Wade McElwain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wade Christian McElwain (born June 1, 1972) is a Canadian comedian, writer, and TV producer.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Wade was born in Mississauga, Ontario to Mary (Hosier) and Harvie McElwain. At the age of 5 Wade and his older siblings Brad and sister Leslie moved to the rural acclimes of Heidelberg where he lived in a predominantly Mennonite community. Three years later Wade's father moved them to a farm outside of New Dundee, Ontario so that they could 'be away from the distractions of a big city'.
Wade attended Waterloo-Oxford D.S.S. in Baden where he distinguished himself as a member of the trivia challenge show "Reach For the Top", where his team won the Provincial Championship and earned him a scholarship to the University of Western Ontario.
At Western Wade joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity where he held the title of Social Director. Wade was also a cartoonist for the Western newspaper "The Gazette". His cartoons soon drew the ire of feminists however after one particularly nasty cartoon featuring his superhero "Penis Man".
[edit] Comedy
After finishing his degree, Wade was on to law school until he decided to try his hand at stand-up comedy. His first time on stage in 1996 at Yuk Yuk's "Crash and Burn Mondays" was less than successful as the outgoing video to accompany his performance featured a small child getting slapped in the face. Within a year however Wade won the title of Yuk Yuk's "Funniest New Comedian in Canada". In the years following he won "Best New Stand-Up" at the 2000 Canadian Comedy Awards, as well as a Just For Laughs "Best Homegrown Comic" award. He performs regularly at Yuk Yuk's across Canada, as well as festivals and clubs in the UK, Hong Kong, Thailand, the US and Europe. His appearance at the 2006 Bulmer's Comedy Festival came with it the nickname "Shock and Awe" a testament to Wade's edgy and dark approach to stand-up.
[edit] "Gutter Ball Alley"
Wade's 'boyish good looks' brought with it some television opportunities. In 1998 Wade was approached by the Comedy Network to come up with some ideas for his own show for the new network. Wade and friend Johnny Gardhouse pitched "Gutter Ball Alley". The 3 pilot episodes were a mash of the old show "Bowling for Dollars" and a late night talk show complete with a mute "Banjo-Man" and dancing girls in school girl outfits. Despite the low production the pilot was picked up for an order of 13 more.
The first season of "Gutter Ball Alley" took on a more Japanese gameshow tone asking people "What would you do for $50?". Contestants were brought on to play games to win bowling balls so that they could bowl for money at $50 a pin and an extra $100 for a strike. Games included "Butt Vineyard" where players had 30 seconds to fill a fat man's underwear with grapes at the end of the elapsed time, the fat man would sit on a mesh chair and rub it until the juice dripped into a bucket underneath. The quantity of the juice was measured to determine how many bowling balls the player won. The show was so successful after the first 13 episodes and was immediately picked up for 13 more.
Season two of "Gutter Ball Alley" took on an even edgier tone with such games as "What Weighs More than a Midget", "Who Shat?", and "Jesus, Buddha, Manson" where players had to guess who initially said the quote in question, Jesus, Buddha, or Charles Manson. The show caught the attention of Lorne Michaels Broadway Video who optioned the show for US release. Despite all of the attention and accolades the show was never picked up for season 3, despite a cult fan base.
[edit] "Ultimate Destination"
Wade soon began on another project, "Ultimate Destination", a humorous look at what rambunctious college kids do while on spring break. Thirteen episodes of the program were ordered by mentv, a digital channel, for CanWest media. The show was often criticized for its raunchy humour and scantily clad women. It did find a home on the National Lampoon Network in the US as well as being syndicated to Turkey and Hungary.
[edit] TV writing and production
As most struggling comedians Wade needed to find other work to subsidize the funny. He soon became writing and producing other programs such as the Global TV show "Double Down", Canada's "Gemini Awards", and the Canadian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". His trivia background soon found him as the creative producer for the Comedy Network's "You Bet Your Ass." He was also a producer for Yuk Yuk's "Great Canadian Laugh Off" which also aired on the Comedy Network.
[edit] Personal life
A self-professed lover of ladies, Wade's personal dating life is often covered in Toronto society pages. Currently he is living with fellow comedian Katherine Ryan. Katherine is known for her appearance as a judge on the Much Music program "Video on Trial", as well as being Miss Hooters Toronto 2005. Together they have been shopping a reality program called "Ain't Love Funny" about their dating life and her struggles with melanoma.
[edit] Selected work
- Gutter Ball Alley- 1998-2001
- Ultimate Destination- 2002
- You Bet Your Ass-2005-2006
