- Tommy Sexton
Thomas "Tommy" Sexton (
July 3 ,1957 -December 13 ,1993 ) was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, he was the youngest member of the "CODCO " comedy troupe.Educated in St. John's, he was an honours student before quitting after Grade 10 to pursue an acting career in
Toronto . After briefly working on a children's touring theatre show, he landed his first television role in the drama series "Police Surgeon". Sexton and colleagueDiane Olsen subsequently wrote "Cod on a Stick", a comedic play which launched CODCO.citation |url=http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/bios2/sext1.html |title=Tommy Sexton |accessdate=2007-09-06 ]In 1975, Sexton took a brief sabbatical from CODCO to study at the
Toronto Dance Theatre . He subsequently returned, working on other shows with CODCO and subsequently touring with colleague Greg Malone in two co-written works, "The Wonderful Grand Band " and "Two Foolish to Talk About ". In 1985 and 1986, Sexton and Malone wrote and performed in a series of television specials for the CBC, called "The S and M Comic Book ", which in turn led to CODCO landing its own series in 1987.After CODCO's run concluded in 1992, Sexton and Malone wrote and starred in a CBC television special, "The National Doubt", satirizing the constitutional debates of the early 1990s. Sexton subsequently wrote a semi-autobiographical film, "Adult Children of Alcoholics: The Musical", which was in production in November 1993 when Sexton, who was openly
gay ,citation |title=Sexton Tribute |periodical=NOW Magazine Online Edition |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2001-11-08/movie_repfeature.html |volume=21 |number=10 |date=2001-11-08 |accessdate=2007-09-06 ] fell ill due to complications fromAIDS . He died onDecember 13 of that year.Malone subsequently campaigned for HIV and AIDS education in Sexton's memory. His sister, filmmaker
Mary Sexton , produced a documentary film about him, "Tommy...A Family Portrait", in 2001.citation |title=Our Collection: Tommy...A Family Portrait |periodical=NFB |accessdate=2007-09-06 |url=http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=50116&v=h&lg=en&exp=${tommy} ] Along with Malone and their "CODCO" co-star Andy Jones, Sexton was a posthumous recipient of theEarle Grey Award , the lifetime achievement award of Canadian television'sGemini Awards , in 2002.The Tommy Sexton Centre, a new assisted housing complex for people living with HIV and AIDS, was opened in St. John's in 2006.citation |title=New Short Term Shelter Opening Soon |url=http://www.envision.ca/templates/news.asp?ID=7650 |date=
2006-09-06 |accessdate=2007-09-06 ]References
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