From a media release:
Corner Gas Star to Accept the Honour at the Festival on June 9, 2008
The Banff World Television Festival will present The Comedy Network Sir Peter Ustinov Award to CTV star Brent Butt on June 9th, 2008 at the 29th edition of the Banff World Television Festival, which takes place at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada, June 8 – 11, 2008.
Recognizing one of the most popular figures on television in Canada, Brent Butt joins a long list of stand out comic actors who have received this prestigious award in the past including Guy A. Lepage, Barry Humphries (a.k.a. Dame Edna), John Cleese, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Tracy Ullman, Kelsey Grammer and Rick Mercer. The award will be presented by Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.
“We are so thrilled to present this award to Brent,” says Jennifer Harkness, Executive Director. “For years he has been one of Canada’s best comedic actors, and has now become one of our best exports to television audiences around the world.”
When Brent was 20 a comedy club opened up in nearby Saskatoon, and Brent moved to the city to pursue a career in humour. He moved through the ranks incredibly quickly, and within four months of his first amateur night appearance, he was offered a tour on the road. After a year he was headlining in Toronto, and after only 4 years, he was showcased in his own gala performance at the world’s largest international comedy festival – Montreal’s JUST FOR LAUGHS where he has now become a regular.
Aside from his own national special BEDTIME WITH BRENT BUTT, he has been seen on A&E, HBO, CBC, CTV, and Global. His one-hour CTV COMEDY NOW special – FUNNYPANTS – earned him a Gemini Nomination in the category “Best Comedy Performance”. He was named “Best Male Stand-Up in Canada” at the 2001 Canadian Comedy Awards and was subsequently selected to represent his country on the WORLD COMEDY TOUR in Australia.
All the while he was cooking up his own series for CTV and The Comedy Network – CORNER GAS, set in the tiny town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. Since its launch in January 2004, the series has consistently delivered more than one million viewers each week and remains Canada’s No. 1 comedy and most-watched Canadian scripted series. It has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon, spawning a chart-topping book, sold-out comedy tours, a successful line of clothing and merchandise, a top-selling series of DVDs and a thriving tourist industry in Rouleau, Saskatchewan, where the series is filmed. In 2006, CORNER GAS saw a U.S. distribution deal with American cable network Superstation WGN, available in nearly 70 million U.S. homes. CORNER GAS is also seen in more than two dozen countries, including Australia, Finland and Morocco.
CORNER GAS has been nominated almost 60 times for numerous awards, including an International Emmy Award, multiple Gemini Awards, Leo Awards, Director’s Guild of Canada Awards, Canadian Screenwriting Awards and Canadian Comedy Awards.
Brent not only stars in front of the camera on CORNER GAS, but also wears several hats behind the scenes including creator, writer, executive producer and director. Brent is currently in pre-production on the sixth and final season of CORNER GAS, which will premiere later this year on CTV and The
Comedy Network.
The Banff World Television Festival is a not-for-profit event produced by Achilles Media Ltd., an international events management company serving the television and digital media industries. Achilles Media Ltd. events include: History Makers: International Summit of History & Current Affairs Producers,
nextMEDIA events, Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) and NATPE Mobile++. For more information, visit http://www.achillesmedia.com. The Banff World Television Festival takes place June 8-11 amid the spectacular Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada. To register, please visit www.banff2008.com.
