Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hello, everybody. It's the Jen Arden Podcast. Caitlin Green, Adam Karsh. This is episode 3,000,007. Season one. Season one. I love that voice coming in. You sounded like one of those movie people. You'll pay for a whole seat, but you'll only use the edge. Season one.
Can we also talk about who's going to be on the show today? Yes, go. Yes. I'm so excited that Rick Mercer is coming back. Just my favorite. He's so funny. And he was probably my favorite guest. Well, one of my favorite guests. I shouldn't say that because they're all great. But when you guys talked about your awkward teenage experiences. Sexual things. You talked about having sex through a hockey net. He talked about getting drunk and waking up in a coffin. These are real. It's just...
it's just great. You guys have such a dynamic. I kind of wish you would fall in love and get married, but I know that he's partnered. And, and so, you know, that's not going to happen for me. He, he kissed me once on top of the CN tower. I was very scared up there. We were in those red suits dangling from hooks. And he was interviewing me about a book called falling backwards. It was like one of the first memoirs I'd ever written. And, uh, he, I think he did ask me to marry him on the top of the CN tower. You marry me, Jan.
And then, and then he kissed me. And I just want to say that he has really soft lips. I bet. He's rather handsome. Yeah. They're really soft lips, like just soft. And he's a good, it was smushy. It was like one of those closed mouth, just like.
Pecs, but right on the kisser, right on the kisser when you could do that with people and not sue them or me to them or all that stuff. That should be a Canadian heritage moment. It's Jan Arden and Rick Mercer kissing on the CN tower is as much Canadian content as I can handle.
It was great. I just remember having to do breathalyzers before we go up. And this is at 7 o'clock in the morning. And Rick's like, I don't know if I'll pass this. Are you kidding me right now?
But yeah, if you've never seen that episode, you can YouTube it. It's the Rick Mercer Report, Jan and Rick on the CN Tower. It is well worth watching. It's my least favorite episode just because it was so scary, but it is certainly one of our most watched episodes.
probably the moments on the Rick Mercer report was that it is a scary thing. And I think it's like 200 bucks. You actually paid them to hook you onto this thing and walk around the CN tower and it moves. It's back and forth. Yeah, I believe that this is something I would have done when I was stupid and young. And then I became older and my value on existing went up. And so I feel like now I'm very afraid of heights. Yeah.
So I don't think I could, I could never do it. There was a older gentleman, I forget, I think he was in his nineties and he did it. And I was just so blown away, like by his ability to get up there and do it. And I just, I'm like, I'm in my thirties and there's no effing way. Well, I always wondered if people, if anyone had ever thrown up from up there. Oh yeah. So you're what?
It's got to be a thousand feet, isn't it? About that? Adam's not. I don't know exactly, but at one point it was the tallest building in Canada. Mm-hmm.
Well, at one point it was the tallest freestanding building in the world. And then it got taken out by a bunch of other buildings. And then the Emirates happened. Yeah. And Singapore happened. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Then all those things occurred. But yeah, you wonder, does it just dissipate the vomit as it sort of hits the air? Does it just sprinkle itself on a whole bunch of unsuspecting pedestrians that just think, oh, there's a little bit of a...
That's a little bit of a spitting today. Actually, it's barf from a CN tower. Or I would say, because I always remember this being like, I don't know if you guys had this experience, but when I was a child, I became afraid of a lot of really illogical things because I couldn't place them. But I was like warned about them as the joke is always like quicksand. Like you think that's going to be something to be concerned about, you know, razor blades and Halloween candy. Like, thank God that never came to pass. But it was beaten into my head.
And the other thing was if you dropped a penny off of a building that it could land and kill someone. So in my mind, there were just... That is actually an actual... That could happen. It could, but... So we couldn't have anything in the pockets. We couldn't have dimes, nickels, pennies, nothing. So CN Tower, breathalyzer, nothing in your pockets. So I believe that because in my...
As a child, I was like, oh my God, people are going to throw pennies off of buildings. It's going to be like bullets flying. So I wonder if that's the same thing that would happen to barf though. By the time it came to hit the pavement, what happens with velocity and speed? Maybe it just dries up. Maybe, I mean, it would depend on if it was bigger chunks. Like if you threw out an actual, I don't know, a full-sized wiener, that might be a whole different thing. Mommy, this rain smells. Oh my God.
