Joe Flaherty, the American actor and comedian known for his roles on Freaks and Geeks and the sketch comedy series SCTV, has died at 82. He died after a brief illness, and his daughter, Gudrun, announced this news.
Gudrun said, “Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the 40s and 50s. His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together – moments I will forever hold dear.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Flaherty got his start in comedy as part of Chicago’s improv group The Second City. His career spanned nearly five decades, with credits on many beloved television comedies like Frasier and Family Guy.
Flaherty was a founding member of SCTV, a Canadian sketch show in which he starred alongside John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Short. The show, which ran from 1976 to 1984, staged skits presented as programming on a television network from the fictional town of Melville. Flaherty was known for his celebrity impressions of such figures as Art Garfunkel, Richard Nixon, Alan Alda, and Kirk Douglas.
Flaherty was also known for a small role in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore, which was memorable, where he played a heckler who taunts the titular golf player, played by Adam Sandler. The actor was beloved not only in his native US but also in Canada, where he had later moved to launch Toronto’s arm of the improv troupe The Second City.
He appeared in several Canadian sitcoms and had a guest appearance on the Canadian sketch comedy show the Royal Canadian Air Farce.
