Joe Flaherty, comedian known for work on SCTV and Freaks and Geeks, dead at 82

Joe Flaherty, the comedian and writer known for his roles on shows like Freaks and Geeks and SCTV, has died. He was 82.

"After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I've been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss," his daughter Gudrun Flaherty told CBC News on Tuesday, via SCTV producer and close family friend Andrew Alexander.

"I take solace in the memories we shared and the incredible impact he had on those around him. His spirit, humour and love will be a part of me forever."

An improvisation expert with an iconic voice and gift for the guest spot, Flaherty's credits run the gamut from movie blockbusters such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy to TV staples such as Frasier, Freaks and Geeks and Family Guy.  

But he was perhaps best known for a small role as a heckler in the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore, and as a writer and performer in the Canadian comedy series SCTV.

One of the show's original members, Flaherty stayed on for the show's entire six-season as he worked alongside comic legends such as John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Martin Short. And at least in Short's opinion, his presence shepherded SCTV to the iconic status it eventually enjoyed.

"When I was on SCTV, we used to call him the anchor," Short said in an interview with CBC News. "In other words, he was the one who anchored the whole show."

The two worked together both before and after the series ended. But it was on SCTV, Short said, where Flaherty most directly acted as the glue behind the scenes. 

"I relied on him desperately," Short said. "I would be in the edit room editing a piece — I didn't know what I was doing. And I'd say 'Joe, get in here. Help me!'"

Though he never attained quite the same blockbuster heights of some of his castmates (or made the move over to U.S. competitor Saturday Night Live as did some of them), Flaherty's was a familiar name both in front of and behind the camera — especially to fellow comedians. 

"Joe was always there in the background, pulling the strings, initiating things, making things happen. And I got the benefit of it," said Dave Thomas, well-known as one half of SCTV's Bob and Doug McKenzie duo.

"He was a pioneer and created a kind of comedy that a lot of comedians after us — like Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler and Conan O'Brien — credit him for being a kind of an innovator."

Thomas cited Flaherty's use of dark comedy "before it was hip to be dark," and his writing: a larger-than-life talent that earned him two Emmys and brought him into the orbit of countless other comedians. 

Alongside writing, directing and starring in the Levy-created Maniac Mansion from 1990 to 1993, Flaherty pulled the same multi-hyphenate duty on his comedy-anthology series Really Weird Tales alongside O'Hara, Candy and Short.