Tonight we're going to pay tribute the great Bob Robertson, who passed away in March. There was a beautiful (and hilarious) memorial service for him at Bard on the Beach on Friday afternoon, but if you didn't get there, this might help.
Bob, along with his comedy – and life – partner Linda Cullen, was a guest on
What's So Funny? three times over the years: on episode 41 in 2005, then on episode 69 in 2006 (along with Trevor Devall), and again in 2011. Tonight I'm going to play clips from all three of those episodes. You'll hear Bob talking about his early days in commercial radio, the
Double Exposure heyday, the live revue called the Snides of March they did on Granville Island, and his book
Mayan Horror: How to Survive the End of the World in 2012. Along the way, we'll hear some old clips and he'll do some voices.
They say never meet your heroes, but Bob Robertson was an exception. He was a superstar to me growing up in Victoria. He was the funniest deejay I'd ever heard. As the weekend man on CFAX 1070 from noon to six, I'd listen all day, often with my cassette recorder poised to record one of his numerous regular segments, like Little Mansion in Oak Bay, the Moldy Oldie Music Vault, a conversation with Old Ernie (with Bob doing both parts), and always a phone call from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (also voiced by Bob), who always condescendingly got Bob's name wrong. Bob was the best.
He went on, of course, to real fame with his wife Linda on CBC radio for 10.5 years, then over to CTV, with
Double Exposure.
In the late '90s, I had a job where I had to do the daily banking. More than a few times, I saw the great Bob Robertson in the bank but he was too mythic for me to approach him. Cut to: 2004, when I started hosting What's So Funny? on Co-op radio. I figured, what the hell, I'll contact Bob and Linda and see if they'd come down to the downtown east side to do my rinky-dinky little show. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. And they graciously accepted. They couldn't have been nicer.
Bob gave me an autographed copy of his book on their last visit to the station in 2011, but even better, knowing that I was such a big fan of his early CFAX days, he gave me a disc with a bunch of his old radio bits.
He was a great guy and he is missed.
We're on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM. You can livestream us at coopradio.org or find us on TuneIn Radio. I think it's going to be a long one, in the 90-minute range, so get a nap in!
The episode starts with Harry surprising me with a gift, which you can see here on the right. That's Harry on the right with a drinking Steve Nash taken in Salt Lake City at some winter Olympics or another. A random gift, you might think, but Harry knows how much I love the hoops. (For the record, I brought sweets in a baggie for Harry and Sam.)
Hometown hero Ivan Decker recently made his debut on American network television with his appearance on Conan. Three weeks later, he was a guest with us on What's So Funny? talking about his experience. He took us through all the stages, from first contact, to showcasing at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City, to the bright lights of Los Angeles. Listen to what he was thinking in the moment and immediately after. Hear what Conan said to him. Laugh at his awkward celebrity hug. Plus, as per usual, we're all over the place with tangents because that's what we do.
I don't know who I've known longer: Darryl Lenox or Garry Yuill. But I've known each for a long time. The great standup comic, Darryl Lenox, lived in Vancouver for 14 years before moving back to the United States of America, where he went on to perform on Conan and headline everywhere. Garry Yuill I knew even before he became the Vancouver franchise owner of Yuk Yuk's. How weird is that? He worked with my wife and I babysat his kid. Next thing I know he's comedy industry! Darryl has been on What's So Funny? three previous times, but only once solo. He likes company, I guess. Garry, of course, has never guested with us before. Darryl and Garry are teaming up for something I don't quite know about. I'll let them explain things tonight. It could shake things up in the Canadian comedy scene.
I had a front row seat for the Shirley Gnome show on What's So Funny? a few weeks back. As always, Shirley arrived with guitar in hand and proceeded to entertain us for an hour. Well, we talked, too, but she even entertained then as she discussed penis art and public nudity and all that. In this hour, she played 3 or 4 songs, and we played one track off her new album, Taking It Up the Notch. Word is, her jazzy Christmas song, which we also talked about during this episode, will be out on December 8, so listen for it!
We got him between shows in Reno and on the high seas with Disney Cruises. On November 4 & 5, you can see him in town at the 75th anniversary of the Vancouver Magic Circle at Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, where he'll be sharing the stage with magicians from South Carolina, Los Angeles, and South Korea.
Andy Cañete returns for his second go-round. Both times he's been talking about his latest Fringe show, but our talks always delve deeper. In this one, he talks about the dangers of being a soccer fan in his native Chile, the secrets of Gloria Macarenko, how Chris Farley makes him feel old, the dangers of some old jobs he's had, and the plausibility of Mariel Hemingway as a presidential bodyguard.
