Darren Stevens (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Darren Stevens commonly known as The Real Darren Stevens, is a Canadian
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...

 radio personality, best known for his shows as heard on 54 Rock, 106.9 The BEAR & CHEZ 106 in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 and B101 in Barrie
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...

; as well as his behind the scenes programming work in Barrie, Ont. Darren Stevens is not to be confused with WMXJ
WMXJ
WMXJ is an oldies/classic hits music formatted radio station that broadcasts from Miami Gardens, Florida. The station is owned by Lincoln Financial Media, which was previously known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications.-History:...

 radio personality Darren Stephens.

Career

Stevens has been a writer/producer/voice of comedy segments for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 national morning shows, CJSB
CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an active rock format at 106.9 FM in Ottawa and 99.9 FM in Pembroke...

 (Ottawa), CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an active rock format at 106.9 FM in Ottawa and 99.9 FM in Pembroke...

 (Ottawa), CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a Top 40 format at 101.1 FM in Barrie, Ontario The station uses the on-air brand name B101 and broadcasts to Barrie & surrounding areas of Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of...

 (Barrie) and program director for CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a Top 40 format at 101.1 FM in Barrie, Ontario The station uses the on-air brand name B101 and broadcasts to Barrie & surrounding areas of Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of...

, CHAY-FM
CHAY-FM
CHAY-FM is a Canadian radio station based in Barrie, Ontario broadcasting with 100,000 watts at 93.1 on the FM dial. It provides an upbeat adult hits format to Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of others....

 (Barrie) and CKCB-FM
CKCB-FM
CKCB-FM is a radio station in Collingwood, Ontario with an adult contemporary format broadcasting at 95.1 FM that uses the on-air branding 95.1 The Peak FM....

 (Collingwood).

He is a versatile performer has done everything from newspaper columnist, radio host to TV including national TV commercials for Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...

, national voice over host for Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...

's A Place in the Sun, appearances on Cooking For Love
Cooking For Love
"Cooking For Love" was a dating game show hosted by Thea Andrews where three contestants battle to win the heart of the mystery date by preparing an impromptu dish to impress the mystery date. The chosen cook gets a date with the mystery date. It was shown on the Women's Television Network and...

, performer in music videos, and other TV including writer / performer / producer of the sketch comedy series The Real Darren Stevens Show which aired on The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....

.

It was the period of 1997-2007 under the guidance of program director Darren Stevens that radio stations CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM
CIQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a Top 40 format at 101.1 FM in Barrie, Ontario The station uses the on-air brand name B101 and broadcasts to Barrie & surrounding areas of Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of...

 & CHAY-FM
CHAY-FM
CHAY-FM is a Canadian radio station based in Barrie, Ontario broadcasting with 100,000 watts at 93.1 on the FM dial. It provides an upbeat adult hits format to Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of others....

 rose to prominence. Both the stations & Stevens have been highly recognized in the radio industry.

On December 10, 2007 after 10 years off the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 radio airwaves, "The Real Darren Stevens Show" returned to the weekdays 3pm - 7pm on CHEZ-FM
CHEZ-FM
CHEZ-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts classic rock at 106.1 FM in Ottawa. The station uses the brand name CHEZ 106 .-History:...

 for a brief period. His final show aired on Wednesday February 20, 2008

In a strange twist of fate, on March 29, 2008 Stevens returned 'home' to the location where he started his career CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an active rock format at 106.9 FM in Ottawa and 99.9 FM in Pembroke...

 where he worked during the 54 Rock AM period & the FM launch of 106.9 The Bear.

Interesting facts

  • Darren has a daughter named 'Jess', who was born in Ottawa in 1991.

  • In September 1990, Stevens, as a radio stunt, admitted that he suffered from a rare affliction - being a Canadian who can't skate. On air he openly 'stalked' fellow Ottawa native & Olympic champ Elizabeth Manley
    Elizabeth Manley
    Elizabeth Ann Manley, CM is a Canadian figure skater. She is the 1988 Olympic silver medalist, 1988 World silver medalist, and three-time Canadian champion.-Early life and training:...

     to teach him how to skate. Finally, after about 150 days, in January 1991, Liz put the skates on Darren & taught him how to skate.

