"He wrote his own stand-up for variety shows, played in a couple of bands (Main Street and Fast Exit) and wrote and performed in plays," says Kehrig. "He had nearly perfect attendance, but never did his homework and rarely handed in assignments." It was clear to the school's staff and student body that Butt was destined to be an entertainer. "He wasn't exactly a scholar," laughs Kehrig, now 45, who taught at the Tisdale Unit Composite School when Butt attended in the early '80s. Kathy Kehrig remembers the comic when he was just a funny teenager who hated Macbeth in her Grade 11 English class. "I'm not a very edgy dude." He's right, his appeal comes more from the fact that people like laughing at life's oddities. "People always talk about the importance of pushing the envelope with comedy but that's just not me," says Butt. Toronto, surprisingly, is the show's largest viewing market, per capita. His smart style of humour - more observational than slapstick - has struck a chord with a wide-ranging viewership. He met his fiancée, co-star Nancy Robertson, on-set the series, which runs until March 21, has already been renewed for a third season and he's hosting the Juno Awards in Winnipeg in April. The most watched sitcom on Canadian TV, centered around the quirky residents of the fictional Prairie town of Dog River, has made life pretty great for the 38-year-old from Tisdale, Sask. Neither do the million-and-a-half viewers who tune in every week to watch him play gas station proprietor Brent LeRoy on Corner Gas. I just don't like using it as a crutch." Based on the applause drowning out his final bit, Butt's fans at the Urban Well don't miss it. "There are people who do incredibly filthy stuff in an original way," says Butt. And unlike most other stand-ups, Butt rarely swears. In fact, the instant he steps in front of the crowd, he comes alive - turning jokes on himself ("I don't do a lot of sex jokes, because they say to do what you know") and jabbing audience members like a playful, but very witty uncle. Maybe that's because Butt seems to stand taller onstage than his five-foot, nine-inch frame. It's one of the magic places in my life." "Robin Williams calls whenever he's in town and asks if he can do five minutes," says Butt, who moved to Vancouver's trendy Kitsilano area last year, in part to be closer to the club. And though the bar is not ideal - female patrons have to cross the stage to get to the washroom - it has become an institution. That's why six years ago, Butt and fellow Vancouver comic Jamie Hutchinson started the Urban Well's comedy night. The rest of the day, I'm never sure where the hell I should be or what I should be doing." "Doing stand-up is what makes the most sense to me. "Since there was never any heat from hockey scouts, I gave up my dream of playing in net for the Maple Leafs pretty early," says Butt. Brent Butt is home.īefore the success of CTV's Corner Gas turned Butt into Canada's hottest comic, that was his life: travelling the country, with every cramped club and corporate gig a new stage for his jokes. The show's headliner appears from stage right, sets his rye and Coke on the stool, nods to the crowd and grabs the microphone from its stand. But when the lights at the back of the room go up, all eyes shift to a tiny stage - empty, except for a wooden stool in front of a purple curtain. The nearly packed Vancouver bar is buzzing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |