Colin Andrew Mochrie (born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish Canadian actor and improvisational comedian.

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Early life

Colin Mochrie was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, as the oldest of three children. He was shy as a child, stating that neighbors would have commented that he "watched way too much television." ^[1] In 1964, his family moved to a French neighbourhood just outside of Montreal, Quebec, and five years later moved again to Vancouver, British Columbia. ^[2] Mochrie attended Killarney Secondary School as a self-proclaimed loner who wanted to become a marine biologist. ^[3] He was persuaded by a friend to try out for a play entitled The Death and Life of Sneaky Fitch where Mochrie played the role of the undertaker. He was hooked when he got his first laugh, which paved the way for a career in entertainment. After graduating from high school, where he was valedictorian, ^[4] Mochrie attended the Studio 58 theatre school in Vancouver for four years, where he discovered the art of improvisational comedy. ^[5]

Improvisational beginnings

Upon graduation from Studio 58, Mochrie found his first line of work as a member of the Vancouver TheatreSports League. He started working with the group in 1980. Fame was slow to start, as Mochrie had to "literally had to pull people out of McDonald's to come see the shows." Mochrie originally had parts in plays while working for the group, though after a time, working for the TheatreSports League became a full-time job for Mochrie. He met fellow improv comedian Ryan Stiles during this time. He was visiting a mutual friend in New Zealand when Stiles was doing comedy at Punchlines. After the two met, Stiles and Mochrie began working at TheatreSports together. It has been stated that the two met while members of Second City, ^[6] though this is untrue according to Mochrie.

In 1986, Mochrie ended his tenure with the Vancouver TheatreSports League and began working in Toronto after Expo '86. Upon arriving in Toronto, Mochrie auditioned for The Second City comedy troupe, where Stiles was working. ^[7] He began working with the Second City National Touring Company where he met Debra McGrath, who was the director of the company at the time. The two were married in 1989 and had a son, Luke, in 1990.

Mochrie worked for The Second City for three years, where he co-wrote and starred in three productions as well as directed three seasons of their national touring company. Skits he performed in as a member of the touring company include him and two others at a bar, where they help him rewrite an anecdote from his youth involving his father taking him to a baseball game, and a five-minute version of a James Bond movie, complete with Mochrie in a downhill ski chase and parachuting off a cliff. ^[8]

Whose Line is it Anyway?

Upon finishing his stint with Second City in 1988, Mochrie's career was quiet for a while as he spent the next couple years with his new wife and child. In 1989, he auditioned for the new British Channel 4 improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? , but did not make the cut. ^[9] He moved to Los Angeles the following year, and again auditioned for Whose Line , this time making the cut and appearing on one episode.

After seven years as a regular on Whose Line Is It Anyway? , he appeared in every episode of the American version hosted by Drew Carey on ABC. He was frequently mocked by his co-stars on the show for being Canadian and for his receding hairline. In the American version, he was often given the roles of women to play during many of the various rounds, such as "Whose Line" and "Two Line Vocabulary".

Recent work

Mochrie starred in the Canadian comedy series Blackfly and Supertown Challenge . More recently he appeared in This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC Television from 2001 through 2003, on the WB Television Network series Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in 2004, and starred in Getting Along Famously in 2006. Mochrie was a guest star of The Drew Carey Show for three episodes: She's Gotta Have It (1999), Drew Live (1999), and Drew Live II (2000). He also appeared on Nickelodeon's Figure It Out as a celebrity guest panellist. He eventually ended up being slimed as an aspect of the show. He had a one-liner in the episode of Goosebumps titled Bad Hare Day , and also made special guest appearances in several episodes of The Red Green Show .

Among his best known impressions are Peter Graves, Colonel Klink and CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge. He is also known for his 'impression' of Craig T. Nelson, where he simply introduces himself as 'Craig T. Nelson' and uses his own voice.

In 2003, Mochrie, Leslie Nielsen, Wayne Gretzky, and Roy Halladay appeared in print and television advertisement to get people to visit Toronto again after the SARS outbreak that struck the city.

In May 2004, he hosted a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving animal attacks on Animal Planet known as Wild Survival Guide . He has done a commercial supporting Habitat For Humanity. He appears briefly in a commercial for Buckley's Cough Syrup, and he was featured in a commercial for New York Fries, manning a steamroller. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the superhero Overly Sensitive Man (inspired from Whose Line ).

By 2004 Mochrie was appearing in so many media spots that a new Canadian television series, Corner Gas , made light of it by having him do a cameo appearance in the tenth episode. The gag had Mochrie appear shortly after the character of Brent mentioned that Mochrie has a cameo in nearly everything. In March 2005, a Nabisco advertising campaign starred Mochrie as the "Snack Fairy", in which he wears a ballet tutu over ordinary slacks and a shirt. At the end of each commercial, he declares "Snack happy!" and waves his scepter with a smile. Also in 2005 Mochrie appeared in "Burnt Toast", a series of eight comedic mini-operas, each depicting a different stage of a romantic relationship in a contemporary setting, produced by Canada's acclaimed Rhombus Media. He also appeared in an episode of "The Surreal Gourmet".

Along with Rosie O'Donnell, Mochrie hosts a video introduction to a tour of the bakery in the Pacific Wharf area of Disney's California Adventure. In the video, he helps explain how sourdough bread is made. On December 25, 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation premièred the TV movie The Magical Gathering . Mochrie starred in this and his son Luke co-starred as Mochrie's character at a younger age. In February 2007, he made a guest appearance as a priest in the seventh episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie , a Canadian television comedy series.

|Comedian Colin Mochrie to host Canadian "5th Grader" game show}} }} On March 28, 2007, Mochrie and fellow Whose Line is it Anyway? actor Brad Sherwood hosted part of the Press Correspondents' Dinner with the President. In that event, Brad and Mochrie featured Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove rapping. Rove's only line was "MC Rove". On August 29, 2007, Mochrie was announced to host the Canadian version of the game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? . The first of five episodes aired on October 25, 2007. Mochrie would then become the fifth person of the American Whose Line? cast to become a game show host, after fellow colleagues Brad Sherwood (The Dating Game and The Big Moment ), Greg Proops (VS. and Rendez-View ), Wayne Brady (Don't Forget the Lyrics! ), and Drew Carey (The Price Is Right ).

The image of Mochrie's face is used extensively in Animutation, a style of Flash animation. Neil Cicierega, the father of Animutation, would place Mochrie in almost every Animutation he made, making the inclusion of him in Animutation somewhat of a running gag. Mochrie is aware of his status among Animutation artists and fans, having been quoted, "It was very odd when I first saw the animutations. Obviously the animators are more than a little crazy, but I am very proud of my standing in the animutation arena and hope that some day I can make millions off of it." ^[10]

Awards

Mochrie has been nominated for five Canadian Comedy Awards, and has won two. He has also won a Gemini Award and a Writers Guild of Canada award for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

References

1. Comedian keeps track of Santa
2. Funnyman Mochrie shy guy at heart
3. Colin doesn't make mockery of LV comedy
4. Colin Mochrie Interview
5. Improv crew popping up
6. Improv troupe rolls with it and rocks the house
7. Colin Mochrie, Brad Sherwood head for Capitol Center
8. Second City Hits A New Plateau
9. Toronto Comic Becomes British Celeb
10. Ask Colin Mochrie