CODCO
Encyclopedia
CODCO was a Canadian
comedy troupe from Newfoundland
, best known for a sketch comedy
series which aired on CBC Television
from 1987 to 1992.
Founded as a theatrical revue in 1973, CODCO drew on the province's cultural history of self-deprecating "Newfie
" humour, frequently focusing on the cod
fishing industry. The troupe's name was an abbreviation of "Cod Company".
Following the end of CODCO, two of the troupe's core members and an occasional guest collaborator, as well as some of their sketch characters, moved on to the new series This Hour Has 22 Minutes
.
and Diane Olsen wrote a comedic show about Canadian stereotypes of Newfoundlanders, Cod on a Stick. Originally launched in Toronto, the cast consisted of Sexton, Olsen, Greg Malone
, Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh and Paul Sametz. The show subsequently opened in St. John's
, with Scott Strong replacing Sametz, and then toured the province with Robert Joy
replacing Strong. When the show was taped by the National Film Board in 1974, Andy Jones
appeared in the cast as well.
Sexton, Olsen, Malone, Cathy Jones, Andy Jones, Walsh and Joy subsequently performed in the show Sickness, Death and Beyond the Grave in 1974. In 1975, all except Malone, who was on a brief sabbatical to study at the Toronto Dance Theatre
, appeared in What Do You Want to See the Harbour For, Anyway?; later that year, Malone rewrote the show as Das Capital.
In the fall of that year, the troupe compiled bits from their earlier shows for a week-long performance in Philadelphia
, which was titled Philadelphia: Somewhere on the Hungry Coast of Newfoundland. That show was also taped for broadcast on CBC Television
's Peep Show, as Festering Forefathers and Running Sons.
Joy and Olsen left the troupe in 1976.
Over the next number of years, the troupe's members only rarely worked together as CODCO, but often collaborated with each other individually on various projects, including the film The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood
and the television series The Root Seller, The Wonderful Grand Band and The S and M Comic Book
. Greg Thomey
and Paul Steffler also frequently collaborated with the CODCO members on various projects.
specials, and the CBC was interested in developing further projects with the duo — after the success of the CODCO reunion show, the troupe decided to work on a CODCO series.
CODCO began production in 1986, and debuted on the CBC in 1987. Although not regular contributors, Thomey and Joy sometimes appeared on CODCO as guest performers.
For most of its run, CODCO aired as the latter half of a one-hour sketch comedy block, immediately following The Kids in the Hall
.
members and the use of drag
— although where The Kids in the Hall often revelled in absurdist humour, CODCOs sketches were typically based around social commentary and satire
, often with a strongly political edge. Their sketches were also strongly reflective of the troupe's background on the stage, sometimes playing more as humorous character or scene studies than as conventional sketch comedy.
Recurring characters included the Friday Night Girls (Walsh and Jones), a homely, dateless pair of female friends whose Friday nights rarely consisted of anything more exciting than riding the Metrobus
, Dakey Dunn (Walsh), an unexpectedly insightful macho lout, Frank Arsenpuffin (Andy Jones), a hapless talk show host faced with a succession of horrifying guests, Marg at the Mental (Sexton), a patient in a psychiatric hospital
, and Jerome and Duncan (Sexton and Malone), a flamboyant pair of gay lawyers. Thomey sometimes appeared on the show as Newfoundland separatist Jerry Boyle, a character he would later reprise on This Hour Has 22 Minutes
.
Another recurring sketch, House of Budgell, was essentially an ongoing soap opera
set in a boarding house
. Wake of the Week focused on the Furlong sisters, a pair of elderly spinsters who regularly crashed funeral wakes, while The Byrd Family focused on a family of hardened criminals. Another of the show's most famous sketches parodied Canadian literary icon Anne of Green Gables
; instead of Prince Edward Island
, Anne lived in a dreary Newfoundland fishing outport called Green Gut.
Malone performed a number of celebrity impersonations, including Margaret Thatcher
and Canadian television journalist Barbara Frum
, while Sexton did recurring impersonations of Barbara Walters
and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Parody music videos were also a frequent feature of the show. In a transparent spoof of Quebec pop idol Mitsou
, Cathy Jones played Jansu, a shallow, self-promoting pop singer who tried to be topical with lyrics such as "it's a political world/so separate your garbage!". Sexton parodied body image
as Dusty Springroll, who sang an ode to the fashionability of bulimia. Figures such as Anne Murray
and Bruce Cockburn
were parodied in commercials for compilation albums with satirical lyrics set to the melodies of real songs by the artists, while another sketch was set in a café holding a Leonard Cohen
impersonation contest.
priests discussing their sexual experiences. The Mount Cashel Orphanage
child abuse controversy was very much in the news at the time, and as Newfoundlanders, the CODCO crew quite naturally had very strong opinions on the matter. As a result, Andy Jones quit the show in protest. Although the series carried on for one more year, his departure was widely perceived to have weakened the show, which subsequently ended in 1992. Ironically, the CBC subsequently aired Pleasant Irish Priests in a Best of CODCO special just a few months after the regular series ended.
