- Ed Grimley
-
Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character introduced on the television series SCTV and later used on Saturday Night Live. He was created and played by Martin Short.
He is a hyperactive, neurotic nerd with a large frontal cowlick who is obsessed with banal popular culture, especially Wheel of Fortune and its host, Pat Sajak. He also loves to play the triangle, which for him consists of playing a recorded musical piece, striking the triangle once, and then wildly dancing to the recording. His catchphrases include "I must say", "totally decent", "makes me completely mental", "doomed as doomed can be." and "give me a break". One 1985 SNL skit featured Ed's look-alike Uncle Basil, played by TV sportscaster Howard Cosell.
Contents
Origins
The character originated with Short as an unnamed school parent in sketch on The Second City stage. Originally, his hair was simply very greasy and unkempt, but another cast member joked offstage that the height of the hair seemed to increase with each performance. As an inside joke, Short started greasing it straight up.
Other appearances
Ed Grimley makes a brief onstage appearance in Martin Short's Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, triangle in hand.
Ed Grimley also made an appearance on the Martin Short Show in 1994, in a spoof of the comedy film Dave. The President of the United States is an exact double of Ed Grimley, right down to the shark-tooth hairstyle. He hires Grimley to be his double and run the country while he enjoys time with his mistress. Unfortunately for Ed, the President suffers a heart attack and Ed Grimley is forced to cover up the tragedy by now having to pretend he is the president. Sally Field guest-starred as the First Lady who does not realize what has happened.
Ed Grimley appeared in a 1996 episode of Muppets Tonight in which he marries Miss Piggy to obtain an $85 inheritance from his deceased great uncle.
Ed Grimley also appeared as a giant in Asgard in Chris Claremont's New Mutants Special Edition Vol. 1 #1 from 1985.
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley Genre Cartoon series Directed by Jim Drake
Bob Goe
Don Lusk
Paul SommerStarring Joe Flaherty Voices of Martin Short
Andrea Martin
Catherine O'Hara
Frank Welker
Jonathan WintersComposer(s) Michael Tavera Country of origin 
United StatesLanguage(s) English No. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 13 Production Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Freddy Monnickendam
Martin ShortProducer(s) John Hays
Scott Shaw
Mark YoungRunning time 30 min. Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions Broadcast Original channel NBC Audio format Stereo Original run September 10, 1988 – December 3, 1988 Chronology Related shows SCTV After achieving popularity on SNL, Grimley became a cartoon character on Hanna-Barbera's animated show The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (1988). In each episode, Grimley would have an adventure of some sort, interspersed with science lessons from The Amazing Gustav Brothers, Roger and Emil, and a live-action segment with a "scary story" presented as a show-within-a-show by Grimley's favourite television host, Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty, also reprising his SCTV character; he also has a voice appearance as the sea captain in "Moby is Lost"). Other characters in the show include Ed's landlord Leo Freebus, Leo's wife Fiona, neighbor Ms. Malone (on the SNL version of the "Ed Grimley" sketches, there was a character named Ms. Malone, but she was a black singer played by Tina Turner, not a blond, ditzy, struggling actress voiced by Catherine O'Hara), and her little brother, Wendell Malone.
Hanna-Barbera sponsored an "Ed Grimley Look-a-like Contest" midway through the first season, which was won by 10-year-old Matt Mitchell from Des Moines, Iowa.
Episodes
№ Title Original airdate 1 "Tall, Dark and Hansom" 1988 September 10 Ed fills in for his cousin, driving a hansom cab, and ends up in a horse race. 2 "Ed's Debut" 1988 September 17 Ed mistakenly thinks he is asked to play triangle for the philharmonic and on the way to the concert hall is arrested and imprisoned for a bank robbery he did not commit. 3 "E.G., Go Home" 1988 September 24 Ed took his friend Wendall to an amusement park with a rocket ride that actually takes them to another planet which is ruled by an alien who sounds like Bette Davis. 4 "Ed's in Hot Water" 1988 October 1 Looking after the apartment building for his landlady Fiona Freebus while she and her husband are on vacation, Ed causes a huge flood which sends him out to sea where he meets up with long, lost aviatrix Hillary Black Smythe, who acts and sounds like Kate Hepburn. 5 "Crate Expectations" 1988 October 8 Ed gets trapped in a crate while trying to get a birthday present for Miss Malone. 6 "Grimley, P.F.C." 1988 October 15 In the wrong line to return a library book, Ed joins the army and ends up second banana to a Bob Hope-like USO performer. 7 "Moby Is Lost" 1988 October 22 Moby, Ed's pet goldfish, is missing and Ed hires a television-obsessed sea captain to lead the search. 