Mark McKinney, actor & Kid in the Hall

(R.I.P. Glenn Ford; you already know how much I love him from an earlier entry about "Gilda".)

Why single out Mark McKinney when you are an enthusiastic fan of all the work of the Kids in the Hall? Maybe because of guilt -- when their show was originally running on TV, I loved the show but overlooked McKinney. Kevin McDonald once did a monologue sketch about being "the Kid in the Hall you don't like", but for me, Mark was that Kid. I kind of loved Da-RREL, especially when he painted tumors into his mountain scene painting, but I hated the Chicken Lady, was indifferent to the Cops, and couldn't pinpoint what else he did. Oh, and he crushed heads. Everyone else had a distinct personality and voice, and Mark was just...everyone.

Exactly. It took all these years, and many reruns and concert movie viewings for me to realize that he is a fantastic actor. He blends into his characters so perfectly and fits into a scene so seamlessly that I never gave him enough credit for what he was doing. On watching the shows now, I am amazed by his deft characterizations and perfect timing. He must be a dream of a scene partner, and he's the kind of sketch performer I strive to be.

He also brings that Ugly Comedy asthetic that I appreciate so much, those characters (like the Chicken Lady and the Headcrusher) that make you cringe with pity and disgust. It's a kind of intellectual comedy that acknowledges that life isn't pretty but it sure is funny, and that is the comedy I've grown to love.

Plus, he does commentary on the DVD of "Same Guys, Different Dresses" (I think it's that one) with Scott Thompson, and they are absolutely hilarious together. Mark's muttered disgust with how fat he'd gotten, coupled with his sarcastic contempt for Scott's (self-admitted) vanity and self-absorbtion, is gut-bustingly funny. Again, not pretty sometimes, but very, very funny. He won me over forever when there was a backstage shot of him running in his dress and huge blonde wig, and he self-deprecatingly said on the commentary track, "Look, there goes the Russian skating judge!"

Mark McKinney, the Stealth KITH.