Dave Thomas (actor)

Dave Thomas
Thomas with wife Kimberly Ann Thomas at the World premiere of Grown Ups in 2010
Born	David William Thomas (1949-05-20) May 20, 1949 (age 67) St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, television writer
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Kimberly Ann Thomas
Children	4

David William Thomas (born May 20, 1949) is a Canadian comedian, actor and television writer. He is best known for portraying Doug McKenzie on SCTV as well as in the film Strange Brew, which he also directed.

David William Thomas was born May 20, 1949 in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is the eldest son of Moreen Duff (Muir), a Scottish-born church organist for thirty years, and composer of church music, and John E. Thomas (1926–1996), a Welsh-born medical ethicist, head of the Philosophy Department at McMaster University, and the author of several books. His younger brother Ian is a Canadian singer-songwriter. The family moved to Durham, North Carolina, where his father attended Duke University and earned a PhD in Philosophy. Thomas attended George Watts and Moorehead elementary schools. The family moved back to Dundas, Ontario in 1961 where Thomas attended Dundas District high school and later, graduated with an honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Thomas was granted an honorary doctorate from McMaster University November 20, 2009.

Starting his career as a copywriter at ad agency McCann Erickson in 1974, he became the head writer of the Coca-Cola account in Canada within a year. After watching a Second City stage show in Toronto, and while suffering from self-proclaimed "boredom" in his advertising work, he auditioned for the Second City troupe and was chosen as a performer. He was a cast member of the Toronto production of Godspell, along with Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, and Andrea Martin. Paul Shaffer was the musical director. He first achieved fame as a cast member of the Canadian syndicated TV comedy series SCTV, where he portrayed, among other characters, Doug McKenzie of beer-swilling brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie. Bob was portrayed by Rick Moranis. Other memorable characters included angry, if succinct editorialist Bill Needle, Scottish scone-chef/bluesman Angus Crock, motor-mouthed TV ad announcer Harvey K-Tel, Lowery organist/curio pitchman Tex Boil and the unforgettable "Cruising Gourmet".