Joe Flaherty, a prominent comedian and one of the original cast members of the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, has passed away, as confirmed by his family.
Flaherty, who was born in Pittsburgh, had a significant career in comedy. He spent seven years at The Second City in Chicago before relocating to Canada to help establish the theatre’s Toronto branch.
He gained widespread recognition for his roles in SCTV, where he starred alongside comedy legends such as the late great John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara. He is also remembered for his prominent Dad role on the cult classic TV show Freaks and Geeks. A show that helped launch the careers of such actors as James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segal.
Among Flaherty’s memorable portrayals were that of the network executive Guy Caballero and the eerie TV host Count Floyd.
Tributes for Flaherty have been shared along with favourite clips.
Joe Flaherty was one of the funniest people ever and no one was cooler than Count Floyd. RIP ๐ pic.twitter.com/UfAcyz4qfX
โ Chesty Morgan (@MorgsterSquad) April 2, 2024
Rest in Peace, Joe Flaherty. One of the funniest to ever do it and one of the ultimate teen girl character dads as Harold Weir on FREAKS & GEEKS. pic.twitter.com/9gEmYJz94E
โ This Ends At Prom Podcast (@ThisEndsAtProm) April 2, 2024
Throughout his career, Flaherty maintained strong connections to Toronto, notably serving as an artist-in-residence at Humber College. His daughter, Gudrun, announced that Flaherty passed away on Monday after a brief illness.
