1st Canadian Comedy Awards


The 1st Canadian Comedy Awards honoured the best Canadian comedy of 1999 in live performances, television and film. The awards ceremony was presented by the Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence, and was held on 6 April 2000 at the Masonic Temple in Toronto, Ontario. The ceremony was hosted by Dave Thomas. A one-hour version of the ceremony was broadcast late the following night on CTV, and the full program aired on The Comedy Network on 9 April at 9 pm.
Canadian Comedy Awards, also known as Beavers, were awarded in 23 categories. Winners were selected by members of ACTRA, the Canadian Actors' Equity Association, the Writers Guild of Canada, and the Directors Guild of Canada. It was one of the first award presentations to use online voting. The ceremony also marked the creation of the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame and the induction of its first honourees.
The Drowsy Chaperone and the CBC comedy Made in Canada led the way with six nominations each, followed by Double Exposure, Last Night, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes with five. The big winners were This Hour Has 22 Minutes which won four awards in television, The Drowsy Chaperone which took three awards in live comedy, and Mike Myers who won three in film. Don McKellar won two awards across disciplines: best film director for Last Night and best playwright for The Drowsy Chaperone.

Ceremony

The inaugural Canadian Comedy Awards ceremony was held on 6 April 2000 in Toronto, Ontario. The venue was the historic Masonic Temple, home of CTV-affiliate The Comedy Network. The ceremony was hosted by Dave Thomas, a comedic veteran of more than 20 films and 300 sitcom episodes. Thomas is best known for the character Doug McKenzie, a parody of all things Canadian, and the ceremony played on similar humour by serving guests back bacon on a bun and poutine.

Awards

The Beaver was awarded in twenty-three categories recognizing work in live performances, film and television. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface:

Live

Television

Film

Special Awards

Multiple wins

The following people, shows, films, etc. received multiple awards in the inaugural ceremony:
AwardsPerson or work
4This Hour Has 22 Minutes
3The Drowsy Chaperone
3Mike Myers
2
2Don McKellar
2Made in Canada

Multiple nominations

The following people, shows, films, etc. received multiple nominations.
AwardsPerson or work
6The Drowsy Chaperone
6Made in Canada
4Don McKellar
4Double Exposure
4Last Night
4This Hour Has 22 Minutes
3Dog Park
3History Bites
3Mike Myers
3Moving Day
3Sean Cullen
2
2Bloor Witch Project
2Bruce McCulloch
2Chris Deacon
2Chris Earle
2Comedy Now!
2Comics!
2Jessica Holmes
2Karen Hines
2Liam Kiernan
2A Little Off the Top
2Nick Orchard
2Shoshana Sperling
2The Wrong Guy

Broadcast

The awards ceremony was held in Toronto's Masonic Temple, which CTV Television Network had equipped as a television studio in the late 1990s. The ceremony was recorded for television, produced by Higher Ground Productions and directed by Bob Sorger. A one-hour version of the ceremony was broadcast on CTV at midnight on the night of Friday 7 April 2000, with the full program airing on The Comedy Network on 9 April at 9 pm. The special was well-received by the members of the industry it represents, who awarded Sorger the Beaver for best direction of a TV special or episode in 2001.