Dave Foley (born January 4, 1963)[1] is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV sketch comedy show of the same name, as well as the 1996 film Brain Candy.
| Dave Foley | |
|---|---|
 Foley at the 2023 GalaxyCon Richmond | |
| Born | January 4, 1963 Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada |
| Medium |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Genres | |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 3 |
Foley is also known for his roles as Dave Nelson in the sitcom NewsRadio, Flik in A Bug's Life, Troy in Blast from the Past, Dr. Fulton in The Middle, Bob in Hot in Cleveland, Gary O'Brien in Young Sheldon, and Danish Graves in Fargo. Foley also hosted Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Early life
editFoley was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, on January 4, 1963. He is the son of Mary and Michael, a steamfitter. His mother is from Stafford, England.[citation needed]
Career
editActing and stand-up comedy
edit
After dropping out of high school, Foley pursued standup comedy for about a year in the Toronto Second City Training Centre, where he began taking improv classes and met Kevin McDonald, who gave him a job as an usher at a local art house theatre. He played Lewis Allen in the miniseries Anne of Avonlea. Foley, McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson formed The Kids in the Hall in 1984. The troupe's eponymous TV series debuted in 1988 and ended in 1995. Foley played characters including Hecubus, one of the Sizzler sisters, the A. T. & Love boss, Bruno Puntz Jones, Mr. Heavyfoot, Jocelyn and Lex. Initially involved with Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, he left the troupe in the middle of the writing, dissatisfied with the internal strife and the quality of the script, and joined the NewsRadio cast instead. As he had not signed any contract with the studio, Foley agreed to sign a deal which would allow the rest of the troupe to get paid for the script, though he was convinced that it would never be shot. When it was greenlighted, Foley appeared in the film because he was contractually obligated to do so. He is the only member of the group who is uncredited as a writer.[2] Foley rejoined the troupe in 2000 and has been an integral part of their various reformations. He appeared in the Kids in the Hall 2010 reunion project Death Comes to Town.[3] Paul Simms, creator of NewsRadio, happened to be a huge fan of Foley's work and wrote the role of Dave Nelson specifically for him. Much of his character on the show was based on his own personality quirks, including his coffee addiction and his love of the sitcom Green Acres. In 1999, Dave portrayed Troy, the house mate of Eve, in Blast from the Past.
Foley was recently reunited with NewsRadio writer Joe Furey when he recorded the special featurette Working with Joe Furey, an add-on to Furey's comedy Love and Support. Foley released his stand-up special, Relatively Well in January 2013, distributed by Showtime.[citation needed] In the comedy-thriller The Wrong Guy, Foley played Nelson Hibbert, an office worker who finds his boss murdered, mistakenly believes he will be blamed for the crime and runs off as a fugitive.[4] In 2001, he played the boss of 'N Sync singer Lance Bass in the film On the Line. Foley hosted the CBC Christmas Special, The True Meaning of Christmas Specials, in which he, a Mexican Elvis impersonator, Elvis Stojko and Dick Dale travel to Canada in search of the true meaning of Christmas specials. He portrayed Jack McFarland's boyfriend Stuart Lamarack on Will & Grace in its 2003-2004 season. In 2004, Foley became host of Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo. In 2007, he appeared nude in Uwe Boll's film adaptation of the controversial PC game Postal and became the judge for the US version of Thank God You're Here. He portrayed a middle management employee who happens to be a vampire in the undead office comedy Netherbeast Incorporated (2007) and voiced the disgruntled elf Wayne in the holiday special series, Prep & Landing. He also guest-starred in the 2007 special, Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary. He played a high school principal in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2011, he appeared in How I Met Your Mother as Marshall's possible future boss, Mr. Bloom.
