercer onParliament Hill. Other prominent guests wereNDP leaderJack Layton (who was Mercer's own MP);Conservative Party leaderStephen Harper (former Prime Minister);Green Party leaderElizabeth May; then-Conservative MPBelinda Stronach; Conservative MPPeter MacKay; former Newfoundland and Labrador PremierDanny Williams; Olympic gold medallistKyle Shewfelt; authorPierre Berton; recording artistsJann Arden,Bif Naked,Rush,bassistGeddy Lee,drummer andlyricistNeil Peart, andSarah McLachlan; publishing mogulConrad Black; and formerprime ministerJean Chrétien. When Mercer hosted a reliefbenefit concert for the victims of the2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at thePengrowth Saddledome inCalgary, musical guestsBarenaked Ladies appeared in a segment Mercer shot backstage completely naked.
In 2005, the CBC movedMonday Report to Tuesday nights, which caused the show's name to be changed toThe Rick Mercer Report. On his blog, Mercer wrote of the time slot shift that "we ended the season as the highest rated comedy show on the network. Clearly some drastic changes were needed."
In 2017, it was announced that theRick Mercer Report would end production after its 15th season; the last episode aired on April 10, 2018.[12]
Mercer has hostedIt Seems Like Yesterday, which examines pop-culture from the 1950s to the 1980s. He has appeared in a few films, includingSecret Nation,Understanding Bliss,How to Be Deadly andBon Cop, Bad Cop.
In late 2014, he guest starred in the second to last episode of theRepublic of Doyle television series.
In 2022, he launchedComedy Night with Rick Mercer, aCBC Television series showcasing stand-up comedy performances by emerging Canadian comedians.[13]
A book by Mercer,Rick Mercer Report: The Book, based on his television program, was published on September 25, 2007, by Doubleday Canada. This was Mercer's first book sinceStreeters of 1998, and contained a collection of Mercer's rants from the first four seasons ofRick Mercer Report, together with moments from interviews for the program and other writings by Mercer. On CBC Radio'sSounds Like Canada on September 21,Shelagh Rogers said of the book that "it's the most fun I've had in bed in a long time." The book entered theGlobe and Mail books chart on October 6 at number three. It was number one in theGlobe bestseller list in the week before Christmas 2007, and reprinted eight times.
An expanded and updated paperback version ofRick Mercer Report: The Book, calledRick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book, was published by Anchor Canada on September 16, 2008, and immediately entered the top ten of theGlobe and Mail bestseller list. It has been reprinted several times.
Mercer's next book,A Nation Worth Ranting About, was published byDoubleday Canada on September 18, 2012. It was also a bestseller.[14]
Rick Mercer Final Report was published by Doubleday Canada in 2018.[15][16]
Talking to Canadians: A Memoir was published by Doubleday Canada on November 2, 2021.[17]
The Road Years: A Memoir Continued was published by Doubleday Canada on October 31, 2023.[18]
Mercer has received more than 25Gemini Awards for his television work. He has also won theSir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, presented to him at the 2003Banff Television Festival. In 1993, Newfoundland premierClyde Wells honoured Mercer with the Newfoundland Arts Council's Artist of the Year award. In 2004, Mercer was presented with theNational Arts Centre Award, a companion award of theGovernor General's Performing Arts Awards.[19] He donated his $15,000 cash prize to the LSPU hall, the theatre in Newfoundland where Mercer performed his early work.
He holdshonorary degrees fromLaurentian University inSudbury,Memorial University of Newfoundland inSt. John's,Brock University inSt. Catharines,McMaster University inHamilton,Bishop's University inLennoxville, theUniversity of British Columbia, theUniversity of Guelph, theUniversity of Western Ontario inLondon,[20] and theRoyal Military College of Canada inKingston[21] He received an honorary high school diploma for his outstanding efforts and determination fromLandmark East School inWolfville, Nova Scotia in 1999.[22]
Mercer was awarded the 30th AnnualBob Edwards Award in Calgary.[23]
In 2007, he was namedhonorary colonel of theRoyal Canadian Air Force's423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based atCFB Shearwater inShearwater, Nova Scotia.[24]
On June 30, 2014, Mercer was appointed an Officer of theOrder of Canada byDavid Johnston,Governor General of Canada, for "his ability to inspire and challenge Canadians through humour" and his work with charitable causes.[25] He was formally invested into the Order in a ceremony atRideau Hall on September 23, 2015.[26] The same year, he was inducted into theCanadian Disability Hall of Fame.[27] In 2019, Mercer received the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award as part of theGovernor General's Performing Arts Awards.[28]
His memoirTalking to Canadians was the winner of the 2022Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.[29]
In 2023, he was appointed a Member of theOrder of Newfoundland and Labrador.[30]
Mercer is co-chair, along withBelinda Stronach, in theSpread the Net campaign, partnered throughUNICEF, which kicked off atBrock University on September 10, 2008. Spread the Net provides bed nets for $10 each to prevent the spread of malaria among children in Africa.
In December 2004, Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising theOne-Tonne Challenge for the Government of Canada. Mercer also appeared as a model in a national ad for men's clothing store,Harry Rosen, wearing a Canali suit. All of Mercer's fees for the campaign went toCasey House, a hospice inToronto for people living withAIDS. Casey House was founded byJune Callwood, who appeared as a celebrity guest onMonday Report.
In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of theCanadian AIDS Society.
Mercer has narrated an animated science video onclimate change forScience North in Sudbury.
In November 2010, Mercer joined theIt Gets Better campaign, a series of videos that aim to help gay and lesbian youth overcome bullying.[7]
Since 2011, Mercer has been honorary patron ofHope Air, a charity that provides free non-emergency medical flights for people in financial need.[31]
Mercer was born inSt. John's,Newfoundland and raised inMiddle Cove. His mother, Patricia Cook, is a nurse and his father, Kenneth Mercer, is an executive in the fisheries ministry.[32] Growing up he attended Macdonald Drive Elementary and dropped out of Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John's before completing his diploma requirements. He was a member of theRoyal Canadian Sea Cadets during his teen years.
Mercer's spouse since 1990 is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and was the executive producer ofRick Mercer Report. He regards his personal life as private and says little about it in public beyond acknowledging that he is gay;[33][34][35] in a 2011 interview onCBC Radio One'sThe Current, he clarified that he tries "to live [his] life as an out gay man" but doesn't specifically mention his sexuality onRick Mercer Report because it's just "not what the show is about".[36]
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