Contest finals for Zimmerman, famous bro Deadmau5
The contest called for a “famous friend.” But in former Niagara Falls resident Chris Zimmerman’s case, Deadmau5 also happens to be his brother.
So, with two days left to enter Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge’s $20,000 contest, Zimmerman sent a text to his superstar sibling asking if he was in. The Famous Friends contest winner gets $10,000, plus $10,000 goes to the celebrity’s charity of choice.
Deadmau5 — re: Niagara Falls-born Joel Zimmerman — agreed. Though he cheekily said he should enter the contest as well.
“I messaged him about the contest when I first heard about it,” said Chris. “He said he was going to nominate Dave Grohl.”
Together, the brothers have made it to the final five of the contest. Should they win, Deadmau5 will direct his $10,000 to the Black Music Action Coalition.
The recently engaged Chris, meanwhile, will use it to help pay for a new house in Elmvale, north of Barrie.
In the finals, the siblings are up against Howie Mandel, Avril Lavigne, Doug Gilmour and Chuck D. All have brief interviews posted on the 102.1 The Edge website which listeners can vote for to determine the winner.
Zimmerman’s brief chat touches on his infamous 2014 car ride with then Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. It was part of his ongoing “Coffee Run” series in which he invited a famous friend along for a ride to Tim Hortons.
“It’s funny, he did the interview and they had some kind of technical error,” said Chris. “They said the interview wasn’t airable and they were freaking out, so they had to call Joel back right away.”
Voting for the winner started Nov. 13 and runs until 11:59 p.m. Nov. 26.
It’s not the first time Chris has leaned on his older brother for a project — two years ago he filmed a comedic travel show in which he hung out with the siblings of famous Canadians including Wayne Gretzky, Phil Hartman and Russell Peters. He’s still pitching it to networks and streaming services.
The two brothers usually meet six or seven times a year but Chris said the pandemic has put a halt to family gatherings for now.