The Kids in the Hall by Paul Myers

Author:Paul Myers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Anansi Press Inc
Published: 2018-10-04T17:58:40+00:00

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The Kids in the Hall were certainly outside the mainstream as far as network television executives were concerned. If they were going to keep their television show on the air, a few adjustments would be necessary as they entered their crucial sophomore season. While the Kids had initially vowed that every word of every scene would only be generated from within the troupe, the exhausting demands of the first season had opened them to the idea of bringing in additional writers. “We were always working hard and working fast,” says McCulloch. “In fact, it was only later, when I got to see how other American TV was put together, that I realized how quickly we made our show.”

McDonald was the first to suggest padding the writers’ room. He ran into some initial resistance from McCulloch, but Bruce eventually came around when it was suggested that they only hire from within their circle of trusted comedy friends. One name at the top of their short list was Norm Hiscock, who they all considered to be brilliantly funny, and most importantly he possessed that rare and essential ability to get along with everybody in the troupe. “I knew something had to change,” says McCulloch, “so I agreed to bring in Norm. He was a really hard worker and I knew I could work well with him.”

While the money wasn’t great, Hiscock considered himself fortunate to have an opportunity to write comedy for a living. “Plus, it was kind of an exclusive club,” says Hiscock, “since they only hired close friends and people who they thought got the sensibility of the show.”

Comic Brian Hartt, who had warmed up their studio audiences during the show’s first season, joined Hiscock in this exclusive club. “Brian was Bruce’s friend from the stand-up scene, and we liked him too,” says Dave Foley. “We knew he could come up with good premises for sketches and be a really good collaborator for Bruce.”

Hartt had recently opened several dates on the Kids’ North American tour, where he had bonded with McCulloch over life’s deepest questions. “Bruce and I had been partying,” remembers Hartt, “and we were just sort of crashed out in a hotel room when out of the blue Bruce says, ‘You know who the best rock drummer in the world is? Of all time?’ And I said, ‘John Fuckin’ Bonham.’ And he went, ‘Fuckin’ right.’ And I sat there for another ten minutes, totally silent, and then I said, ‘Alright, I gotta go.’”

Finally, Thompson encouraged Paul Bellini to put his name in as the third extra writer. As his longtime friend and the only other openly gay man in the room, Bellini had an intrinsic understanding of Thompson’s voice, and besides, he’d practically been cowriting with Thompson anyway. “I remember Dave wasn’t convinced about me because I had no traditional comedy background, either in sketch or stand-up,” says Bellini. “He told me I should feel grateful because a lot of comedians would be very jealous of me, and he was right.

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