'Ello Canada

Andrew Alexander outside of Second City Toronta

Toronto was a huge step for The Second City. It was a gamble to see if Canadians had the same sense of humor, and they did: “the Canadian side always had a little bit of an edge” said Dan Aykroyd “I think that was maybe us trying to get noticed or something, because the Americans were more secure. And so we’d hit the wall harder. We’d hit the floor harder. We’d do stronger falls--anything to sort of say we were ready to die for this” (Thomas 77-78). Luckily, after struggling to get footing, Second City Toronto was revitalized by Andrew Alexander, whom Dan Aykroyd said “there would be no Second City in Toronto and, in fact, maybe in Chicago, if it weren’t for his intervention” (Thomas 72). Dan Aykroyd, John Candy and Gilda Radner were stand-out stars of the up and coming Canadian comedy theater. Gilda Radner “stood out for her caring nature and her uncanny ability to draw laughs even in scenes that fell flat,” (Thomas 67) and her co-cast member John Candy was “Mr. Toronto if John Belushi was Mr. Chicago” (Thomas 73). ‘Mr. Toronto’ did not go with his cast members to pursue careers in New York City when “a couple of years after Second City Toronto was resurrected, American TV viewers were tuning in to a new NBC late-night sketch comedy program, initially called Saturday Night” (Thomas 91) giving the cast of Second City new goals to reach for.