#jack duffy

Kate Price: Classic Comedienne from Cork

Comedienne and actress Kate Price (Katherine Duffy, 1872-1943) was a happy discovery this morning. Though I’d seen her in many things, but I hadn’t realized that she was the older sister of Jack Duffy! Kate was born back in Cork, hen moved to the States (Rhode Island) when she was nine, prior to Jack’s birth.

Circa 1890 Kate began appearing on the vaudeville stage with her husbandJoseph Price…

Virginia Fox, Buster Keaton and Jack Duffy in

Neighbours (1920)

Canadian actor Jack Duffy in a Federal Express commercial.

In the 1950s he starred in his own CBC comedy show, Here's Duffy, written by John Aylesworth.

In the 1970s he was a resident celebrity on the popular Canadian game show Party Game.

He appeared with Wayne and Shuster on most of their CBC specials throughout the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

The Sonny and Cher Show was the quintessential American variety show in the 1970s. It was filmed at CBS Television City in Hollywood.

But there were more Canadians putting the show together than Americans.

The credits on a 1971 episode of The Sonny and Cher Show list writers Bob Arnott and Paul Wayne, executive producers/writers Chris Bearde and Allan Blye, assistant producer Garry Blye, musical director Jimmy Dale, production assistants Danny Mann and Larry Robins, and cast members Murray Langston, Billy Van, Jack Duffy, Ted Ziegler, and Peter Cullen.

That’s four Canadian writers, three Canadian producers, one Canadian musical director, two Canadian production assistants and five Canadian actors.