Comedian.
Born at Kitchener, Ontario on 23 March 1963, son of Dale Charles Talmage (1940-2000) and Mary Lou Murawsky, he moved with his family to Winnipeg in 1975. He attended school in Charleswood and graduated from Oak Park High School in 1981. After attending Red River Community College for a short time, he decided to follow his dream of becoming a performer and began at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club in Winnipeg.
As his success as a stand-up comedian grew, he lived at various times in Toronto, Vancouver, Boston, and California. He also appeared in movies and television commercials. Although he toured extensively in Canada, his profession also took him to England, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa. He performed with such artists as Prince and the Tragically Hip, and alongside comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Emo Philips, and Gilbert Gottfried.
Having been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of five, he endured many health problems related to the disease throughout his life, as well as a kidney transplant, injuries from a car accident, and being in a coma for three weeks due to double pneumonia. He spent an average of two months of every year in hospital, but used his hospital experiences, health issues, and small stature for much of his comedy material. He was happiest when he was on stage making people laugh.
In 1999, he met geophysicist Ildiko Vass and they were married a year later. They lived at Honolulu, Hawaii where he died on 17 June 2004.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 23 June 2004.
“Funny man found humour in the gravest of circumstances,” The Globe and Mail, 7 July 2004.
“Kerry Talmage”, Revill family tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 20 February 2021
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