Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranisis a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter and songwriter. He came to prominence in the sketch comedy series Second City Televisionin the 1980s and later appeared in several Hollywood films, including Strange Brew, Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Parenthood, My Blue Heaven, and The Flintstones...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth18 April 1953
CityToronto, Canada
CountryCanada
When I was a little kid, it was not uncommon for a cousin or an uncle, before they would even say 'Hello,' to gush, 'You know, your mother's brisket is just incredible; it's so good.' That was an inspiration for creating a love song in that well-worn terrain of the relationship between a Jewish boy and his mother.
Canada Day comes and goes modestly every year. Sure, there are retail sales promotions and a long weekend. But there isn't bluster or commodity in Canadian celebration. Canada isn't big on bunting. Or jet flyovers, fireworks, marching bands or military pomp.
I have a problem with blogs - all the best writers benefit from edits.
It's hard to improvise that kind of stuff, whereas the McKenzies are easy to improvise, because it's the two of us, and the material is pretty basic.
It's just I fell into a bunch of movies that kind of fit in my life. It made sense to do them in the '80s. Folks who know me think it's hilarious.
The only type of music I don't like is Dixieland jazz. It's just a little too happy and noisy for me. I like intervals and spaces in my music. There's just something about Dixieland.
When we were producing the Great White North comedy album, my experience in radio told me I needed two singles in order to get enough airplay.
The decision in my case to become a stay-at-home dad, which people do all the time, I guess wouldn't have meant as much to people if I had had a very simple kind of make-a-living existence and decided I needed to spend more time at home.
There's a long tradition - certainly with country, but in all kinds of genres of music - to have humorous lyrics. Certainly with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and, if you look at country, Roger Miller and Jim Stafford.
The music is pretty simple: It's, you know, it's country music. There's a couple of melodies that are okay, I guess.
I think that I recall the nostalgic '50s: the start of early television and rock-and-roll, and I think everything seemed to get very generic. Not much has changed.
I was able to do a lot of music on 'SCTV,' and I was really lucky to do a musical; I got to sing the part of Seymour in 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
For me music is pretty personal. I generally listen to it alone, and I've never been a lover of concerts. So I don't think I really bond with other people over music. That's not unique to music for me, either. I feel that way about film, television, art, everything. I read a book alone, so why wouldn't I listen to music alone?
I think Alison Krauss and her band are the best today. The same goes for Rick Skaggs and his band.