Canadian comic actor, writer, and producer
John Hemphill (born 1953) is a Canadian comic actor, writer and producer.
Career
A longtime player with The Second City troupe's Toronto cast,[ 1] Hemphill was a writer for Second City Television and appeared in supporting character roles such as Happy Marsden, Wesley Wilks, Willem DeCooney and Dr. Ryne Thurman.[ 2] [ 3]
Hemphill has appeared in the television series RoboRoach , The Jane Show ,[ 4] Little Mosque on the Prairie and Maniac Mansion ,[ 5] and the television films Hostage for a Day [ 6] and Sodbusters .[ 7] He was also the co-writer, with Eugene Levy , of Sodbusters .[ 7] Hemphill appeared in Adventures in Babysitting in 1987. In 2003, he began directing the comedy troupe Women Fully Clothed, composed of Second City alumnae Debra McGrath, Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Teresa Pavlinek and Kathy Greenwood.[ 8]
Hemphill portrayed Bob Currie on Schitt's Creek from 2015 to 2020.[ 9] For his performance, he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards .[ 9]
He received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Program for Sodbusters at the 9th Gemini Awards in 1995.[ 10]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1981–1984
Bizarre
Various roles
14 episodes; also writer
1982–1983
SCTV Network
12 episodes; also writer
1983–1984
SCTV Channel
13 episodes; also writer
1985
Workin' for Peanuts
Al
Television role
1987
Really Weird Tales
Mervis Jutt
1988
Biographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman
Buddy Phelps
1988
The Second City Toronto 15th Anniversary
Johnny Prolongo
1990–1993
Maniac Mansion
Harry the Fly
65 episodes; also creator, writer, and director
1992
Partners 'n Love
Lloyd Peters
Television role
1994
Sodbusters
Cole
Television role; also writer
1997
Goosebumps
Doctor / SWAT Team Leader
Episode: "Don't Go to Sleep"
1997
Once a Thief
Master Jamboree
Episode: "It Happened One Night"
1998
Due South
Van Zant's Cleaner
Episode: "Dead Men Don't Throw Rice"
1998
Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension
Freddie Foster
Episode: "Last Laugh"
2000
Power Play
Dr. Eugene Tockette
Episode: "The Quarter Finals"
2000
Relic Hunter
Richard Ferguson
Episode: "Emperor's Bride"
2001–2003
RoboRoach
Voice
7 episodes
2002, 2006
Puppets Who Kill
Good Ol' Joe / Curious Bob
2 episodes
2004
Untold Stories of the E.R.
Reenactments
Episode: "The Big Save"
2006
The Jane Show
Jane's Dad, Dave Black
Episode: "Daddy's Home"
2008–2011
Little Mosque on the Prairie
George Wispinski / Alvin Wispinski
3 episodes
2015–2020
Schitt's Creek
Bob Currie
29 episodes
References
^ "Second City turns improv formula into an art form". Montreal Gazette , July 16, 1988.
^ "Wacky SCTV put Canada on comedy map; Odd characters on mythical TV station live on in reruns". Toronto Star , March 9, 2002.
^ "The dark, twisted backstory of Eugene Levy's Bobby Bittman character" . The A.V. Club . 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2024-01-14 .
^ "Global picks up The Jane Show; Show could be described as The Office meets Sex And The City". Telegraph-Journal , January 24, 2006.
^ "YTV cancels Maniac Mansion". Toronto Star , March 28, 1993.
^ "Candy's TV-movie directorial debut a winner". Toronto Star , April 24, 1994.
^ a b "Eugene Levy's Sodbusters pours on chuckles". The Record , April 25, 1994.
^ "John Hemphill" . IMDb .
^ a b "2017 Canadian Screen Awards Nominees Revealed" . ET Canada , January 17, 2017.
^ "Major Gemini Nominations". Toronto Star , January 18, 1995.
External links