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intended to go to bed early as he had another show the next day, allowed them to sleep on his couch for the night, following which Harris stabbed him in the carotid artery soon after he fell asleep. However, some of the media coverage falsely appeared to imply that
Boncoeur might have predatorily lured the boys home for sex.
115:
despite disliking Second City's improvisational stage shows; one of their regular pieces in that era parodied improv comedy by asking the audience to provide male and female character suggestions, which Willis and
Boncoeur would perform "improvisationally" for exactly two or three lines of dialogue
250:
school. They had shown up at
Boncoeur's home earlier on the day of his death with the intention of robbing him; however, as Boncoeur had to leave for a show, he gave them $ 20 to buy food, with which they instead bought a knife. They returned to his home again later in the evening; Boncoeur, who
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reported having received a strange unidentified phone call asking "Has a gay man been murdered in the
Toronto area in the last 10 hours?" the day before his body was found, it was unclear whether the motive for his killing was homophobia or simple robbery. His motorcycle was later found in the
116:
before
Boncoeur's character would say "I wish I was in Paris", with the sketch then transitioning into its true purpose, an elaborately-staged song and dance number. They were also noted for the edginess of some of their comedy; after the news of the
80:
They performed as a sketch comedy duo on stage, both in
Toronto and regular touring throughout both Canada and the United States. Willis was the primary writer of most of their material, while Boncoeur took on the staging and costuming.
254:
Harris was tried as an adult as he had reached age 18 by the time of the trial; he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994. There is no media record of whether the other youth ever went to trial.
273:
to help combat anti-gay stereotypes and discrimination. Michael
Patterson's classmate and friend Lawrence Poirier, who had previously been seen in the strip as a minor supporting character, came out as gay in 1993.
131:, which was a relative novelty in comedy in their era; many of the troupe's local shows in Toronto were performed at the Manatee, a gay club. Boncoeur was also noted for a drag impersonation of
246:
Two youths were later arrested and charged with the murder. One was an established acquaintance of
Boncoeur's, while the other, Adam Blake Harris, was a classmate of the first youth at a
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The undertones of homophobia in response to his death, both the false claim about his HIV status and the sexual predation allegations, motivated his lifelong friend
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Peter Rehak, "Performer, writer took comedy to the edge in 1960s: Show business pioneer: Helped establish Canada as centre for comedic talent".
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The duo's comedy was strongly influenced by
British sketch comedy. They disdained the influence of American comedy, including the rise of
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pilot, although there is no historical evidence that it was ever actually broadcast, and had plans to record a comedy album for
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They ceased touring in 1980, but reunited in 1984 to create two CBC Radio comedy specials, a spoof of CBC programming called
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He also served as a wardrobe master in theatre, most notably for a national touring production of the musical
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entertainment writer Andrew Clark, faced some criticism for misidentifying
Boncoeur as "Michael Rapaport".
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90:, but declined to audition out of fear that the show would steal their material; as well, they filmed a
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Gary Oakes, "Teenage murderer to serve time in two jails: First two years to be spent in reformatory".
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apartment; he had been stabbed to death and robbed of numerous possessions including his motorcycle.
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Libby Stephens, "Laughing 'til we stop: Stand And Deliver: Inside Canadian Comedy By Andrew Clark".
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Charles Hanley, "Chautauqua Girl has three chances for a Nellie: ACTRA names award nominees".
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massacre broke in November 1978, their show that evening opened with the duo distributing
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Elina MacNiven, "Air Farce, Frantics return this summer: Tuning in for radio chuckles".
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sketch comedian, most noted as one half of the comedy duo La Troupe Grotesque with
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Blaik Kirby, "Can CBC radio build a bridge between glitter rock and Beethoven?".
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Herbert Whittaker, "Open-coffin satirists: from high schoolish to brilliant".
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The earliest police reports also inaccurately claimed that Boncoeur was an "
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In addition, Boncoeur was noted for being open and unapologetic about being
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John Duncanson and Bill Taylor, "Ex-comic murdered by robber police say".
