Jump to content

Dave Foley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the comedian. For other people with the same name, see Dave Foley (disambiguation).
Dave Foley
Foley at the 2023 GalaxyCon Richmond
Born (1963-01-04) January 4, 1963 (age 61)
Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Medium
Years active1986–present
Genres
Spouse
  • Tabatha Southey
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1991; div. 1997)​
  • Crissy Guerrero
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2002; div. 2008)​

    ​
    ​
    (m. 2016)​
Children3

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.

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

[edit]

Foley 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

[edit]

Acting and stand-up comedy

[edit]
The Kids in the Hall at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (Foley at left)

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

[edit]

In 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

[edit]

In 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

[edit]

Foley 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

[edit]

Comedy 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]
  1. ^ "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)
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Rabin, Nathan (May 11, 2011). "Sad Sack Case File #188: The Wrong Guy". The A. V. Club. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Canada's CTV Orders Dave Foley Comedy 'Spun Out' to Series". The Hollywood Reporter, March 7, 2013.
  6. ^ ‘Fargo’: Dave Foley on Straying From Comedy to Play Danish Graves
  7. ^ "Dave Foley at babelgum.com". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010.
  8. ^ "DAVE FOLEY TO BE IN NEVA DINOVA VIDEO". September 29, 2005. Archived from the original on November 25, 2008.
  9. ^ Brennan, Margaret (March 26, 2008). "American Apparel CEO Charney Gets Video Spoofed". CNBC.
  10. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – BLACK ROBOT: 'Cocaine' Video". May 5, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  11. ^ "Black Robot Releases "Cocaine" Video". May 7, 2010.
  12. ^ "OFF! – "Borrow and Bomb" / "I Got News For You" (OFFicial video)". YouTube. July 11, 2012. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
  13. ^ "OFF! - "Red White and Black" (OFFicial video)". YouTube. May 5, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "'Hall' star can't return to Canada?". Toronto Sun. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  16. ^ Fraser, Garnet (May 4, 2012). "Dave Foley drags himself back to Canada". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ MacPherson, Guy (February 18, 2014). "Dave Foley comes back to Canada". The Georgia Straight. Media Central Corporation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Dave Foley, episode #306 of Kevin Pollak's Chat Show on Earwolf". earwolf.com.
  21. ^ a b c d YouTube video: "Joe Rogan Experience #1252 - Dave Foley & Paul Greenberg."
  22. ^ "WTF with Marc Maron - Dave Foley Interview". www.youtube.com. May 13, 2018. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
  23. ^ Foley, Dave [@DaveSFoley] (April 15, 2022). "Hey Michael. I just moved to NYC. Look!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Phelps, Matt (June 29, 2011). "Comedy icon and coffee addict Dave Foley to play Kirkland's Laughs Comedy Spot". www.kirklandreporter.com.
  25. ^ Season 2, Episode 3: "Smoking"
  26. ^ "Disney - Pixar's 'Onward': An Interview with Dave Foley". YouTube. February 19, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "Yes Man". The Vault - Fallout Wiki.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dave Foley.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dave_Foley&oldid=1251988459"