After completing 300 televised episodes of his Red Green Show, as well as a movie, actor Steve Smith isn’t nearly ready to kiss his bearded, fishing-hat-wearing persona goodbye.
In fact, Smith is preparing for a major one-man tour during which Red Green will dispense his off-kilter advice about life, marital matters and — of course — duct tape, to audiences across North America.
Once Smith dons Green’s red flannel shirt to appear on the Red Deer Memorial Centre stage on Sunday, Sept. 18, he promises fans a “one hundred per cent Possom Lodge experience.”
The Red Green Show, which ran from 1991 to 2006 before going into syndication, was a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy series that eventually found a home at the CBC. Smith believes his parody of home improvement, fishing and other outdoors shows caught on in a big way with a largely male audience because Possum Lodge is a “peaceful place with a sense of fun, adventure and escape — almost like something out of your childhood.”
His show’s status as a refuge was driven home when a U.S. public television channel began a telethon requesting viewer donations to keep The Red Green Show on the air.
“A pediatric neurosurgeon sent in a blank cheque. He wrote ‘fill it in with whatever it takes’. . . the show was such a stress release,” said Smith, who finds it easy stepping back into his straight-talking character’s shoes.
“After all those episodes, specials, and the movie and books, my brain’s not completely dead yet — I’m as shocked as you are,” he added, with a flash of familiar humour.
Smith plans to share some “behind-the-scenes stuff,” including Red Green’s childhood experiences, with live audiences during the Wit and Wisdom Tour. As well, there will be tons of unsolicited advice — including marriage survival tips.
But whether any of these jokes are drawn from Smith’s longtime union with his wife, Morag, is something he refuses to disclose. “That answer will incriminate me,” said Smith.
He later added, “Let me put it to you this way: I’m not totally guessing. . . .
“Mainly the goal is to make you laugh. It’s not a rant and I will not be showing off how many four-letter words I know.”
If Smith, the father of two grown sons, has a few things in common with his TV persona, ineptness as a handyman isn’t one of them.
He studied engineering and taught school before turning his gift for making people laugh into an enduring career.
Smith contends he really is quite good at figuring out how to fix things. When people assume he’s as ham-fisted as Red Green, it drives him crazy.
Another difference is that Smith can’t come up with any novel uses for duct tape.
“I’m not creative in terms of making things from scratch,” he said — even his Red Green character is a parody of the host of the old CTV Red Fisher Show.
And Smith suggested his joke persona isn’t exactly a big leap from the real thing.
He recalled how Fisher would deliver every long-winded story as if the TV cameras weren’t on him. “It never occurred to him that anyone would turn the channel. Why would they? This was the best story ever.”
Smith was supposed to appear many years ago on a London, Ont., radio show with Red Fisher, who was running very, very late.
When the show’s producer called Fisher at home five minutes before the show was to air, Smith recalled that the venerable TV host and outdoorsman explained he had been on the road a lot lately and needed to do the laundry that morning.
“It was unbelievable. He never showed up! . . . I just winged it,” he said, of having to go on the radio program by himself.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $54.50 from Ticket Central, 403-347-0800.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com
