Cream of Comedy

Cream of Comedy was an annual award show broadcast by The Comedy Network that promoted emerging Canadian comedic talent in the early stage of their careers. The show was established in the memory of Toronto comedic performer Tim Sims and has raised significant annual contributions for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award (TSEF).

Contestants included various comedy acts (often stand-up comics and character performers but also improvisers, duos, musicians and sketch troupes). A jury of comedy professionals would choose five finalists from a larger field of entrants/contestants to perform in the televised showcase. The Cream of Comedy special featured clips and 15-minute comedy performances by these five finalists, taped before a live audience for broadcast. The jury kept the winners' names strictly confidential until they were announced at the end of the Cream of Comedy special taping, and then the winners were presented with the Tim Sims Award, $5,000 and (in later years) a scholarship to the Toronto Second City Training Centre.

The show started in 1996 when The Second City's Toronto location donated its venue for the event. Four people donated money to begin the TSEF. The event was considered a training ground for relatively young comics, providing them national exposure for their talent. Past winners have included Gavin Crawford, Nathan Fielder, Ron Sparks, Katie Crown and Fraser Young.

Patrick McKenna hosted the inaugural show and returned to host again in 2002. That year, the jury became hopelessly deadlocked and so two winners were named: Tim Polley and Brad Hurt. To avoid this in the future, a new rule was made giving a tie-breaking vote to comedian Lindsay Leese, widow of Tim Sims and founder of the TSEF.

1998 winner Gavin Crawford and 2000 nominee Aurora Browne returned to co-host the show in 2006. 2005 winner Jeff McEnery hosted the show in 2014.

The first Cream of Comedy show was in 1996, hosted by Patrick McKenna. Winner Jason Thompson also received the opportunity to write and star in a comedy short produced and aired by The Comedy Network. Nominees: Ron James, Jay Sankey, and Harry Doupe.

1997: The show was hosted by Bruce Hunter Winner: Fast & Dirty (Gord Oxley and Robert Hawke). Nominees: The Sketch Comedy; The Second City, from the show "Last Tango on Lombard" featuring Marc Hickox, Jennifer Irwin, Melody Johnson, Bob Martin, Jack Mosshammer, Jerry Minor, and Angela Shelton. The Second City National Touring Company, Mary Pat Farell, Doug Morency, Lee Smart, Gina Sorell, Chris Ward, Jennifer Whalen, and Jim Clayton performed from their show "Send in the Clobes".

1998: The show was hosted by Eric Tunney. Winner: Gavin Crawford Nominees: Dawn Whitwell, Tracy Dawson, Gord Disley, and Gavin Stephens.

1999: The show was hosted by Sean M.Culen (possible typo of Seán Cullen), with his "musicky guy" Dylan Goodhue. Winner: Fraser Young. Nominees: Dave Tomlinson, Craig Lauzon, Jessica Holmes, and Nugmutter.

2000: The show was hosted by Brent Butt Winner: Laurie Elliott. Nominees: Aurora Browne, Sam Easton, The Goatee Boys, and Darryl Purvis.

2001: The show was hosted by Colin Mochrie. Winner: Levi McDougall. Nominees: Ryan Belleville, Andy Boorman, Debra DiGiovanni, and Lex Vaughn.

2002: Patrick McKenna returned to host the 2002 show. The jury became hopelessly deadlocked and so two winners were named: Tim Polley and Brad Hurt. To avoid this in the future, a new rule was made giving a tie-breaking vote to comedian Lindsay Leese, widow of Tim Sims and founder of the TSEF. Nominees: Rachel Cantelon, Linda Ellis, and Kelvin Herod.

2003: The cream of Comedy show was hosted by Dan Redican. Winner: Ron Sparks. Nominees: Marty Adams, The Gurg, Calcu-Lator and The Oral Presentation, and Mae Martin.

2004: In the Year 2004, the show was hosted by Elvira Kurt. Winner: Katie Crown. Nominees: Darrin Rows, Iron Cobra (Becky Johnson and Graham Wagner), Knock Knock Who's There? Comedy!, and Mike Balazo.

2005: The show was hosted by Jon Dore Winner: Jeff McEnery. Nominees: Bob Kerr, Mack Lawrenz, Kathleen Phillips, and Pat Thornton.

2006: The show was hosted by 1998 winner Gavin Crawford and 2000 winner Aurora Browne. Winner: Nathan Fielder. Nominees: Rebecca Addelman, Black Roses, Andrew Johnston, and Desiree Lavoy.

2007: Winner: Nathan Macintosh

2008: Winner: 7 Minutes of Heaven (Laura Cilevitz and Josh Saltzman)

2009: Winner: Calvin Storoschuk

2010: Winner: Mike Rita

2011: Winner: British Teeth (Filip Jeremic and Allanna Reoch)

2012: Winner: Christi Olson

2013: Winner: Nigel Grinstead. Nominees: Brandon Ash Mohammed, Diana Bailey, Franco Nguyen, and sketch duo The Weaker Vessels.

2014: The show was scheduled for Monday, 27 October. The tickets were sold for $20. The show was scheduled to be hosted by 2005 Cream of Comedy winner Jeff McEnery. Winner: Caitlin Langelier. Nominees: Sam Burns, Moist Theatre, Brendan Pinto, and Jeremy Woodcock.--

On October 26, 2015, Toronto's Second City staged the last Cream of Comedy show. It was the award event's 20th year.