David William Thomas (born May 20, 1949) is a Canadian actor, comedian and television writer, known for being one half of the duo Bob and Doug McKenzie with Rick Moranis. He appeared as Doug McKenzie on SCTV, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award out of two nominations, and in the film Strange Brew (1983), which he also co-directed. As a duo, they made two albums, The Great White North and Strange Brew, the former gaining them a Grammy Award nomination and a Juno Award.
His other notable acting credits include My Man Adam (1985), The Experts (1989), Coneheads (1993), Rat Race (2001), Beethoven's 5th (2003) and Santa's Slay (2005). He is also known for playing Russell Norton in the TV series Grace Under Fire (1993–1998) and provided the voice of Tuke in Brother Bear (2003), and Brother Bear 2 (2006).
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Early life
David William Thomas was born May 20, 1949, in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is the eldest son of British parents, Moreen Duff Muir (1928–2022), a church organist for thirty years originally from Glasgow, Scotland, and composer of church music, and John E. Thomas (1926–1996), a medical ethicist from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, who was head of the Philosophy Department at McMaster University, and the author of several books. Dave's younger brother, Ian Thomas, is a Canadian singer-songwriter.
The family moved temporarily to Durham, North Carolina, where his father attended Duke University and earned a PhD in philosophy. The family moved back to Dundas, Ontario, in 1961, where Dave attended Dundas District high school, and later graduated with honors from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English literature.
Career
Starting his career as a copywriter at ad agency McCann Erickson in 1974, Thomas became the head writer of the Coca-Cola account in Canada within a year. After watching a Second City stage show in Toronto, and while suffering from self-described "boredom" in his advertising work, he auditioned for the Second City troupe and was chosen as a performer. He was a cast member of the Toronto production of Godspell, along with Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, and Andrea Martin. Paul Shaffer was the musical director.
He first achieved fame as a cast member of the Canadian TV comedy series SCTV, joining Godspell castmates Levy, Martin and later Short, plus Rick Moranis, John Candy, Harold Ramis, Catherine O'Hara and others. Notable characters on the show include Doug McKenzie of beer-swilling brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie, editorialist Bill Needle, Scottish scone-chef/bluesman Angus Crock, motor-mouthed TV ad announcer Harvey K-Tel, Lowery organist/curio pitchman Tex Boil and the "Cruising Gourmet".
Thomas's first film role was in Home to Stay, directed by Delbert Mann, in which Thomas played in a scene with Hollywood legend Henry Fonda. He then wrote, co-directed, and starred in the Bob & Doug McKenzie feature film Strange Brew. Soon after, he wrote for and acted in The New Show, produced by Lorne Michaels during his hiatus from Saturday Night Live. Short-lived, this show featured a powerhouse writing staff including Thomas along with Buck Henry, George Meyer, Jack Handey, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Valri Bromfield and Steve Martin. Thomas tried his hand at network television hour-long shows in 1986 when he wrote and co-executive produced Steel Collar Man for CBS. The pilot was produced but did not go to series.
He co-wrote Spies Like Us (1985) with Dan Aykroyd.
In 1988, Thomas wrote another hour long show for CBS, B Men, which was back ordered, but Thomas took a directing job at Paramount, which caused the network to drop the series. He reportedly introduced John Travolta and Kelly Preston while directing them in the Paramount film The Experts.
He wrote for, produced, and starred in The Dave Thomas Comedy Show (1990). In 1991, he starred in the Showtime comedy, Public Enemy #2. In 1992, he tried his hand at reality TV and co-executive produced ABC's America's Funniest People with Vin Di Bona, but left after thirteen weeks to appear in the film Coneheads.
Awards
ACTRA AWARD for Best Variety Performer in 1978.
Emmy Award in 1981 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.
Juno Award for Best Canadian Comedy Album of the Year in 1981.
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album Nominated in 1983
Juno Award in 1983–84 for Best Comedy Album of the Year.
People's Choice Award with the cast of Grace Under Fire in 1994.
Earl Grey Award in 1995 for his work on SCTV.
In 2002, he and the cast of the SCTV received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Emmy Award in 2006 – Outstanding Achievement in Content for Non-Traditional Delivery Platforms – Thomas and his company Animax won this award for ESPN's Off Mikes
Lifetime Achievement Award from Humber College Toronto in November 2009.
Honorary Doctor of Letters from McMaster University in 2009
AMPIA Special Achievement Award from Alberta Media Production Industries Association in 2013
Honoured at the 2013 AMPIA Awards for his contribution to film and television.
In 2020, Dave Thomas was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.
In 2020, life-sized statues of Thomas and Rick Moranis as their characters Bob and Doug McKenzie were put in place at the ICE District Sports Arena in Edmonton, Alberta.