Full-sized wiener is a term that's not used enough, by the way. I'm just throwing it out there. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, I tried to swallow the whole thing, but I couldn't do it. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. Rick Mercer is going to be our guest. He's just in a few minutes here, but
We were talking about some of the things that Rick and I have done over the years, lugeing, riding Brahma bulls, some kind of welding and making of horseshoes. I remember doing that. Climbing rock walls. The paintball thing, he shot me in the vagina. He did. And it went through my suit. We were in these suits. And we had to stop for a minute because I was just like, that really hurt.
And it was just like, I bet you've never been hit that hard in your vagina. And I'm like, no, I haven't. But thank you. I can't even believe we're having, he says, well, I didn't mean to, that sounded worse than it is. And then, and then two minutes later, I shot him in between his face mask and his neck guard. It went in a small gap and I hit him in the neck and we had to stop again.
I'm not a huge fan of paintball. It effing hurts. Yeah. Yeah. But we did that. It was fun being in the suits, but I did things with him that I would never, ever have done in my regular life. Yep.
Yeah. Like it comes up in conversation that I think you guys should honestly have a TV show together of some kind. And those segments that you guys would do together reminds me of like my favorite television, which is always kind of like field segments. Like I appreciate a studio vibe as well, obviously, but it's like when Conan O'Brien does his travel segments, love those. And yeah,
I think out in the world is so fun. So like you and Rick traveling around, like I would just can't get enough of that. I would watch that all day long. Well, I feel like we'll do something again. Like whenever we do talk, you know, he'll, he'll say we were an act and I'm like, yeah, we were an act, but I did the show for 15 years.
Um, and I think we will do like one offs or specials or something. I think the variety show needs to be brought back like the, the special night, whether it's CBC or CTV where, you know, not singing and dancing as per se, but just, um,
interesting things and it would be fun to travel with him to anywhere and just go and talk to people or go to cafes or you know see their aeronautical tractor museum i don't know there's just there's there's a lot of great things in every community every little town every place has something fascinating
Yeah, it's a cool thing that I think a trait both of you guys share, and a lot of funny, intelligent people have it, is they're curious. So you guys are both curious about stuff, and you have lots of interest, and I think that's what makes people kind of interesting. And just like that beloved Canadian vibe. Well, he is as down-to-earth as you think he would be. Mm-hmm.
And I've said this about him many, many times. I was lucky enough to be the person to do the little preamble to him getting the Governor General's Award. And I remember looking up into the balcony, him sitting at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, and he was next to Sandra Oh,
And I just thought, you know, these are some great talented Canadians being celebrated today. But I didn't prepare a speech. They're like, would you like your speech in the teleprompter? And I said, I know how to speak to Rick Mercer. I know. And I just looked right up at him. I didn't really address it to the audience.
I just looked up and I just like, you are an excellent person. You're a kind person. I've seen hundreds of people come up to Rick when he's busy, when he's right in the middle of doing stuff or, and he stops. What's your name? Oh yeah. Where are you from? Where's your, how's your mom? How are they still around? Like,
Not only that, he doesn't let them feel awkward. He engages them. He'll ask them a question. I've seen it time and time again, and I learned a lot from him. And he deserves every award. And I think he epitomizes, he's up there with Terry Fox for me. Yeah. Like he's in that category of kindness. And I know he'd be the first guy to say, I'm not perfect. And I've done a lot of things that I regret in my life. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just inserting that. Yeah.
but genuinely good person. I know he's inundated with political, you know, we would, would you run for office? Would you be an MP? Would you? And he's just like never in a gajillion years. That's a funny, that's a funny profession that sometimes people will try to pull you into. It's happened to me because like sometimes the stuff that I cover on,
the morning show I work on can lean political and I'm interested in it. Like I'll stay up on certain things. And I like, I do find local politics to be impactful in people's everyday life on a scale that never really gets the attention that's, you know, say like national politics does. I mean, obviously, especially in the U S but people will be like, Oh, have you ever thought about, and I'm like, no, stop it right there. I know what you're about to say. I don't ever, ever want to do this. It seems. I've been asked to. Yeah. It just seems, it's like, this seems so unenjoyable.
