Joe Flaherty dies at 82: What TV shows and movies was the actor famous for?

Actor, writer and comedian Joe Flaherty, who was best known for his work on the sketch show SCTV and Freaks and Geeks, passed away at the weekend, his daughter Gudrun, who had been caring for him when his health start to fail, confirmed in a statement. “After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss,” Gudrun explained.

“Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ‘40s and ‘50s. His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together - moments I will forever hold dear”.

Pittsburgh-born Flaherty’s acting career began at The Second City comedy club in Chicago where he honed his comic delivery, impersonations and gag telling as part of a group of young, radical actors which included John Belushi, Joan Rivers and Alan Arkin. He starred alongside Harold Ramis, Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill Murray’s elder brother), Jim Fisher, David Blum, Roberta Maguire and Judy Morgan in the Bernie Sahlins production The Next Generation in New York in 1969, as well as other Sahlins revues such as Justice is Done or Oh, Cal Coolidge, Cooler Near the Lake and Tippecanoe and Déjà Vu.

“Scary, kids, scary!”

In New York, Flaherty appeared on National Lampoon Radio Hour with Belushi, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. In the mid-1970s, Flaherty relocated to Toronto, where he became a founding member of the Emmy-winning parody series SCTV and set up the Canadian outpost of The Second City on Adelaide Street. In SCTV, a fictional low budget TV station known as Second City Television which ran for six seasons from 1976 until 1984. Flaherty’s characters included network boss Guy Caballero and horror host, the Dracula-esque Count Floyd.

Younger generations will recognize him from his performance as a jeering golf heckler in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore or as out-of-touch dad, Harold Weir in the NBC teen comedy Freaks and Geeks. Many of Flaherty’s former work colleagues and fans took to social media to pay tribute. John Francis Daley, who played his son Sam in Freaks and Geeks said: “Joe Flaherty made me crack up so hard it ruined takes. My favorite days on set were the ones where we had scenes together. What a lovely guy.”

Tributes pour in from cast members and fans

Adam Sandler took to Instagram to recall his time working with Flaherty on the sports comedy Happy Gilmore “Oh man. Worshipped Joe growing up. Always had me and my brother laughing. Count Floyd, Guy Caballero. Any move he made. He crushed as border guard in Stripes. Couldn’t be more fun to have him heckle me on the golf course. The nicest guy you could know. Genius of a comedian. And a true sweetheart. Perfect combo. Much love to his kids and thanks to Joe for all the greatness he gave us all.”

When it became know just how ill he was, his Second City Family organized a fundraiser to help with healthcare costs. A statement issued at the time read: “All of us SCTV castmates owe him a huge debt of gratitude; he was the creative anchor that kept us honest and inspired.

“He was a mentor, a director, and an inspiring improviser who gave us many of the tools we are still using in the careers he helped kickstart. And he made us all laugh!”