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The waiting game: March 15, 1995

By Angus Frame

Life is returning to normal for Jerry’s kids.

The four Toronto comedians who made a name for themselves by scamming American TV talk show host Jerry Springer have survived the media circus that followed their appearance. Johnny Gardhouse, Ian Sirota, Mini Holmes and RTA student Suzanne Muir, make up the Blockheads comedy troupe.

They told Springer that a husband had cheated on his wife by sleeping with their baby-sitter and acted out the love triangle on Springer’s show. The audience went nuts, and Springer thought he had another blockbuster show on his hands. But it was all a big joke.

The American press has been in feeding frenzy mode ever since, and Muir has found the whole thing to be a tiring ordeal. However, Muir has no regrets.

“If I had never done this before and knew what I know now, I’d do it again,” Muir said.

One thing Muir says is she and her three fellow comedians learned that talk show hosts are really at the mercy of the general public. If you want to appear on the show badly enough, you probably can.

“I think it will be harder for other people to do what we did because we’ve made the talk shows more cautious,” Muir said.

The Blockheads are getting wider recognition since their Springer appearance. Yuk Yuks booked them as a comedy act and they performed on Feb. 21. They got mixed reviews, but Muir was happy with the performance.

“It went really well, from where I was sitting the audience loved it,” she said.

Whispers that Springer is going to sue the Blockheads continues to be only a rumour. Muir says they haven’t received official word of a lawsuit from the show.

And so life goes on. Muir is appearing this Friday at The Edge Pub at Ryerson with the comedy troupe Steel City Lingerie. The show starts at 2:00 and features two stand-up comics and the sketch comedy of Muir’s group.

“Things this Friday will be a little different, Muir promised.

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