Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall Interview

[Omar]

Scott Thompson's long-suffering mother to surly Dave Foley's teenage boy, with Bruce McCulloch as the quasi-abusive husband, was a triumph.

You speak of Fran, Gordon, and their drug-addled son, Brian.  Those sketches are amazing, especially the classic "Salty Ham." 

"Let's be fair to the ham, dear. Ham is a salty food. It's not like porridge, or toast, or a pear." -- Fran.

[TacoSmith]

I think of that Salty Ham sketch every single time I eat something that's really salty. Now that I've typed that it doesn't seem all that impressive. Still, though.

[wood and iron]

I have to think that Kids in the Hall was the first absurdist comedy I was exposed to as a kid. I distinctly remember skipping a bunch of school days in order to watch the repeats that Comedy Central used to air around 2 in the afternoon.

My favorite sketch to this day is Bruce's mini-movie, Love and Sausages.

[TacoSmith]

While we're talking about it...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5iScQjjVk[/youtube]

[Omar]

My favorite sketch to this day is Bruce's mini-movie, Love and Sausages.

Another classic.  Scott as an old man pounding on the table chanting "I ... want .. SAUSAGES!" is hilarious and disturbing.

Towards the end of the KITH run, Bruce was doing some amazing filmed pieces.  In addition to L&S, there was the "Dipping Areas" restaurant sketch (I assume that is a Bruce production, but maybe not) and also "Big Bucks," where Bruce's character rides around on a scooter and scoops up roadkill.

[Chris L]

My favorite sketch to this day is Bruce's mini-movie, Love and Sausages.

Another classic.  Scott as an old man pounding on the table chanting "I ... want .. SAUSAGES!" is hilarious and disturbing.

Towards the end of the KITH run, Bruce was doing some amazing filmed pieces.  In addition to L&S, there was the "Dipping Areas" restaurant sketch (I assume that is a Bruce production, but maybe not) and also "Big Bucks," where Bruce's character rides around on a scooter and scoops up roadkill.

How about the one where the old man's wife dies, and then he spends every cent he owns paying increasingly homely women to dance listlessly in their underwear?

[TacoSmith]

My favorite sketch to this day is Bruce's mini-movie, Love and Sausages.

Another classic.  Scott as an old man pounding on the table chanting "I ... want .. SAUSAGES!" is hilarious and disturbing.

Towards the end of the KITH run, Bruce was doing some amazing filmed pieces.  In addition to L&S, there was the "Dipping Areas" restaurant sketch (I assume that is a Bruce production, but maybe not) and also "Big Bucks," where Bruce's character rides around on a scooter and scoops up roadkill.

How about the one where the old man's wife dies, and then he spends every cent he owns paying increasingly homely women to dance listlessly in their underwear?

...again!

Bruce's monologue about him and his dog is one of my all time favorite things in the world.

[courtney]

Actually, in that series of sketches at the Hotel La Rut, I always thought Mark McKinney was kinda disturbingly beautiful as the French whore who's always wondering about Tony - where he is, who he is with, what he is thinking, is he thinking of her? & whether he'll ever return some day ...

Yet so, uh, un-beautiful as Tanya the temp. Weird.

[badgrammer]

Anyone seen this yet? Interesting case for KITH creating the Glenn Beck "character" before Glenn Beck existed...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtBQqLRZXqA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[Sarah]

Actually, in that series of sketches at the Hotel La Rut, I always thought Mark McKinney was kinda disturbingly beautiful as the French whore who's always wondering about Tony - where he is, who he is with, what he is thinking, is he thinking of her? & whether he'll ever return some day ...

Yes, I was going to mention that as the one instance when Mark McKinney was a lovelier woman than Dave Foley.

I always really liked "Arms in a Tank" as well.  And the pear dream.

[Pidgeon]

While we're talking about it...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5iScQjjVk[/youtube]

I love how Dave is the picture in the frame.

[Bernard]

there was the "Dipping Areas" restaurant sketch (I assume that is a Bruce production, but maybe not)

yeah, i think it's gotta be.

great quotes in that one, like "my protege and i want to go," "it's a toughie," the "i'm new here" exchanges, and "don't you think they should be...bigger?!?"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbvbF0L9tJg[/youtube]

[orator]

Anyone seen this yet? Interesting case for KITH creating the Glenn Beck "character" before Glenn Beck existed...

[youtube][/youtube]

Haha, yeah. That's pretty similar.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Yes, I think when Kids in the Hall showed up on network television most people were more squeamish about such matters.  (And a lot fewer people had HBO back then.)

I don't think anyone was squeamish about cross-dressing in the 80's.  Milton Berle was dressing up like a woman on television back at the dawn of television.  What made people squeamish about KITH - as you pointed out - is they didn't caricature women like Milton Berle and Monty Python. Instead, they dressed up like women and acted like actual women...and sometimes looked quite good doing it.

[Pidgeon]

Was there ever a time when people were squeamish about crossdressing in a comedic way?