I'd vote for you. I'm like, no, you wouldn't. Because I can barely speak English, never mind French. Like, I don't think you'd want that. But anyway, we got lots to talk to Rick about today on the show. And he's been on with us before, like you said. But just a really, really, just a great guy. And maybe we will do a talk show someday. I mean, I think we should. I always forget to ask him. I did it again. Okay, one of my things that I've always wanted to know is,
is years and years ago, we had the most unconventional Christmas celebration. This was my parents and my boyfriend at the time. And we decided that we were foregoing a traditional Christmas and we were going to have Christmas dinner at a hotel. And we were going to have a Christmas dinner
and we went to a hotel and they were doing their version of Christmas dinner. Which was? Which was still like, it was like turkey. It was like a hotel version of like a turkey with stuffing and everything else. I kid you not, it looked like it was our little quad and then a bunch of really, really expensive escorts who were all having Christmas dinner together, which was kind of heartwarming. It was really nice. Yeah.
And then we went to go see a movie afterwards. And this is when the Cumberland Theater in Yorkville was still open. And so then we went to go see the Cumberland and we just went in for the most heartwarming Christmas movie of all time, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke. And we saw it on Christmas Day. And I'm not kidding you. In my mind was like, did I just have to climb over Rick Mercer to see The Wrestler on Christmas Day? Okay.
We taped Rick previously to this conversation, but I think I'm going to text him and I'm going to ask him for you. Okay. And we'll get back. Anyway, we're going to now take a little break. We're going to come back with Rick Mercer. He's in top form today. He's our favorite guest on this show, one of them certainly. And don't go away. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. Adam, Caitlin, and Rick Mercer coming up.
I know it.
I know. And we will be an act again. I was doing the social yesterday, which I know that you do. I know, because I saw it. And I thought, you know, Jan and I should just replace all these ladies and we'll be the hosts. Don't tell them that. No. We could do daytime, you and I. God, it would be so great. Rick, don't freaking tempt me because I would do daytime television with you.
My God, it would be so fun. What time do you have to get up to do daytime? You know, it's not that bad. Those girls don't film till like one. So I think they're there at nine and then they get to go home at, they get to go home at three. That's doable. And then you could be a rock star at night and I could do stuff. But they don't pay them. No, I know. They don't. They have to pay us though.
Um, I, they would listen, we would have agents involved, heavily involved. We'd have perks and I would, I would want to, I would want a driver in a vehicle. And so would you? Well, I take the subway. I don't need a driver. Oh, so I'll say there's a savings right there. I know. So I don't know if I'm telling secrets, but I know you guys are going to be doing some rentals in your Toronto place. Correct. Uh, uh, that's temporarily on hold. What happened? Uh,
It just seemed to be a dumb idea, I think. Okay. Okay. And now that the world is opening up again, I was like, I have better things to do than do that. Okay. And I think it was something that I was thinking about during the pandemic, when you're staring at the wall and going, that wall should really go. And now that the pandemic is over, it's like, I don't care about that bloody wall. I'm going. That's what's happening. Yeah. Yeah.
So you're going out on the road with just for laughs and it's very exciting. Any trepidation, like it feels like everybody's out touring, everybody's doing it, but now it's just, everyone seems to be like, screw it two years of this, but now we don't care. Yeah, that's exactly what's going on. I'm going to be careful. You know, I've dodged the bullet. I haven't had COVID part of me is going, did I make a big mistake because I'm going out on the road in a week? Did I make a mistake? Should I have gotten this thing? But, uh,
I wasn't willing to do that. And I don't know what's going to happen when we get out there on the road, but it's selling really well. People do want to come out. I know to practice, I went to some comedy clubs and it was alarming because it was just filled with young people laughing and breathing on each other in the low ceilings. And so I did that for a while and then I stopped.
And the way I practice is I put in my earbuds so people think I'm on the phone and I walk around the block, the middle of the street, and I'm like waving and pretending I'm on, you know, at Massey Hall. And I hope they think I'm just on the phone.
So it's like preparing for a theater show. It harkens back to your rants. They probably just think, oh, there's Rick Mercer. He's ranting. They probably go, oh, look, look, look what happened to him. Now he just walks around the street and barks at parking meters. Okay.