Following the end of CODCO, Walsh and Cathy Jones worked with Thomey and Rick Mercer
to create This Hour Has 22 Minutes
. Several CODCO characters, including Dakey Dunn and Jerry Boyle, were carried over to the new series.
Sexton died in 1993 of complications from AIDS
.
Malone ran as a New Democratic Party
candidate in a Newfoundland byelection in 2000, losing narrowly to Loyola Hearn
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedy troupe from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, best known for a sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series which aired on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
from 1987 to 1992.
Founded as a theatrical revue in 1973, CODCO drew on the province's cultural history of self-deprecating "Newfie
Newfie
Newfie is a colloquial term used in Canada for someone who is from Newfoundland. It appears in a 1942 dictionary of slang; at the time, 'Newfie' was used as often to refer to Newfoundland itself as to people from Newfoundland .The term 'Newfie' has been applied to the Newfoundland people, the...
" humour, frequently focusing on the cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
fishing industry. The troupe's name was an abbreviation of "Cod Company".
Following the end of CODCO, two of the troupe's core members and an occasional guest collaborator, as well as some of their sketch characters, moved on to the new series This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials...
.
Roots
In 1973, Tommy SextonTommy Sexton
Thomas "Tommy" Sexton was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, he was the youngest member of the CODCO comedy troupe....
and Diane Olsen wrote a comedic show about Canadian stereotypes of Newfoundlanders, Cod on a Stick. Originally launched in Toronto, the cast consisted of Sexton, Olsen, Greg Malone
Greg Malone (actor)
Greg Malone is a Canadian impressionist and actor.He is well known for the CODCO television series and his impersonations of Barbara Frum, Jean Chrétien, and Queen Elizabeth II....
, Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh and Paul Sametz. The show subsequently opened in St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, with Scott Strong replacing Sametz, and then toured the province with Robert Joy
Robert Joy
Robert Joy is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sid Hammerback in CSI: NY and playing Charlie in Land of the Dead.-Early life:...
replacing Strong. When the show was taped by the National Film Board in 1974, Andy Jones
Andy Jones (comedian)
Andrew Jordan Jones is a Canadian comedian, and a former member of CODCO.Andy Jones was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador...
appeared in the cast as well.
Sexton, Olsen, Malone, Cathy Jones, Andy Jones, Walsh and Joy subsequently performed in the show Sickness, Death and Beyond the Grave in 1974. In 1975, all except Malone, who was on a brief sabbatical to study at the Toronto Dance Theatre
Toronto Dance Theatre
The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by The Canadian Encyclopedia as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regularly performs at the Harbourfront Centre and Winchester...
, appeared in What Do You Want to See the Harbour For, Anyway?; later that year, Malone rewrote the show as Das Capital.
In the fall of that year, the troupe compiled bits from their earlier shows for a week-long performance in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, which was titled Philadelphia: Somewhere on the Hungry Coast of Newfoundland. That show was also taped for broadcast on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's Peep Show, as Festering Forefathers and Running Sons.
Joy and Olsen left the troupe in 1976.
Over the next number of years, the troupe's members only rarely worked together as CODCO, but often collaborated with each other individually on various projects, including the film The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood
The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood
The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood is a surreal Canadian comedy film, released in 1986. The film was directed by Andy Jones and written by Andy and Mike Jones, with the collaboration of a number of workshop participants...
and the television series The Root Seller, The Wonderful Grand Band and The S and M Comic Book
The S and M Comic Book
The S and M Comic Book was a Canadian series of four sketch comedy specials, that aired on CBC Television in 1985 and 1986. Starring Greg Malone and Tommy Sexton, the series evolved out of the pair's touring show Two Foolish to Talk About....
. Greg Thomey
Greg Thomey
Greg Thomey was born May 8, 1961 in St. John's, Newfoundland.Hailing from Newfoundland, Greg has been a part of the comedy scene there for years as a writer and performer with the comedy troupe CODCO and in his own right as an actor and playwright...
and Paul Steffler also frequently collaborated with the CODCO members on various projects.
