Ben Kerr

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Ben Kerr (Born 1930 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia - Died June 17, 2005) was a Canadian author, broadcaster, musician and political candidate, who was famous as one of Toronto, Ontario's quirky street performers.

Kerr was a perennial fringe candidate, who ran in every Toronto mayoral election since 1985. In 1997, he placed fourth behind Mel Lastman, Barbara Hall and Don Andrews. In the 2000 election, he ran on a platform of waterfront renewal, and the song "Fringe Candidate".

He appeared frequently on radio and television as an advocate for the health benefits of cayenne pepper. He was also widely known in Toronto as a street performer who sang with a karaoke machine in front of the Hudson's Bay department store at the corner of Yonge and Bloor streets. It is rumoured that Kerr was once offered a recording contract with Sub Pop Records.

Kerr was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and spent fifteen years in the Royal Canadian Air Force before settling in Toronto.

In the 1960s, Kerr frequently played guitar in folk clubs in Toronto's Yorkville district working alongside groups such as Steppenwolf, the Mynah Birds, Rick James, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell, and wrote songs for the then unknown Neil Young.

In 1969, he had a life changing experience when he gave up his three pack a day smoking habit and started taking a daily cayenne pepper cocktail. He credited the concoction with turning his health around and saving his life.

For a time, he was an executive at the Toronto Harbour Commission. A fervent anti-smoking crusader, he quit in a rage in 1981 when a co-worker blew smoke in his face. He wrote a song Fire on One End, a Fool on the Other about the incident. This inspired him to run from Toronto to Los Angeles to promote a smoking ban in offices. The run took him six months.

Kerr supported himself as a busker for twenty years until his death. He was often voted "favourite street performer" in Now Magazine's annual Toronto survey. He was the author of The Cayenne Pepper Cocktail.

Ben Kerr died on June 17, 2005 at the age of 75.