Okay. Well, since we're talking about comedians and parking meters, Caitlin Green, I'm throwing to you because we have questions to ask you. We probably feel like you've been inundated with your opinion on certain things, but Caitlin go. So I'm putting it on her. Rick knows what I'm going to ask it. The, the, the slap as a standup comedian, you know, and you, someone who tours and is funny for a living and is not going to shy away from a controversial topic here and there.
What the heck was that? Well, there's a whole bunch of things. There's a whole bunch of things. For starters...
I will say it wasn't a very good joke. And I'm sure Chris Rock, when he lies in bed and lies awake in bed at night going over this, the first thing in his head is like, I wish it was a better joke. But ultimately, because it wasn't a good joke, but ultimately it shouldn't matter whether it was a good joke or a bad joke or an offensive joke or anything. You can't go punching people or slapping people in the face. And it was just a very unhinged situation.
For one person to slap another person in the face like that, two grown men is unhinged. But to do it on live television at the Oscars on a global broadcast is unhinged, unhinged times 200. So it was a scary situation. I don't think there's necessarily – I don't know what the consequences are. It was just incredibly bizarre. A lot of people are very upset, of course.
You know, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote this scathing, scathing piece that was just devastating, I'm sure, to Will Smith because he really took him to the woodshed. It was just devastating. And that was from his position as a black man in the sports and entertainment world. You know, a lot of people are upset for a lot of different reasons. It was all just very weird. It's just so unhinged. It's never happened before. It's unprecedented. Yeah. Yeah, it was...
a lot of people were so triggered by behavior that first of all, they thought it was a joke, right? Oh, this is all set up. So there is that one, 1000 to 1000 was this some kind of a joke. And then anyway, it was, it, it's so hard when a person sort of shows them a part of themselves that you didn't know was there. But I mean, I always loved Will Smith. I was one of those people. I just thought he was the cutest, funniest. I loved his action movies and, and,
Yeah, and he's a giant superstar. You know, his book, he wrote a memoir this past year, year and a half. And his book was a, it was a juggernaut. Like it sold so many copies. People are really fascinated with him. And I was really amazed because I know movie stars can sell books, but he just dominated the New York Times for a long, long time. So there's a real fascination. And it's obviously going to have a,
impact on his career because he hasn't broken any laws or anything in theory, but I can't see people like if he wanted to go out and raise money for a big family comedy, I don't see people saying, okay, and you'll be the wacky dad who adopts five children. I don't see that happening. It's yeah. Well, the cancel culture is not my favorite thing in the, in the new world that we're in. I believe in forgiveness. I believe that people can,
do make rash decisions. I mean, God knows I've said some stupid things in my life and some really offensive things that come up on Twitter that, oh yeah, and Jan Arden said this in 2007. And they'll screenshot it. And I just am like, oh God, why did I type that out? Why did I do that? And I would like to think that people would say, well, that was a long time ago and Jan has, you know, obviously. Yeah, she's evolved. So,
sobered up. So what can we expect from your tour? Like, are you going, you're going out with some other people? Are you not? Who are you going with? Yeah, it's a, well, it's a full standup tour. Iman El Husseini is a woman originally from, from Montreal. She ended up in New York. She's toured the entire world nonstop. She's always a fan favorite at Just for Laughs. She's very, very funny. Dave Mirhaj, great standup comic, has a Netflix special.
won the Juno for Best Comedy Record. And Ivan Decker, who I toured with before, who is one of my absolute favorite comedians working today. He also is a Netflix special. He also won the Juno for Best Album. So it's a really great lineup of stand-ups. And then me. What kind of rooms are you doing? You, you're one of the main reasons people are coming out to see it. I just, I can't imagine...
I mean, I'm funny on occasion, but doing standup to me strikes me as one of the most difficult undertakings. What are your sets? Like, do you do 45 minutes? Like, are you each doing half hour? What are you guys doing? I will do 20, 25 minutes, then I'll do five minutes and then I'll do 15 minutes and they all do 20, 25. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But I'm probably out there more than anyone, but everyone is doing a substantial set and
And it is a big learning curve because I used to do things where I hosted, but I never did things where I went out and did 20 minutes solid. That's a long time. Yeah. And, but I'm looking forward to it. I got to say it was, it was something I really wanted to do after television. And it wasn't something that I had a lot of experience at and I've worked at it and I'm really looking forward to it. Well, you're very missed on television. I think you were, um,
such a fixture in Canadians' lives weekly. And not just from the Mercer report, but everything leading up to that, your years of television leading up to that. And then all of a sudden,
It seemed like it coincided with COVID. I know that's just sort of a coincidence. It kind of did. You know, I was very lucky that I got to walk away under my own terms. But I think that COVID would have forced me to walk away anyway because my show, my God, I used to – well, it's on in reruns, and I can't tell you how many people would email me and say, it's so weird watching your show.