From 2011 to 2012, Foley played Jerry Dunham, the boss of Andrew Carlson (David Hornsby) in the short-lived CBS sitcom How to Be a Gentleman. In 2012 and 2013, Foley played Dr. Fulton, Brick's (Atticus Shaffer) school therapist in The Middle, where in "Life Skills", he refers to Brick's classmates as "the kids in the hall", after an awkward pause and glance by both characters and mentioning that their behavior is similar to those of comedy sketches from The Kids in the Hall. In February 2013, Foley played Detective Bob Moore for the three last seasons in the TV Land sitcom, Hot in Cleveland (with an unrelated guest appearance as a charity doctor in the first season), starred in the third season of Robson Arms on CTV and also starred in the CTV sitcom Spun Out in 2014.[5] Foley also starred in ABC's Dr. Ken. In 2023, Foley portrayed central character Danish Graves in the fifth season of Fargo.[6]
Foley has also voiced various characters in animated films, television series and video games, such as Flik in A Bug's Life (as well as reprising for a cameo of the character during the outtakes of Toy Story 2 and the epilogue of Cars as well as in a segment from Robot Chicken, and video games like Lego The Incredibles), Yes Man in Fallout: New Vegas, Terry in Monsters University, Agent Rick in Pound Puppies, Chris in Dan Vs. and Wayne in the Prep & Landing series.
Web series
editIn 2009, Foley was hired by 49 North Inc./Fuel Industries, a multi-national branded content and entertainment company, to star in a web series titled, The Sensible Traveler with Bobby Fargo with six episodes that are written by TV writer Stephen Hibbert and directed by a number of people, including Leslie Iwerks and Chris Roach. The series is one of 49 North Inc./Fuel Industries' most successful web series at well over 20,000 hits since the beginning of 2010. No word has yet been released as to a second season being filmed.[7]
Music video appearances
editIn 1993, Foley appeared along with Mark McKinney and Kevin McDonald in the music video for the song "Heterosexual Man" by Vancouver band Odds. In the video, the three comedians played stereotypical macho jocks in the audience of a small bar where Odds are playing until Foley inexplicably turns into a woman.
He appeared, as one of the Daves, in fellow cast member Bruce McCulloch's music video "The Daves I Know".
He starred in the music video for the 2005 song "Yellow Datsun" by Neva Dinova.[8] In 2008, he appeared in the alternate music video for the song "Americanarama" by Ottawa band Hollerado, where he parodied American Apparel CEO Dov Charney.[9] He also appeared in the music video for the band's song "Desire 126". In 2010, Foley appeared in a music video for the Los Angeles band Black Robot's cover of the JJ Cale song "Cocaine",[10] which was filmed at the burlesque club Jumbo's Clown Room.[11] In 2012, Foley starred in Off!'s music video for their song Borrow and Bomb, playing a "professional educator" named Dale Antwerp who hosts a public access talk show entitled Teen Talk.[12] He appeared in another Off! video in 2014 for their song "Red White and Black", playing the role of a fascist organizer.[13]
Personal life
editFoley married Canadian writer Tabatha Southey on December 31, 1991.[14] They divorced in 1997.[14] The couple has two children.[14] In 2001, an interim child support agreement obligated Foley to pay Southey $10,700 a month, a figure based on his income when NewsRadio was in production. By 2011, Foley claimed that his earnings had declined to the point that the $10,700 sum constituted "literally 400 percent of [his] income" but he was unable to get the obligation reduced in court. Owing over half a million dollars in back payments, he believed that if he returned to Canada he would be arrested under orders from Ontario's Family Responsibility Office.[15][16] By 2013, Foley and Southey had settled a child support lawsuit, and he was able to resume work in the country of his birth.[17] After he took the lead role in Spun Out, he told Vancouver's The Georgia Straight that "I made enough money to pay the price of admission to Canada."[18]