8 "Good Neighbor Ed" 1988 October 29 Ed wins a contest but to fulfill the contest rules he needs to take a picture of all of his neighbors. 9 "Driver Ed" 1988 November 5 Miss Malone needs to learn how to drive and calls upon Ed to teach her. 10 "Blowin' in the Wind" 1988 November 12 Ed is caught up in the same tornado that sends Dorothy to Oz, only he ends up on the farm with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry where a travelling summer stock show, with a Jerry Lewis-like director, are hoping for a shot at Broadway. The title is a reference to the classic folk song Blowin' in the Wind. 11 "Eyewitness Ed" 1988 November 19 Needing hot dog weiner franks for a party, Ed makes a run to the store, which resembles the Bates Motel, and witnesses Der Bingle rob the proprietor for which he testifies and must go into the witness protection program. 12 "Eddy, We Hardly Knew Ye" 1988 November 26 Needing his tonsils out, Ed goes into the hospital where his roommate is a werewolf. 13 "The Irving Who Came to Dinner" 1988 December 3 Irving Cohen pays a visit and helps Ed reveal a couple of hucksters. Cast
- Martin Short - Ed Grimley, Emil Gustav
- Danny Cooksey - Wendell Malone
- Joe Flaherty - Count Floyd
- Andrea Martin - Mrs. Freebus
- Catherine O'Hara - Ms. Malone
- Frank Welker - Sheldon
- Jonathan Winters - Leo Freebus, Roger
Guest stars
Other guest stars included:
- Dave Thomas - USO performer (in "Grimley PFC")
- Eugene Levy - Proprietor (in "Eyewitness Ed")
- Christopher Guest - Werewolf (in "Eddy, We Hardly Knew Ye")
- Ringo Starr - A man who is regularly struck by lightning
Additional Voices
- Charlie Adler -
- René Auberjonois -
- Michael Bell -
- Susan Blu -
- Hamilton Camp -
- Robert Ito -
- Arte Johnson -
- Christina Lange -
- Kenneth Mars -
- Rob Paulsen -
- B.J. Ward -
In other languages
- Spanish: Las Locas Aventuras y Desventuras de Ed Grimley (in which "I must say" is translated as "Digo yo, ¿no?".)
See also
External links
- Ed Grimley bio, clips and photos on SCTV.org
- Totally Decent: an Ed Grimley Fansite
- The Photographic Misadventures of Ed Grimley
- Stinkomovies.Org: Ed Grimley Episode Guide and Pics
- Homestar Cartoon: Ed Grimley as Easter Egg
- The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley at the Internet Movie Database
SCTV Directors Milad Bessada (1976-1977) • George Bloomfield (1977-1979) • John Blanchard (1980-1984)Producers Sheldon Patinkin (1976-1977) • Andrew Alexander (1976-1984) • Bernard Sahlins (1976-1979) • Charles Allard (1978-1984) • Alan Rucker (1980-1981)Characters Guy Caballero • Earl Camembert • Edith Prickley • Count Floyd • Ed Grimley • Lola Heatherton • Bob and Doug McKenzie • Floyd Robertson • The Shmenge BrothersThe Smurfs Authors Comics The Black Smurfs • King Smurf • The Smurfette • The Egg and the Smurfs • The Smurfs and the Howlibird • The Astrosmurf • The Smurf Apprentice • Smurf Versus Smurf • Smurf Soup • The Olympic Smurfs • Baby Smurf • The Smurflings • L'Aéroschtroumpf • Finance SmurfCharacters Television The Smurfs (1981-89) • Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989) • Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)Films AnimatedLes Aventures des Schtroumpfs (1965) • The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976)Live-actionThe Smurfs (2011) • The Smurfs 2 (2013)Other Music • Merchandising • Video gamesFirst-run animated series Casper and the Angels • Fred and Barney Meet the Thing • The Super Globetrotters • The New Shmoo • The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (1979–1980) • Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo • Godzilla • The Flintstone Comedy Show • The Smurfs (1981–1990) • The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! • Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983) • Space Stars • The Flintstone Funnies • Shirt Tales • The Gary Coleman Show (1982–1983) • The Incredible Hulk • Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983–1991) • Mister T • Snorks (1984–1989) • Pink Panther and Sons • Kidd Video (1984–1987) • Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985–1989) • It's Punky Brewster (1985–1987) • Kissyfur (1986–1987) • Foofur • Lazer Tag Academy • Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series (1987–1988) • ALF: The Animated Series (1987–1989) • The New Archies • ALF Tales • The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley • Camp Candy (1989–1990) • Captain N: The Game Master (1989–1992) • The Karate Kid (1989–1990)First-run live-action series Rebroadcasts The Daffy Duck Show (The Daffy/Speedy Show) • Jonny Quest • The Jetsons • Dynomutt, Dog Wonder • Hong Kong Phooey • Batman and the Super 7 • Bullwinkle (1981–1982) • Thundarr the Barbarian • Fat Albert and the Cosby KidsSchedules Related topics Categories:- Saturday Night Live characters
- SCTV characters
- Comedy characters
- NBC network shows
- 1980s American animated television series
- 1988 television series debuts
- 1989 television series endings
- Television spin-offs
- Fictional characters introduced in 1982
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