During these times, you've hugged 18 people. And you've hugged 18 people in the first one minute of the show and shaking hands with everyone in all these crowded spaces. You're watching the Massive Report! And kids are screaming and breathing on each other. So I don't think I could have done it.
You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. I'm here with Rick Mercer. We're going to be right back. We are so excited to welcome another new sponsor, our friends at Cove Soda. Have I pestered Cove enough to come and join us here at the Jan Arden Podcast? I love them so much. They are Canadian, first of all. They are a natural, certified organic, zero sugar soda, which includes, get this, one big
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I'm here with Rick Mercer. And Rick, where can people buy tickets to see you and all these amazing other comedians across this great land of ours? Because I want to direct traffic here. I want to sell stuff for you, Rick.
Yes, please, God. It's been two years. Sell something. It's ha-ha-ha.com, spelled as you would imagine, ha-ha-ha.com. And we're going from Moncton to Victoria, including St. John's, so St. John's to Victoria. And we're starting April 19th, and we're wrapping up May 22nd. In fact, just so I can get back, when are you playing Massey Hall?
Uh, the 24th and 25th of May. And I've got tickets for you. I hope, hopefully you can come. Well, yeah, well, I bought tickets. And so I bought tickets ages ago. Rick, jeez! I did! Of course I did! Well, I was fully expecting for you to give me tickets for free for the Just for Laughs. Well, I will. But you give me tickets, and then I'll sell them outside of Massey Hall. Yes! And everyone will come out as a winner. Hey, you need tickets? You need tickets? Yes!
I have been subject to someone trying to sell me my own tickets in front of Massey Hall. In fact, I walked down there one day and the guy's like, you want to buy a t-shirt? I thought their designs were really much better than ours were, but I did not buy a $30 Jan Arden t-shirt. No. Yeah. Yeah.
That's funny. You know what? If you're around, I would love to have you come up at Massey Hall and just say, how do you do? People would go wild. I'll have to introduce you. And of course, I'd love to play Massey Hall.
I was meant to play the big rooms. Well, I don't know. I haven't been inside since it's been renovated, but I bought the book that you wrote the introduction for. I didn't imagine that, right? You wrote the introduction. I did. I did write the introduction. And it's very exciting and a very exciting project. Of course, I would pass it almost every day for a long time, and it was just in slings for the longest time, and now it's just a sparkling jewel.
Fantastic. Well, I don't know how many millions of dollars they spent on it, but it seems to be every musician's dream to get there eventually and to stand on that stage. I would sort of liken it to...
the Canadian version of the Opry, if that makes any sense. Sure, or Carnegie Hall. It's famous. I knew about Massey Hall when I was a kid, but I didn't know what it was. I just knew it was a place that everyone wanted to be. Well, there's something about it. Danny's leaving, so while we've been doing this podcast, my dear friend Danny Hanson, who's working on some really awesome – what are you working on?
The Last of Us in Calgary. That's a big movie. Yes, it's going to be huge. That's jobs, jobs, jobs. It's jobs, jobs, jobs. That's what Rick Mercer just said. I have headphones in so Danny can't hear what you're saying. He loves you very, very much. Call him. That's what he just said. Yeah, thank you. And send the bill to CTV. Thank you so much. Thanks, Danny. I'll talk to you later.
Yeah, it really is. It's a magical place. And when you stand on the stage, you just get this feeling that is, well, you've been in there before, Rick. You've done things in there and you've certainly been in the building. How many people are you out on the road with?
The band is small, so there's four of us in the band. Bass, drums, keyboards, guitars. I'm singing. Chris Brunton, whom you know well, will be... He's actually designed this whole thing. He's done some incredible video stuff for it, but I'm not here to talk about me. Okay. Well, I like... This is why we should do daytime. You see? I know. We can start jamming, what'd you do last night? And then I'd be like, hey, look what's on the front page of this one. Oh, my God. What's funny is that...
