Canada Post honours Canuck comedians with new stamp series
Martin Short, Jim Carrey and Catherine O'Hara among the featured entertainers
Five Canadian faces who put their stamp on the comedy world now appear on a series of limited-edition stamps.
Canada Post released its Great Canadian Comedian series on Friday. The collection features powerhouse laugh-masters Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Catherine O’Hara, who all have roots in the Toronto area, Quebec legend Olivier Guimond and Hamilton’s Martin Short.
“It’s super exciting. Part of our mandate at Canada Post is to honour Canadian heroes,” said Jim Phillips, Canada Post’s director of stamp services. “What better heroes do we have than our comedians, especially our comedians who have made their way south of the border?”
Canada Post issued a stamp featuring the late comedian John Candy in 2006, said Phillips.
After the success of that run, the postal service was inspired to develop a series featuring a number of comedy luminaries, he said.
Phillips said Canada Post’s research department gathered a list of comedians who could be featured. “We had to make some tough decisions” to narrow down the field down to five, he said.
Many of the comedians who didn’t make the cut this time may appear in a future series, said Phillips. He mentioned Hamilton's Eugene Levy and Ottawa-born Ghostbusters star Dan Ackroyd as possible honourees.
“If it goes well, we’ll do another one,” Phillips said.
The collection —which includes five booklets containing a total of 50 stamps — retails for $42.50. A single booklet costs $8.50.
Canada Post won’t be reprinting the series once it’s sold out, Phillips warned.
“It’s not a joke, but they’re going to go really fast.”