Joe Flaherty (born Joseph O'Flaherty; June 21, 1941 - April 1, 2024) was an American actor, known for his for roles in television and films such as Back To The Future II, Freaks and Geeks, SCTV, Happy Gilmore and The King of Queens.
Joe appears on Married... with Children as Dr. Plierson in the season 4 episode, "Tooth or Consequences".
Early life[]
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Flaherty started acting as a teenager doing children's play at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. After high school, he served 4 years in the US Air Force. At the age of 21, he originally planned to pursue a career as a draftsman, but decided to pursue acting again. With his previous acting jobs, he accepted an offer with Second City Theater and moved to Chicago.
Acting Career[]
Flaherty started his career with Second City, performing in both Chicago and Toronto, Canada. He also worked on the National Lampoon Radio Hour from 1973 to 1974. After several years, he moved to Toronto to help establish the Toronto Second City theater troupe, which eventually lead to SCTV, where he served as a writer and performer until it ended its run in 1984. Some of his well known characters from the show included Count Floyd, Guy Caballero, Big Jim McBob and Sammy Maudlin. He was notorious at Second City for improvising midway through a sketch that would catch the performer off guard, making it difficult for them to improvise given what he had ad-libbed.
Throughout the 1980s, he appeared in various films and television shows, such as Stripes, Heavy Metal, Innerspace and Club Paradise, usually starring alongside fellow SCTV actors, such as John Candy and Martin Short. In 1985, he played Sid Sleaze in Follow That Bird. One of his more memorable roles during the 1980s was as the Western Union messenger who delivers a message to Marty McFly in Back To The Future II. He would reprise the role on the FOX animated series, Family Guy in the episodes, "Something, Something, Something Dark Side" and "The Big Bang Theory".
During the 1990s, he appeared on various television series such as Nurses, Phenom, Ellen and Police Academy: The Series. He also appeared in films such as Stewart Saves His Family and Detroit Rock City. He also starred, wrote and directed the television series, Maniac Mansion from 1991 to 1993.
One of his most notable roles at this time was the 1996 comedy film, Happy Gilmore. In the film, he played Donald the heckler, who would consistently heckle Adam Sandler's character during an important match by yelling "Jackass!" as he hit the ball. The role was originally supposed to be played by comedian and fellow MWC guest star Gilbert Gottfried, who later regretted turning down the role.
In the 2000s, he had a major role on the short lived television show, Freaks and Geeks as well as roles on Even Stevens, The King of Queens, Clone High, and more recently Call Me Fitz.
According to IMDb, his last credited work was in the 2014 short film, Nightlife, where he reprised his Count Floyd character from SCTV.
Personal Life[]
From 1976 to 1996, he was married to Judith Flaherty and together they had two children, Gudrun, who is also an actress and writer, and Gabriel. His brothers, Paul and Dave, are comedy writers.
He was previously a faculty member at Humber College in Ontario, Canada, teaching comedy at their School of Creative & Performing Arts.
Death[]
Flaherty died on April 1, 2024 at the age of 82. According to his daughter, Gudrun, he been battling an undisclosed illness. It was also noted that he had been ill prior to his death and chose to spend the remainder of his life at home instead of a care facility. A few months prior to his death, Flaherty's friend and fellow SCTV co-star, Martin Short had been raising funds to cover the costs for him to remain at home and have his daughter act as his caregiver.
Several actors and comedians who had worked with Flaherty paid tribute to him after his passing was announced including Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald who starred with him in Happy Gilmore, Martin Short, and John Francis Daley who played his son on Freaks and Geeks.
He is survived by his children Gudrun and Gabriel and his brother Paul. [1][2]
Trivia[]
- He was a fellow Second City alumni, along with Dan Castellaneta, Fred Willard and Brian Doyle-Murray.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Joe Flaherty, ‘SCTV’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Actor, Dies at 82. The Guardian (April 2, 2024). Retrieved on April 2, 2024.
- ↑ Second City Family Is Organizing A Fundraiser For “SCTV” Star Joe Flaherty’s Illness. 800 Pound Gorilla News (February 23, 2024). Retrieved on April 2, 2024.