The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley

The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley

Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

“We’re as doomed as doomed can be.”

This pointy-haired, spastic character in the short sleeved, orange plaid shirt was first introduced to television audiences on Canada's comedy skit show SCTV. Ed Grimley's alter-ego, comedian Martin Short, later became a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and the hyperactive comic brought his beloved character along for the ride. With the help of fellow SCTV alumni Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and Joe Flaherty, Short brought Ed Grimley to Saturday mornings in 1988 for a brief run.

Ed lived alone with his aggressive goldfish, Moby, and his pet rat, Nelson. His hero was Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak, he played the triangle, and he had the hots for Miss Malone, an airhead voiced by O’Hara. Comedian Jonathan Winters voiced the short-tempered landlord Leo Freebus, and Martin voiced Freebus' wife, the very proper Deidre. Flaherty reprised his SCTV creation Count Floyd, who tried to spook an audience of bored children with his “scaaaary movies.”

The series itself was most likely a response to CBS’s Pee Wee's Playhouse, another wacky funhouse of non sequitirs and all-ages humor. Despite the similarities, The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley never gained the popularity of Pee-Wee's program. However, the show found a rebirth in reruns on Cartoon Network’s late night programming in 1996, "and that’s not too bad, I must say.”

Release History

09/10/88 - 09/02/89 NBC


TV Sub Categories

live-action
animated
comedy

Television Cast

Ed Grimley Martin Short
Mr. Leo Freebus Jonathan Winters
Roger Gustav Jonathan Winters
Emil Gustav Martin Short
Miss Malone Catherine O'Hara
Mrs. Diedre Freebus Andrea Martin
Sheldon Frank Welker
Wendell Danny Cooksey
Count Floyd (live-action) Joe Flaherty

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