Joe Flaherty, of ‘SCTV’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks, dies at 82
Actor and comedian Joe Flaherty passed away on Monday at the age of 82 following a brief illness, daughter Gudrun Flaherty confirmed to the Toronto Star.
Joe Flaherty was best known for being an original cast member on the groundbreaking Canadian sketch-comedy series “SCTV” from 1976 to 1984.
A Pittsburgh native, Flaherty served four years in the United States Air Force before becoming involved in the comedy scene in Chicago’s Second City Theater. After spending seven years in Chicago, he moved to Canada to help establish the Toronto outpost of the Second City theater troupe. While on “SCTV,” which was created as an offshoot of the troupe, Flaherty worked alongside Eugene Levy, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short.
During his eight-year tenure with the sketch series, Flaherty was best known for characters such as Guy Caballero, the wheelchair-using owner and manager of the fictional SCTV station; Count Floyd, the vampiric host of Monster
Chiller
Horror
Theatre; and Big Jim
McBob of the Farm
Film Report.
Flaherty made a number of scene-stealing appearances on film and television during his career. Most notably, he starred as Harold Weir on the shortlived but critically acclaimed NBC series
“Freaks and Geeks” from 1999 to 2000. He also played the Western Union employee who delivers Doc Brown’s 70-year-old letter to Marty McFly in “Back to