Talking to Canadians, your most recent book on Doubleday Canada. Yeah. How did you start down that road? And I know we've spoken about this before, but writing is different than it's a really different beast from stand up or doing television. It is a thing on its very own. Like there's no comparisons. You have to sit down, pen in hand, computer in lap, whatever it is that you do.
And tell kind of linear stories that people will understand. Sure. Again, it was a big learning curve because I had written books before, but they were always drawn from the TV show. They were a collection of rants with essays around them. But this is a full-blown memoir. There was nothing, there was no material I could repurpose. And I was inspired, quite frankly, and I'm not blowing smoke, but
by people like you, by people like Alan Doyle, who wrote books that people really enjoyed. And I know the publisher liked it, the idea, because they know Canadians like memoirs, and as do I, but it was daunting. But I just sat down and I took it as a job, or as a degree or something. I literally did it nine to five. And I was fortunate. I was doing it in my shed in Newfoundland, which was one of my favorite places. And it gave me something to do during the pandemic.
Because as you know, people in our business, you can't really work from home. You can be unemployed from home. That's about it. When you're in show business, you can only do so many Zoom concerts or whatever. And so I was really grateful that I had an actual job. How do you deal with failure? How...
Does that kind of manifest itself in your body? Because you look, everyone looks at you and you've been so massively successful, but I know that you have failed at things. Oh, sure. And when I was writing the book, I actually focused on a couple of those failures because... You did? Yeah. And...
You don't enjoy failure when it's happening to you. But I think especially early in your career or mid-career, maybe even now, you have to embrace your failure if you're going to figure out what went wrong and move forward. And you know yourself, it's just natural when people in show business get together and say they're talking about gigs. You're not going to talk about that night at Massey Hall where everything went perfectly. You're going to talk about that night in another town where you showed up and everything went wrong.
That's the funny story. And the same thing was when I was writing the book, when I was talking about the plays that I was involved with, I ended up talking about this play, which had the terrible title of We Have No Pity for the Pseudo-Down-Trodden. And I was the head writer. And it came in at like three hours and a half running time.
Short. It was short. Everyone called it We Have No Pity for the Audience. And I'd be sitting on stage, and it was like there was a fire alarm going off that everyone could hear except the actors. People were just standing up and leaving. We'd start with 250 people in the LSB Hall, and then by the end of the night, they'd be like six, and they'd all be related. So I ended up talking about that. So you have to embrace your failures if you're going to figure out what's the next level of success, I think.
I want to ask you something that women get asked all the time. Your hair. We've noticed, you know, with COVID that you just let your hair go gray. You probably dyed it a little bit in your day. And I want to know from a male person, I want to know from a male perspective,
because women talk about it all the time. I have to hell with it. I'm not doing blonde anymore. I'm just letting my own hair grow in. So I'm just curious from your point of view, what that was like. - I had no idea how gray I was. I always assumed I was the same level of gray as my brother, 'cause he's a couple of years older than me, but I've been dunking my head every two, three weeks because of the TV show. And I just didn't, I thought I had like a little gray on the side maybe.
and why did I have to go through this? And of course, when the pandemic happened, you literally couldn't. Like one day I just cracked and cut my own hair because I was starting to look like some sort of freak and I was completely gray. I walked outside and the kids next door went, "Oh my God, your hair!"
And then I never thought of it again. But I always found getting my hair colored a pain in the hole. I didn't really like doing it. So it's ridiculous. Yeah, I'm glad. Although if the pandemic didn't happen, maybe I would have kept doing it. I don't know. It's one of those rules. You're just supposed to keep doing it. But what's more important is I have hair for a man. For a man, the issue is not going gray. The issue is having hair. And so I'm lucky that way.
No, I get that. I understand that. But I, yeah, I just was wondering, because when I saw you, A, and I'm telling you the truth right now, you've looked fantastic.
excellent. Thank you. Is there something about men getting older? They just get more distinguished and the gray hair, like the temples and a little bit of the sideburns. I think women find that so appealing and so attractive. I mean, Caitlin, correct me if I'm wrong, but if a woman, you know, has four little coarse gray hairs coming through and a little bit on the sides, it is like a call to arms. Like, Oh my God,
You know who I think changed that is Lisa Laflamme though. I was just going to bring up Lisa Laflamme because people certainly tweeted like, Oh Rick, you've gone great. But Lisa Laflamme, people were like, people were freaking out and she looks fantastic on the bus shelters. She looks like a superhero. She's going to burst through that bus shelter and kick some butt. Yeah. She looks great.