TV series
In 1985, Walsh, Sexton, Malone, Cathy Jones and Andy Jones reunited as CODCO for a benefit show in St. John's. Sexton and Malone had just completed the successful and popular S and M Comic Book series of CBC TelevisionCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
specials, and the CBC was interested in developing further projects with the duo — after the success of the CODCO reunion show, the troupe decided to work on a CODCO series.
CODCO began production in 1986, and debuted on the CBC in 1987. Although not regular contributors, Thomey and Joy sometimes appeared on CODCO as guest performers.
For most of its run, CODCO aired as the latter half of a one-hour sketch comedy block, immediately following The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
.
Segments and characters
CODCO shared several characteristics with The Kids in the Hall, including the presence of openly gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
members and the use of drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
— although where The Kids in the Hall often revelled in absurdist humour, CODCOs sketches were typically based around social commentary and satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, often with a strongly political edge. Their sketches were also strongly reflective of the troupe's background on the stage, sometimes playing more as humorous character or scene studies than as conventional sketch comedy.
Recurring characters included the Friday Night Girls (Walsh and Jones), a homely, dateless pair of female friends whose Friday nights rarely consisted of anything more exciting than riding the Metrobus
Metrobus (St. John's)
Metrobus Transit is a public transport system owned by the City of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada. It operates a fleet of diesel buses. A total of 18 bus routes serve St. John's and Mount Pearl, carrying approximately 3.1 million passengers in 2009.-History:Metrobus Transit was...
, Dakey Dunn (Walsh), an unexpectedly insightful macho lout, Frank Arsenpuffin (Andy Jones), a hapless talk show host faced with a succession of horrifying guests, Marg at the Mental (Sexton), a patient in a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, and Jerome and Duncan (Sexton and Malone), a flamboyant pair of gay lawyers. Thomey sometimes appeared on the show as Newfoundland separatist Jerry Boyle, a character he would later reprise on This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials...
.
Another recurring sketch, House of Budgell, was essentially an ongoing soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
set in a boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
. Wake of the Week focused on the Furlong sisters, a pair of elderly spinsters who regularly crashed funeral wakes, while The Byrd Family focused on a family of hardened criminals. Another of the show's most famous sketches parodied Canadian literary icon Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
; instead of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Anne lived in a dreary Newfoundland fishing outport called Green Gut.
Malone performed a number of celebrity impersonations, including Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and Canadian television journalist Barbara Frum
Barbara Frum
Barbara Frum, OC was a Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Personal life:...
, while Sexton did recurring impersonations of Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Parody music videos were also a frequent feature of the show. In a transparent spoof of Quebec pop idol Mitsou
Mitsou
Mitsou Annie Marie Gélinas is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress...
, Cathy Jones played Jansu, a shallow, self-promoting pop singer who tried to be topical with lyrics such as "it's a political world/so separate your garbage!". Sexton parodied body image
Body image
Body image refers to a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. The phrase body image was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his masterpiece The Image and Appearance of the Human Body...
as Dusty Springroll, who sang an ode to the fashionability of bulimia. Figures such as Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
and Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
were parodied in commercials for compilation albums with satirical lyrics set to the melodies of real songs by the artists, while another sketch was set in a café holding a Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
impersonation contest.
The end of CODCO
In 1991, the CBC refused to air Pleasant Irish Priests in Conversation, a sketch involving three CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priests discussing their sexual experiences. The Mount Cashel Orphanage
Mount Cashel Orphanage
The Mount Cashel Orphanage is a former Canadian orphanage that was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. It was located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador....
child abuse controversy was very much in the news at the time, and as Newfoundlanders, the CODCO crew quite naturally had very strong opinions on the matter. As a result, Andy Jones quit the show in protest. Although the series carried on for one more year, his departure was widely perceived to have weakened the show, which subsequently ended in 1992. Ironically, the CBC subsequently aired Pleasant Irish Priests in a Best of CODCO special just a few months after the regular series ended.
Following the end of CODCO, Walsh and Cathy Jones worked with Thomey and Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer
Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...
to create This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials...
. Several CODCO characters, including Dakey Dunn and Jerry Boyle, were carried over to the new series.
Sexton died in 1993 of complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Malone ran as a New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate in a Newfoundland byelection in 2000, losing narrowly to Loyola Hearn
Loyola Hearn
Loyola Hearn, PC is the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland. He served as a Member of the Canadian House of Commons from 2000 to 2008, and as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from February 6, 2006 to October 30, 2008....
.