#28—The Tom Green Show

In episode 28, we revisit the antics of shock comic Tom Green. In the early nineties, Green rose to local Ottawa fame with a rap album, a radio show, and a program on public-access television. In 1998, The Tom Green Show gained a national following on the Canadian Comedy Network, and in 1999 it jumped to the American big time on MTV. Green was the network’s golden/meat-covered boy, a box office success in the films Road Trip (2000) and Charlie’s Angels (2000)—before being waylaid by testicular cancer, a short-lived marriage to actress Drew Barrymore, and the critical lambasting of his directorial debut, Freddy Got Fingered (2001). How did Green develop his innovative comedic methods? Why have some parts of his shtick aged like a fine wine, and others like a dead moose? Did his family ever forgive him for that stunt with his grandmother and the dildos? Also, Naomi remembers Tom razzing her as a teen on the not-so-mean streets of downtown Ottawa.

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