  • In 1991, Stevens had a donut
    DONUT
    DONUT was an experiment at Fermilab dedicated to the search for tau neutrino interactions. Even though the detector operated only during a few months in the summer of 1997, it was largely successful. By detecting the tau neutrino, it confirmed the existence of the last lepton predicted by the...

     named after him. 'The Real Darren Stevens Donut' was banana creme filled covered with chocolate & nuts - 'totally bananas & a little nutty!'.

  • Cowboy Who?
    Cowboy Who?
    Cowboy Who? was an original 45 episode children's television series in Canada, which aired in a half-hour Sunday morning timeslot between 1990 and 1994 on the MCTV system.. The show was a collaboration between then radio producer Jeff Green and the children's theatre group Salt & Pepper Theatre...

    a bizarre all-ages kids show featured early TV appearances of The Real Darren Stevens as well as Samantha Bee
    Samantha Bee
    Samantha Bee is a Canadian comedic actress and author best known as a cast member on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.-Early life:Bee was born in Toronto, Ontario into an unconventional family...

     from Comedy Central
    Comedy Central
    Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

    's The Daily Show
    The Daily Show
    The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

    . The first season is available now on DVD at Amazon.

  • On February 21, 2004 Stevens created "The Monkey" a new format overnight show on CIQB-FM
    CIQB-FM
    CIQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a Top 40 format at 101.1 FM in Barrie, Ontario The station uses the on-air brand name B101 and broadcasts to Barrie & surrounding areas of Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of...

     hosted by Choo Choo - a monkey! A parody of the various Jack/Bob radio formats at the time,The Monkey played music from the current playlist as well as novelty songs, parodies & comedy bits.

  • During his tenure in Barrie, Stevens often used guest celebrity DJ's on CIQB-FM
    CIQB-FM
    CIQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a Top 40 format at 101.1 FM in Barrie, Ontario The station uses the on-air brand name B101 and broadcasts to Barrie & surrounding areas of Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of...

     including Glass Tiger
    Glass Tiger
    Glass Tiger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1983, in Newmarket, Ontario.-Biography:Originally named 'Tokyo', the band produced several hit singles in Canada and placed two songs on Billboard magazine's top 10: "Don't Forget Me " and "Someday," both of which came from their debut album, The Thin...

     (Nov 6/04) and world figure skating champion Jennifer Robinson who made her radio-hosting debut (July 31 & Aug 7/04). On June 18, 2005 Stevens also hired Keith Hampshire
    Keith Hampshire
    Keith Hampshire is an English-born Canadian popular singer of the 1970s, famous in Canada for three top ten hits , and the successful television show Music Machine...

      to host a Saturday night 60's-70's oldies show on CHAY-FM
    CHAY-FM
    CHAY-FM is a Canadian radio station based in Barrie, Ontario broadcasting with 100,000 watts at 93.1 on the FM dial. It provides an upbeat adult hits format to Simcoe County, including the communities of Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, and dozens of others....

    .

Awards

Stevens was voted:
  • Program Director Of The Year - Secondary Market at the 2001 Canadian Radio Music Industry Awards
  • Program Director Of The Year - Secondary Market in the 2004 Canadian Music Network magazine awards


He has also been nominated for:
  • PD & M.D Secondary Market at the 2006 CRMA’s.
  • PD & M.D Secondary Market at the 2005 CRMA’s.
  • PD, M.D, AC Station Of The Year & Station Of The Year - Secondary Mkt 2004 CRMA’s.
  • PD, M.D & Station Of The Year - Secondary Market 2003 CRMA’s.
  • PD & Station Of The Year - Secondary Market 2002 CRMA’s.
  • Station Of The Year - Secondary Market 2001 CRMA’s.
  • M.D & Station Of The Year- Secondary Market 2000 CRMA’s.
  • M.D - Secondary Market 1999 CRMA’s

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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