(NewsReady.com) – Joseph O’Flaherty, known professionally as Joe Flaherty, made Americans laugh for decades. His iconic roles in “Happy Gilmore” and “Freaks and Geeks” are unforgettable. Unfortunately, the comedian recently passed away.
On April 2, the actor’s daughter, Gudrun, announced her dad passed away on the most fitting of days, April Fool’s Day. The 82-year-old died following a brief illness.
O’Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1941 to Irish and Italian parents. He attended an all-boys Catholic school and served in the Air Force after graduating. The comedian was in the Armed Services for four years but left as the Vietnam War was getting underway.
In 1969, O’Flaherty moved to Chicago and began a career as a stand-up comedian while being involved in dramatic theater at Second City Theater. He worked with John Belushi during his time in the Windy City and eventually registered with Actors Equity. When he signed up, there was another person with his name, so he dropped the “O” from his last name and became Joe Flaherty.
While at the theater, O’Flaherty became a founding member of “SCTV” on Canadian television. He starred alongside Catherine O’Hara and John Candy. As the show progressed, people like Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and others also joined the cast. The comedian became well-known for his characters on the show, starring as Count Floyd, a vampiric TV host, and Guy Caballero, a network boss. In 1982 and 1983, O’Flaherty won Emmys for his writing on “SCTV.”
O’Flaherty was in “Back to the Future Part II,” “Married… with Children,” and in 1996, millennials got to know him as the heckler on “Happy Gilmore.” He stood in the crowds while Adam Sandler’s character tried to golf and shouted things like, “You suck!”
Actor John Cusack bid farewell to O’Flaherty in a post on X, formerly Twitter, calling him a “legend.”
RIP to the great Joe Flaherty- Sctv was groundbreaking genius TV – he was in the best comedy that was ever aired in television – a worthy successor to the barriers Monty Python exploded – but in its own distinctive way – crazy original subversive silly absurdist wicked stuff… https://t.co/QaiCEa5Pb2
— John Cusack (@johncusack) April 2, 2024
Mark Hamill thanked the comedian for his “legacy of laughs.”
O’Flaherty is survived by his two children.
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