Foley married his second wife, actress Crissy Guerrero, on August 1, 2002.[14] The marriage ended in a divorce in 2008.[14] They have a daughter, Alina Chiara Foley, who has worked as a child actor.[19] Guerrero and Foley subsequently reconciled and were remarried on December 31, 2016.[20]
Throughout his life, Foley has suffered from depression.[21] He "used to drink quite a bit", but stopped drinking on December 22, 2014, after he fell backwards while intoxicated, resulting in a severe head injury.[21] Foley suffered a subdural hematoma and spent four days in the intensive care unit.[21] In February 2019, he remarked that he had not "had a drink in four years" and had experienced almost no depression following his injury.[21]
Foley resided in downtown Los Angeles, before moving to New York City in 2022.[22][23] He is a fan of coffee, claiming to drink up to "50 cups a day when I am on set".[24] This was used as a basis for an episode of NewsRadio.[25]
Filmography
editComedy specials
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Dave Foley: Relatively Well | Himself | Stand-up special |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | High Stakes | Bo Baker | |
| 1987 | Three Men and a Baby | Grocery Store Clerk | |
| 1994 | It's Pat | Chris | |
| 1996 | Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy | Marv / Psychiatrist / New guy / Raymond Hurdicure | |
| 1997 | The Wrong Guy | Nelson Hibbert | Also writer |
| Hacks | Neal | ||
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Flik | Lead voice role |
| 1999 | Blast from the Past | Troy | |
| South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | The Baldwin Brothers | Voice | |
| Dick | Bob Haldeman | ||
| Toy Story 2 | Flik | Voice cameo, outtakes | |
| 2001 | Monkeybone | Herb | |
| On the Line | Higgins | ||
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run | Network Executive #1 | |
| Swindle | Michael Barnes | ||
| Stark Raving Mad | Roy | ||
| 2003 | Grind | Tour Manager | |
| My Boss's Daughter | Henderson | ||
| 2004 | Employee of the Month | Eric | |
| Ham & Cheese | Tom Brennemen | ||
| Intern Academy | Dr. Denton Whiteside | ||
| Childstar | Philip Templeman | ||
| 2005 | Sky High | Jonathan Boy / All-American Boy | |
| 2006 | Goose on the Loose | Goose | Voice |
| Cars | Flik Car | Additional Voices, end credits cameo | |
| 2007 | California Dreaming | Stu Gainor | |
| Netherbeast Incorporated | Henry Welby | ||
| Postal | Uncle Dave | ||
| 2008 | Coopers' Camera | Bill Davidson | |
| 2009 | Suck | Jeff | |
| 2010 | Vampires Suck | Principal Smith | |
| 2011 | Monster Brawl | Buzz Chambers | |
| 2012 | Last Call | Mr. Nunley | |
| Freeloaders | Himself | ||
| 2013 | Monsters University | Terry | Voice |
| Party Central | Voice; short film | ||
| 2015 | Being Canadian | Himself | Documentary |
| 2018 | Second Act | Felix Herman | |
| 2019 | Benjamin | Mitch | |
| 2020 | Onward[26] | Rogue Waiter | Additional Voices; Special Thanks |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel | Lewis Allen | Miniseries |
| American Playhouse | Welsh Rabbit / Old Ironsides / Smith | Episode: "The Prodigious Hickey" | |
| 1988–95; 2022 | The Kids in the Hall | Various characters / Jaques | 109 episodes |
| 1995–99 | NewsRadio | Dave Nelson | 97 episodes |
| 1996 | Mr. Show with Bob and David | Todd | Episode: "Operation Hell on Earth" |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Alan Bean | Episode: "That's All There Is" |
| 2001 | Committed | Bob the Dog | 13 episodes |
| Becker | Owen | Episode: "Hanging with Jake" | |
| 2002 | The Tick | Francis | Episode: "Arthur, Interrupted" |
| Just Shoot Me! | Jay | Episode: "Blind Ambition" | |
| 2003 | The Toronto Show | Various | Episode: "#1.1" |
| Odd Job Jack | Gary Gerbil | Episode: "The Wheel Is Not Enough" | |
| The King of Queens | Psychiatrist | Episode: "Jung Frankenstein" | |
| What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Laslow Oswald | Voice, episode: "High-Tech House of Horrors" | |
| Lilo & Stitch: The Series | Priest | Voice, episode: "Fibber: Experiment 032" | |
| Grounded for Life | Derek Purcell | Episode: "Baby Come Back" | |
| 2004 | Will & Grace | Stuart Lamarack | 5 episodes |
| I'm with Her | Principal Harris | Episode: "Friends in Low Places" | |
| Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story | Mr. Warrick | Television film | |
| 2005 | Las Vegas | Mertens | Episode: "Letters, Lawyers and Loose Women" |
| Father of the Pride | Kelsey Grammer's Cat | Voice, episode: "Stage Fright" | |
| Hot Properties | Ted Begley Jr. | Episode: "The Return of the Ring" | |
| 2006 | Lovespring International | Timothy Entsweiler | Episode: "The Loser Club" |
| Tom Goes to the Mayor | Dr. Foley | Episode: "Glass Eyes" | |
| 2006–07 | Scrubs | Dr. Lester Hedrick | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | The Batman | Francis Grey | Voice, episode: "Seconds" |
| Slacker Cats | Cult cat | Voice, episode: "Buckley on the Run" | |
| Little Mosque on the Prairie | U.S. Consulate Clerk | Episode: "No Fly List" | |
| 2007–09 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Tom | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Carpoolers | Mr. Latero | Episode: "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" |
| In Plain Sight | Horst Vanderhof | Episode: "Trojan Horst" | |
| Robson Arms | Chuck Hoskins | 5 episodes | |
| Brothers & Sisters | Paul | Episode: "Going Once... Going Twice" | |
| Stargate: Atlantis | Malcolm Tunney | Episode: "Brain Storm" | |
| 2009 | True Jackson, VP | Ted Begley, Jr. | Episode: "Company Retreat" |
| 2009–11 | Prep & Landing shorts | Wayne | Voice, television short |
| 2010 | Less Than Kind | Dr. Raymond Sheasgreen | Episode: "Third Death's a Charm" |
| The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town | Various roles | Miniseries | |
| The Soup | Grownup Pageant Princess | Episode dated August 6 | |
| Leverage | Eben Dooley Jr. | Episode: "The Ho Ho Ho Job" | |
| 2010–13 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Prin. MacIntyre | 3 episodes |
| 2010; 2013–15 | Hot in Cleveland | Bob / Dr. Moore | 19 episodes |
| 2011 | Desperate Housewives | Monroe Carter | Episode: "Flashback" |
| How I Met Your Mother | Mr. Bloom | Episode: "Challenge Accepted" | |
| Friends with Benefits | Keith | Episode: "The Benefit of Forgetting" | |
| Pound Puppies | Agent Rick | Voice, episode: "Homeward Pound" | |
| Eureka | Dr. Plotkin | Episode: "One Giant Leap" | |
| Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | Capt. Rudd | Episode: "The Mis-Education of Garry Gaga" | |
| 2011–12 | How to Be a Gentleman | Jerry | 9 episodes |
| 2011–13 | Dan Vs. | Chris | Voice, main role |
| 2012 | Unsupervised | Darren | Voice, episode: "Rich Girl" |
| 2012–18 | The Middle | Dr. Fulton | 7 episodes |
| 2013 | Robot Chicken | Flik / Space Invader / Allan Sherwood | Voice, episode: "Choked on a Bottle Cap" |
| Newsreaders | Donny Hayflack | Episode: "31-Up" | |
| Maron | Himself | Episode: "Internet Troll" | |
| Veep | Osmo Häkkinen | Episode: "Helsinki" | |
| The Goodwin Games | Mr. Quilty | Episode: "Hamletta" | |
| We Are Men | Carter's Dad | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2013; 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | The Bomber / King Arthur | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Dads | Ben | Episode: "Dad Abuse" |
| 2014 | Justified | Canadian Gangster | Episode: "A Murder of Crowes" |
| Mr. Pickles | Scientist | Voice, episode: "The Lair" | |
| 2014–15 | Spun Out | Dave Lyons | 26 episodes |
| 2015 | The Odd Couple | Roy | 4 episodes |
| 2015–17 | Harvey Beaks | Moff, additional voices | Voice, 14 episodes |
| Dr. Ken | Pat Hein | Main role, 44 episodes | |
| 2016–19 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Xavier King | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Delmer & Marta | Creston's Boss | 2 episodes |
| 2017–18 | Adventure Time | Warren Ampersand | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits & Monsters | Jim 'Bull' Bidwell | Episode: "Face in the Car Lot" |
| 2018–19 | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Bullhop / Stanley | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Drunk History | Alexis Pulaski | Episode: "Fame" |
| Carter | Dwick Brisebois | Episode: "Harley Takes a Bow" | |
| 2020 | Fresh Off the Boat | Principal Reed | Episode: "A Seat at the Table" |
| 2021 | Superstore | Lowell Anderson | Episode: "Lowell Anderson" |
