Today in 1986: CBC interviews up-and-coming comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall
Classic clip of a pre-TV show Dave Foley and Bruce McCulloch
It was the summer of 1986, and The Kids in the Hall were far from famous. Founding member Bruce McCulloch was fresh off a writing stint with Saturday Night Live (along with fellow troupe member Mark McKinney), and after a brief hiatus The Kids had reunited to produce more of their weird comedy.
On this day 29 years ago, CBC Midday's Peter Downie interviewed McCulloch and his partner/goofball-in-crime, Dave Foley. (McCulloch, incidentally, knows a lot of Daves.) This is a snapshot of The Kids before they ever had their own TV show, back when they were, you know, kids.
When asked what it was like working for Saturday Night Live, McCulloch says he'd prefer more creative freedom.
"When a huge creative collective like that is sort of auditioned for, and thrown together," he says, "it's like locking the door and saying, 'You guys will have fun.'"
The Kids, of course, eventually got their creative freedom and used it to get their show picked up by CBC TV and HBO. Later, they made their own feature film. These guys were (and are) smart, even if they didn't want to admit it back then.
"Between the five of us, we have one reasonably working brain," Foley quips.