Gerard Donoghue, better known as Gerry Dee, is viewed as one of the funniest stand-up comedians in North America. To date, some of his career accolades include a special segment on one of Canada’s Sports Networks - The Score, a role in the ever popular hit TV show Trailer Park Boys, a starring role in the brand new sitcom Mr. D on CBC, appearances in television commercials for Rogers, Wisers, KFC and Nissan, the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards Best Male Stand Up Comedian, and a third place finish on the fifth season of Last Comic Standing. Not bad for a kid from Scarborough, Ont. who claims while growing up he was on the receiving end of many jokes from his two older siblings.
But according to Gerry, he wasn’t always the class clown during his days as a student. When told he was viewed as a quick witted, funny character around St. Francis Xavier University, where he received his honors in Physical Education from 1992-1994, Gerry responded “That’s news to me, I do remember imitating some of my professors at the Phys Ed graduation lunch, but for the most part I thought it was more joking around with my friends.”
It is this humble and down to earth attitude, not to mention dry sense of humor, that has contributed to much of Gerry’s successes. These attributes also were felt when Gerry made the X-Men varsity hockey team during the 1992-1993 season. “That was quite the experience for me”, notes Gerry, who previously played as high as high school hockey in Ontario.
“I made the team as a walk-on and had four points my first game; it was all downhill after that though. We didn’t have a lot of talent to work with compared to other teams so head coach Wayne Synishin was forced to play our top four or five guys as much as he could. That didn’t bode well for me.” Pure honesty, a trait Gerry strongly possess in his new sitcom Mr. D, where he embodies an under qualified teacher who has a very unorthodox style of teaching.
The following year Gerry was cut from the hockey team, but still considers his one year of university varsity hockey his favorite memory at StFX, “It was such a big step for me, I had only played high school hockey so it was all new to me. I made some great friends on that team that I still talk to today.”
One of those friends is Dave ‘Ticker’ Synishin, who is the current head coach of the StFX women’s hockey team. The two have kept in touch every year and Gerry makes it a priority to see his good buddy whenever he returns to Antigonish. Another fond memory of his time at X was the men’s basketball national championship victory in 1993. “The lead up to it, the trip to Halifax to watch it and the celebration when they won - it was our March Madness and it was amazing.”
After his time at StFX, Gerry went on to become a teacher at De La Salle College, a private high school in Toronto for 10 years. Gerry modelled some of his teaching techniques after StFX’s very own Human Kinetics professors Peggy Gallant and Jacques Boucher. “Peggy and Jacques were great to me when I was at X and I learned many things that helped me in my real teaching career.”
It was not until 1999, after some serious peer pressure from his students, that he considered a comic career. “Five years after graduating from X I tried stand-up at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto.”
And what a decision that was, as Gerry won his first ever competition, and since than his career has blossomed to new heights. It was certainly not an easy road to stardom however, as he dealt with struggles and adversity in the early years of his new career. He was cut from the television show Last Comic Standing twice, in seasons two and four during 2003. It wasn’t until 2007 when Gerry’s perseverance and drive to succeed finally paid off.
Gerry went back for another kick at the can, hoping the third time would be the charm, as he tried out for season five of Last Comic Standing. Gerry not only avoided getting cut for a third straight time, he finished in third place in the competition. This huge accomplishment did come at a cost however, as Gerry missed the birth of his baby daughter as the producers of the show would not allow him to leave the set. This was clearly the biggest obstacle Gerry had to face in his comedy career, but he realized if he left there may never be an opportunity in his career like this again.
The year 2007 certainly was a good year for Gerry as not only did he come third in Last Comic Standing, he landed a humorous segment on The Score, titled Gerry Dee: Sports Reporter. Through to February, 2012 the segment is still running strong and Gerry has interviewed numerous famous athletes, including Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Cito Gaston and Randy Couture just to name a few. “The Charles Barkley interview has for sure been my most memorable. He is such a huge name and personality, we clicked right away and he was very funny.”
Along with his segment on The Score, Gerry is monitoring his popular new sitcom Mr. D, is getting ready to publish his first book in the fall of 2012 and is travelling the country on his ‘Life After Teaching’ comedy tour. The big question that all of Antigonish, N.S. wants to know however, is when will the 1992-1993 one-game hockey wonder return to the Maritimes for his comedy tour?
“I have a date planned for September 21st, 2012 in Antigonish. I always look forward to coming back!” says Dee.
And we can’t wait to see him come back to the place where Gerry credits he received some of his most valuable career advice to date. “Jacques Boucher once said, ‘don’t let the little things bother you’ and I lived by that every day I taught. It was great, simple advice.”
And live by that he does, as Gerry certainly doesn’t let too much bother him as one of North America’s premier comedians.
Authors Note: With contributions from Gerry Dee - Human Kinetics History of Sport poster