| The Morning Show | Peter Bullard | Episode: "A Private Person" | |
| 2021–23 | Young Sheldon | Gary O'Brien | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | LOL: Last One Laughing Canada | Himself | 6 episodes |
| Super PupZ | Professor Dennis | Episode: Pilot | |
| 2022–23 | Dark Side of Comedy | Himself / Narrator | 20 episodes |
| 2023 | Fargo | Danish Graves | Main role (season 5) |
| 2024 | Night Court | Duncan | season 2 episode 12 "The Duke's a Hazard" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Flik |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Yes Man[27] |
| 2018 | Lego The Incredibles | Flik |
Theme parks
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | It's Tough to Be a Bug! | Flik | Voice |
Web
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Kevin Pollak's Chat Show | Himself/Guest | Episode: "306" |
References
edit- ^ "UPI Almanac for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019". United Press International. January 4, 2019. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
actor Dave Foley in 1963 (age 56)
- ^ "The Kids In The Hall, part 1". The A.V. Club. June 30, 2004. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Nothing is sacred in new Kids in the Hall series". Xtra!. December 28, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (May 11, 2011). "Sad Sack Case File #188: The Wrong Guy". The A. V. Club. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Canada's CTV Orders Dave Foley Comedy 'Spun Out' to Series". The Hollywood Reporter, March 7, 2013.
- ^ ‘Fargo’: Dave Foley on Straying From Comedy to Play Danish Graves
- ^ "Dave Foley at babelgum.com". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010.
- ^ "DAVE FOLEY TO BE IN NEVA DINOVA VIDEO". September 29, 2005. Archived from the original on November 25, 2008.
- ^ Brennan, Margaret (March 26, 2008). "American Apparel CEO Charney Gets Video Spoofed". CNBC.
- ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – BLACK ROBOT: 'Cocaine' Video". May 5, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
- ^ "Black Robot Releases "Cocaine" Video". May 7, 2010.
- ^ "OFF! – "Borrow and Bomb" / "I Got News For You" (OFFicial video)". YouTube. July 11, 2012. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
- ^ "OFF! - "Red White and Black" (OFFicial video)". YouTube. May 5, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Alt, Eric (March 9, 2011). "Former "News Radio" Star David Foley Can't Go Back to Canada". NBC Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California: NBC.
- ^ "'Hall' star can't return to Canada?". Toronto Sun. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ Fraser, Garnet (May 4, 2012). "Dave Foley drags himself back to Canada". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ Breslin, Mark (November 19, 2013). "Dave Foley, of The Kids in the Hall, returns to stand-up and has new TV project in the works". Streets of Toronto. Post City Magazines, Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ MacPherson, Guy (February 18, 2014). "Dave Foley comes back to Canada". The Georgia Straight. Media Central Corporation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ Reid, Joe; Zuckerman, Esther; Sims, David (April 17, 2014). "A Definitive Ranking of the Worst Child Characters on TV". The Atlantic - The Wire. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "Dave Foley, episode #306 of Kevin Pollak's Chat Show on Earwolf". earwolf.com.
- ^ a b c d YouTube video: "Joe Rogan Experience #1252 - Dave Foley & Paul Greenberg."
- ^ "WTF with Marc Maron - Dave Foley Interview". www.youtube.com. May 13, 2018. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
- ^ Foley, Dave [@DaveSFoley] (April 15, 2022). "Hey Michael. I just moved to NYC. Look!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Phelps, Matt (June 29, 2011). "Comedy icon and coffee addict Dave Foley to play Kirkland's Laughs Comedy Spot". www.kirklandreporter.com.
- ^ Season 2, Episode 3: "Smoking"
- ^ "Disney - Pixar's 'Onward': An Interview with Dave Foley". YouTube. February 19, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "Yes Man". The Vault - Fallout Wiki.
External links
edit
- Dave Foley at IMDb