Biography

A Bit About Myself

"I was born so far back I can hardly remember and grew up normally, I think.
I started going on stage at a time when hair like mine was fashionable, and I hung a guitar hung around my neck to complete the look. Somewhere around that time people started laughing at me, and I saw no reason why I shouldn't join them.
I've made a living off the products of my imagination for thirty years, so if you're wondering if that's possible I am here to tell you it is. Give it a whirl. You just might find an audience."

-Lorne

Now here's something a bit more official:

Canadian born, LORNE ELLIOTT has performed from Newfoundland to New York City, from Los Angeles to Australia and points in between. Lorne started performing in 1974 as a folk musician in East Coast Canada. At the same time he kept writing fiction as well as songs, monologues and one-liners. The outcome of such a training is a very special show of comedy and music, totally original, entertaining, up-lifting and foolish enough to make everybody laugh. Along with his unique and wacky performance style, it is the timelessness of his material, joined with keen observations of today's trends that make LORNE ELLIOTT's work so special.

LORNE ELLIOTT has performed his one-man show in theatres, universities and clubs. He opened concerts for Rodney Dangerfield in New York City and Jay Leno in Montreal. He has made regular appearances at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival since it started in 1986: each time his segments were selected for TV Specials, thanks to their universal quality. In Canada and the U.S. he has appeared on numerous talk shows and Variety shows.

As well as being a humourist, storyteller and musician, LORNE is also a playwright. One of his plays "The Night the Racoons Went Berserk" won Best New Play Award at the Quebec Drama Festival 1983. It was produced by the Charlottetown Theatre Festival in 1986 with "Culture Shock", another comedy which has been presented regularly since then across the country; in 1989 it was staged and filmed by CBC-TV for a special Drama telecast. Part of "The Pelley Papers", a new cycle of plays he wrote was premiered at Upper Canada Playhouse (Morrisburg, Ontario) in 1995. Two recent works are "A Pitiful Ambition", and "How I Broke Into Showbiz". He also writes screenplays and TV Comedies, skits, revues, Comedy Variety shows such as "What Else Is On" and "The Lorne Elliott's Really Rather Quite Half-Decent TV Special" for CBC-TV. "Madly Off In All Directions" is LORNE ELLIOTT's own weekly CBC Radio Comedy Series. Taped in concerts across Canada it started airing in January 1996 and is now in its 11th Season.

Currently Lorne tours his one-man concert show "The Collected Mistakes" on the stages of North American Theatres.

Resume

TELEVISION

"COMICS ONLY" with Paul Provenza: Comedy Network

"JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY SPECIAL": CBC, CTV, Showtime

"COMEDY SPECIAL": BBC

"JOE FRANKLIN SHOW":New York G National Syndie

"MTV COMEDY NETWORK"

"CAROLINE WORLD OF COMEDY": A&E Network

"LORNE ELLIOTT: NEW FACES" ASN/"UPHOME TONIGHT": ATV

"CULTURE SHOCK" by Lorne Elliott: a CBC Drama

"WHAT ELSE IS ON" by Lorne Elliott: a CBC Comedy Variety Special (1990)

"INTO THE NIGHT WITH RICK DEES": ABC

"EVENING AT THE IMPROV": A&E Network

"THE LORNE ELLIOTT REALLY RATHER QUITE HALF-DECENT TELEVISION SPECIAL": CBC 1992 "SUNDAY NIGHT WITH DENIS TRUDEAU": CBC

RADIO

"EVENING AT THE IMPROV": US National Syndie

"DR. DEMENTO". National Syndie

"JOE REYNOLDS SHOW": NBC

"SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT", "MORNING SIDE", "BASIC BLACK", "DEFINITELY NOT THE       OPERA","THE VICKY GABEREAU SHOW" on CBC.

"MADLY OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS", a CBC Radio Comedy Series starring Lorne Elliott 

STAGE

1. Concerts of the "LORNE ELLIOTT" One-Man-Show":

   - Ottawa: NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE. CENTREPOINTE THEATRE, GCTC

   - Montreal: CENTAUR Theatre, ST-DENIS Theatre, MERIDIEN Theatre

   - Halifax: REBECCA COHN AUDITORIUM

   - Charlottetown: MACKENZIE Theatre, Confederation Centre CLUB Theatre

   - St-John's: ARTS G CULTURE CENTRE, LSPLU Hall

   - Toronto: GLENN GOULD STUDIO

   - Vancouver: ARTS CLUB Theatre, FIRE HALL Arts Centre, VANCOUVER EAST       CULTURAL Centre

   - Banff: ARTS Centre

   - Calgary: CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS…

2. Plays: written, produced, directed and starred in: "CULTURE SHOCK", "THE NIGHT THE RACOONS WENT BERSERK", "JESUS MURPHY", "PELLEY PAPERS ", "TOURIST TRAP"(playwright only)

   - Montreal: CENTAUR Theatre, PUZZLES SCENE

   - Charlottetown: THEATRE FESTIVAL

   - St-John's: ARTS & CULTURE CENTRE, LSPU Hall…

FESTIVALS

- Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival: 1986-87-88-89-90-91-93-95-96

- New York Comedy Festival: 1987/Chicago Comedy Festival: 1987

- Vancouver Comedy Festival 1990-92

- Halifax Comedy Festival 1995

- Singapore Comedy Festival 1998

CLUBS

- DANGERFIELDS: New York/IMPROVISATION: New York, Los Angeles

- CATCH A RISING STAR: New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Princeton, Cambridge

- FUNNY FIRM: Chicago/PUNCHLINE: Atlanta/COMIC STRIP: New York, L. A.

- STAND-UP NEW YORK: New York

- YUK YUK'S KOMEDY KABARET: Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, Niagara Falls

TRAINING

26 years of professional stage experience, writing, directing, staging, producing and performing AWARD-WINNING plays, revues, comedy and music shows.

SPECIAL SKILLS

Songwriting, singing, playing guitar, banjo, ukelele, musical saw and fluent in French.