Rick Green

Rick Green (born November 4, 1953) is a Canadian comedian, satirist, and writer. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo. From 1975 until 1979, he worked as a presenter at the Ontario Science Centre. In 1979, he helped found the Toronto-based comedy troupe The Frantics. They were heard on their CBC Radio show Frantic Times and their short-lived television series, Four on the Floor. He can be seen as Bill on The Red Green Show.

Rick Green graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. His first job was as a Demonstrator at the Ontario Science Centre. As well as presenting shows on Lasers, Electricity, Cryogenics, etc., Rick developed numerous original programs, science plays and exhibits that combined information, humour and entertainment.

In 1979 he plunged into show biz full time as a member of The Frantics comedy troupe. For the next 8 years they created and performed hundreds of live appearances, 150 radio shows, several albums, a half dozen hit stage shows and the groundbreaking TV series Four On The Floor. In 2003, the Frantics came out of retirement and again performed on stage and television.

In 1989, Green became ‘Commander Rick’, the writer and host of TVO’s speculative fiction news magazine series Prisoners of Gravity.

At the same time, Rick joined Steve Smith to co-create The Red Green Show. He wrote & performed in the show for 11 seasons as the bumbling outdoorsman Bill. The Red Green Show has spun off books (which Rick co-wrote and illustrated), DVD’s, CD’s and more. It remains Canada’s longest-running comedy series.

In 1999, Green created History Bites. The Separatists has been nominated for a Canadian Screenwriters Award. In 2004, Rick was named by the Ontario History Teachers as their “Person of the Year”. Based on the success of History Bites, Green was invited to become a member of the advisory board for the Histori.ca foundation in 2003.

Green was diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder, after one of his children was found to have it. In 2009 Green wrote and directed the documentary about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in adults, entitled ADD & Loving it?! The film, featuring fellow comedian Patrick McKenna won a New York Festivals Silver Award and earned Rick the CAMH Foundation Transforming Lives Award for 2009. The two largest ADHD advocacy groups in America, CHADD and ADD, have both endorsed the film, something they have never done with any book, film or program until now. Green is currently co-writing a book with Dr. Umesh Jain of CAMH entitled, ADD Stole My Car Keys.

His projects have won Gemini Awards, ACTRA Awards, New York Festival Awards, and various educational awards. His material has been performed by talented actors such as Jim Carrey, Gordon Pinsent, David Steinberg, Graham Chapman, Colin Mochrie, Graham Greene, Eric Stoltz, and Martin Short. In 2004 he wrote Kim Cattrall’s HBO special, Sexual Intelligence.

In September 2007, Green was honoured by the University of Waterloo, as one of the top 50 Alumni of the past 50 years.