Andy Jones (comedian)
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Andrew Jordan Jones (born January 15, 1948) is a Canadian comedian, writer, actor, and director. He is the brother of comedian Cathy Jones and filmmaker and screenwriter Mike Jones.
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Jones is well known in Canada as one of the groundbreaking Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO, in both its theatrical and television incarnations. With the CODCO collective he wrote five full-length theatre pieces: Cod on a Stick, Sickness Death and Beyond the Grave, Das Capital, Pocketcrumbs, and The Tale Ends. Jones quit CODCO in protest after the CBC refused to air a sketch about the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal. Eventually the CBC aired the sketch anyway as part of a special episode presenting segments that had been previously censored or cut.
A professional writer and actor for over thirty years, Jones has written five critically acclaimed one-man comedy shows: Out of the Bin, An Evening with Uncle Val, Still Alive, King o’ Fun, and most recently, To the Wall. He has extensively toured, to critical acclaim, across Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Jones was recently nominated for a Gemini for his performance in To the Wall on CBC Television’s Opening Night series, as well as winning Best Performance at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In September 2006, a film version of his one-man show King o’ Fun premiered on BRAVO! TV and was shown at the Atlantic Film Festival.
Jones co-founded the Resource Centre for the Arts at the L.S.P.U. Hall in St. John’s, co-writing, acting in, and directing many original productions there. In addition to the plays of CODCO and his one-man shows, notable works include Albert (a one-act play for one man and a budgie bird), and the children’s plays Jack Meets the Cat and Jack-Five-Oh. In television he has co-written and performed in The Kids in the Hall, Dooley Gardens, The Cathy Jones Special, and Nasty Habits. In film he played principal roles in Rare Birds, Brain Candy, Extraordinary Visitor, A Secret Nation, Paint Cans, Life with Billy, Coleslaw Warehouse, and The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (which he also co-wrote and directed).
Jones' numerous awards include two Gemini awards, five Gemini nominations, two Emmy nominations, two Genie nominations, election to the Newfoundland Arts Council Hall of Honour, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Award of Excellence, and the ACTRA Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement.
In July of 2006 Jones was artist in residence at The Rooms museum in St. John’s and was invited to create an installation piece (which he called "The Spirit in the House") as a part of the "Intangible Evidence" exhibit.
Andy Jones is currently teaching at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