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109:, although they were both major fans of the more scripted and formatted
47:, he had local stage acting roles as a child, most notably as the young
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Paul McGrath, "This is way the world ends: first wimps. then a bang".
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area of the city, following early reports that it had been seen on
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Jack Batten "Two-man La Troupe Grotesque produces superb satire".
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in 1986. In 1985, Willis also created the radio comedy special
543:"ACTRA nominations for 15th annual Nellie Awards on April 2".
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57:. He and Willis formed La Troupe Grotesque in 1968, moving to
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Jack Batten, "Outrage is business for La Troupe Grotesque".
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Barbara Crook, "Cats backstage: More than meets the eye".
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Patricia Orwen, "Why juvenile violence is on the rise".
280:, a 1997 book about the history of Canadian comedy by
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On March 24, 1991, Boncoeur's body was found in his
243:patient", which Willis responded was not the case.
513:Elina MacNiven, "CBC spoof of the year that was".
154:. The following year, they toured the stage revue
61:that year but struggling to get established until
465:John Fraser, "Waste, no taste in Brown Wrapper".
173:nominations for Best Writing, Radio Variety for
65:hired them as writers for his television series
267:to bring a gay character into her comic strip
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387:Bob Allen, "Grotesque pair have improved".
84:They were also invited to join the cast of
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74:The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
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710:20th-century Canadian screenwriters
588:"Ex-radio comic stabbed to death".
317:"Young Actor Provides for Future".
780:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people
715:20th-century Canadian male writers
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765:Canadian male television writers
165:in June and the year-end review
87:The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour
705:20th-century Canadian comedians
183:The Year of Living Obnoxiously
167:The Year of Living Obnoxiously
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785:Deaths by stabbing in Canada
191:If You Love This Government
169:in December. They received
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795:Screenwriters from Toronto
750:People murdered in Toronto
142:In 1976, they created the
98:which never materialized.
725:Canadian sketch comedians
175:This Hour Has 17 Programs
163:This Hour Has 17 Programs
770:Canadian LGBTQ comedians
755:Comedians from Vancouver
51:in a 1962 production of
31:in the 1970s and 1980s.
740:Canadian comedy writers
730:Canadian murder victims
720:Canadian male comedians
270:For Better or For Worse
735:Canadian radio writers
591:Waterloo Region Record
19:was the stage name of
579:, September 28, 1988.
564:, September 14, 1985.
393:, September 16, 1974.
372:"La Troupe Grotesque"
760:Canadian gay writers
668:, February 24, 1994.
653:, December 17, 2004.
435:, "Paul K. Willis".
54:Caesar and Cleopatra
21:Michael Vadeboncoeur
645:"Drawing from life"
471:, January 27, 1977.
456:, November 2, 1976.
423:, December 7, 1999.
408:, January 13, 1973.
156:Plain Brown Wrapper
561:The Globe and Mail
531:The Globe and Mail
519:, January 5, 1985.
516:The Globe and Mail
501:The Globe and Mail
468:The Globe and Mail
453:The Globe and Mail
438:The Globe and Mail
405:The Globe and Mail
335:The Globe and Mail
320:The Globe and Mail
305:The Globe and Mail
133:Queen Elizabeth II
775:Gay screenwriters
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614:, March 26, 1991.
594:, March 26, 1991.
549:, March 18, 1986.
534:, March 19, 1985.
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187:15th ACTRA Awards
181:in 1985, and for
179:14th ACTRA Awards
124:to the audience.
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39:Originally from
17:Michael Boncoeur
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700:1991 deaths
248:reformatory
230:Highway 400
226:Cabbagetown
212:Forest Hill
171:ACTRA Award
96:GRT Records
694:Categories
290:References
283:Eye Weekly
68:Party Game
234:King City
202:in 1988.
144:CBC Radio
118:Jonestown
41:Vancouver
122:Kool-Aid
25:Canadian
185:at the
177:at the
59:Toronto
49:Ptolemy
259:Legacy
206:Murder
35:Career
376:ByNWR
232:near
150:with
241:AIDS
199:Cats
112:SCTV
71:and
23:, a
129:gay
105:at
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634:^
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