Well, it must have been, I wonder what the decision was like for Lisa to, you know, just go, now we stop. And how do you stop? Like, did you...
Just let it grow out and then you just cut the little the dark tips off Yeah, and then I caught it and then sudden I caught it on myself because of the pandemic and I realized I was great But the other thing that's so great is it's impossible to color your hair and be believable Like my partner Gerald always says you have not have all the money in the world and go to the best stylist in the world You still have weird hair like Paul McCartney like you're not fooling anyone like
Oh, Paul, that's a lovely chestnut color you have there. No one buys it. You're listening to the Jan Arden podcast. I'm here with Rick Mercer. We're talking about a lot of things and we've got a lot of more things left to talk about. We'll be right back.
Welcome back to the Jan Arden podcast. I'm here with Caitlin Green, Adam Karsh, and Rick Mercer is fantastic. Hi, Rick. Can I make that my ringtone? Oh my God, of course you can. I'll have my agent send you an invoice. Okay. That'd be great. That
That won't be awkward in an elevator at all, would it? You must have been asked in your career to talk on people's phones. Like I've had people, I've been eating dinner. I get a phone in front of my face. Sorry, can you just leave a message for my mom? No, it's going now. It's beeped. Somebody on. Can you sing something to her? And I do. I always do. I'm like, let me just swallow. You sang to my sister once. You did that the first time we ever shot together. And it was when you had the cafe.
And you did it. My sister still talks about it. I remember thinking, I can't believe I'm asking Jan to do this. But you graciously did it. That's very nice. I don't mind doing it. But yeah, ringtones and things like that, if you have to do that. Hi, you've reached Diane's. I'm Rick Mercer. Yeah, I've done those. She's in the loo right now. What's the weirdest request you've had from a fan? Yeah.
I've watched you over many, many years with people scurrying up to you with such glee in their pant pockets and they're like, oh, giddy. And it always is heart. It's just heartwarming because you're so kind. But have you ever had any weird, like what are some strange things that have happened with people? You know how things happen in life.
threes or what have you. It was a bunch of years ago, I got a call at the office and it was really weird. My phone rang and my phone never rang. I only ever used it for outgoing calls. So I didn't even know people knew it was my phone. And I rang and it was a guy asking me if
if I could come to a hospital, Michael Garron hospital and visit someone who is in palliative care. And I started going him, ha making, ah, ah. And he said, and really you have to come now. There's only a couple of hours left. And, uh,
I got the information and I said, I'll try. And then I hung up and the guy who was in the office with me, who was a young guy who worked with us, who had fought cancer for a bunch of years. And I said, this guy just, I don't know who he is. He wants me to go to this palliative care unit. He said, get in the van, let's go. And we barreled across town and I went in and I talked to this woman and she was an elderly woman and she had been in the war in fact. And then it was this weird period where for like,
A couple of months, I ended up making four or five similar trips. I don't even know why I'm telling you this. But it was so weird and amazing.
I only did it because this young guy in my office said, oh, no, you got to do it. You got to do it. And so that was that was strange for sure. Other than that, it's mostly just ringtones and stuff like that. And I feel like I'm a senator. Sometimes people will be like, you know, my mother's turning 90. And if you could say send a message to this address by this time and include this and this and this. And here it is. And of course, it's due the next day at noon or something. And there's a lot of that.
But you do the cameos and you raise money for the horses. I raised money for animals all over the world. I've been doing cameos. It's just before COVID, like four or five months before. You're pro-animal, right? You're pro-animal? I'm pro-animal. I think they're worth saving. Yes, that's my stance. I'm not going to change it. But yeah, I've raised...
A lot of money for them. And I've been directing it all to Ukraine this last six weeks. Cause you know, you see all these animals running down the street and people are finding boxes of puppies in the ditches. And the zoo that they had in, in Kiev was obviously bombed and decimated. And the animals were terrified. I mean, it's, I can't even think about that kind of,
stuff very often because it really sinks me in. I just feel like... But you do those greetings, those cameo greetings or whatever they're called. Yes, I do like them. Do you do them like every day? I do them every day. I probably do three or four a day, sometimes five a day. So you wash every day? I look so terrifying. You can go onto the cameo page. You can log onto me and you can watch. I've done 3,600 cameos. You can go in and watch them. I had this...
