Joe Flaherty on Couch Candy

#JenCandy, daughter of legendary Second City alum John Candy, grew up with comedies’ elite as her super funny extended family. Every show, Jen chats with some of her crazy “aunts and uncles” about comedy, life, and their favorite candy! Produced by Holly Wortell & Jen Candy. #CouchCandy.


Joseph O'Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of a production clerk at Westinghouse Electric. His father was of Irish heritage and his mother was of Italian descent.

He moved to Chicago, where he started his comedy career with the Second City Theater as Joe O'Flaherty. Along with several other Second City performers, he began appearing on the National Lampoon Radio Hour from 1973 to 1974. After seven years in Chicago, he moved to Toronto to help establish the Toronto Second City theatre troupe. During those years, he was one of the original writer/performers on SCTV, where he spent eight years on the show, playing such characters as Big Jim McBob (of Farm Film Report fame), Count Floyd/Floyd Robertson, and station owner/manager Guy Caballero who goes around in a wheelchair only for respect.

Other memorable Flaherty characterizations included emotional talk show host Sammy Maudlin, seedy saxophonist-private eye Vic Arpeggio, aggressive elocution lecturer Norman Gorman, myopic public television host Hugh Betcha, and "crazy as a snake" ex-convict Rocco.

#SCTV ceased production in 1984. The same year, Flaherty played Count Floyd in a short-film that was shown at concerts by the rock band Rush before the song "The Weapon", for their tour in support of Grace Under Pressure (and can be seen in the home video, Grace Under Pressure Tour).