This really beautiful actress woman named Elaine told me the other day that she goes, sometimes I just go into Cameo and I just watch you talking to people. I'm like, you can do that? She goes, yeah. You can watch other people's Cameos? You can watch all of them. They're all on there. And, you know, I crack the same jokes a lot of the times. People don't seem to mind. Well, of course you crack the same jokes. If it's someone's birthday, you can't make 3,600 different jokes. But like you said, there's a lot of people –
my friend is in last stages of cancer. And if you could just send a message and sing part of good mother, that would be so great. And she loves that you're helping the animals. And I have cried on some of these things. I'm like, I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying, but I never stop and erase it and do it again. I'm like, no, I'm going to leave it.
And I just cheer them on. You're like Sinatra. One take only. Oh, my God. If I hear one more Sinatra comparison, I'm going to just lose my damn... Okay, Caitlin has a question, and I think it's very good. You...
I'm just going to push this over to you about the neighbours, Caitlin, because Crick did get to know his neighbours through the pandemic. Oh, yes. Okay, yeah. Everyone, I mean, against their will in some cases, really got to know more and more about their neighbours. I'm just wondering, did you spend most of your pandemic in Toronto or Newfoundland? Yeah, well, both. But I did...
there's a young family that lives next door with young kids and we share a driveway and they certainly helped our sanity a lot because kids are just so much fun and they're doing stuff and they were suddenly at home. And so we...
knew everything they were up to and they would give us updates and it got a little silly every time there was a birthday i would make a sign for our window i don't know if that's going to come to an end now please god it will but uh but yeah they certainly saved saved me and and i did some projects with them like i put them in a i hosted a virtual reality a virtual
an award show from my driveway and I had one of the young girls who was like seven play Lisa Laflamme and another one played played like different reporters and so we had a lot of fun we had a lot of fun and and it
It was really great. So, yeah, we got to know the neighbors. That's the best. Because imagine, I just feel like having you as a neighbor and then being able to access this as a form of entertainment and childcare would be the most valuable thing. The little guy, the youngest boy, when he was in kindergarten, he put up his hand and told his teacher, he said, I live next door to a professional clown. Oh, my God.
What an amazing description. He's not wrong. I know. But his teacher reported that I live next door to a professional clown. I was very flattered. I think a lot of people got to know people in their building, like even people beneath them or above them. And there were some really magical things that happened because we were all –
sort of static for a moment in time. Yeah, oh for sure. And I met these people around the corner when the pandemic, I'll be very quick, when the pandemic first started people were even afraid to walk. We would walk around the streets and always the same path every day so the assassins could get us. And there was this elderly couple sitting in a window and every time I would wave, a big wave like I was in a parade,
And they would look at me like a little bit confused. And then it was just something I kept doing. And Joe was like, what are you doing waving at those people? Like you were in a parade. And then they started waving back. And then they started pumping their hands in the air. And now we talk.
Every day on the walk, they come out, and he's one of those guys. He's Greek, and he's lovely, and he talks like he's been here for five minutes. How are you? And I say, I'm great today. Beautiful weather. And we have a chat about the weather, and now we know all about them. We know where they're from in Greece and how many children they have and what they did in Toronto. They know all about Newfoundland. And...
Yeah, they're like five blocks away from us. So much so that even though we've never sat down and had a cup of tea, but if I'm going away for three weeks, I make a point of riding my bike by their house and saying, just so you know, I'm leaving town for three weeks because I don't want them to worry. But what a nice thing to do to actually acknowledge the existence of our neighbors and our fellow earthly travelers and to have relationships that we might not have. Adam's wrapping me up at...
Well, listen, you're loved very much by me and everybody else in this country. And thank you for doing the podcast. And I hope you have a great time on Just for Laughs. I'm going to try and find you somewhere, but I'll see you at Massey Hall. Yes, I will be there. Okay, well, thanks for being here, everybody. And subscribe to us, the Jen Arden Podcast. We love you. We love you, Rick. See you next time. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.