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Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer, September 2007
Born	Richard Vincent Mercer (1969-10-17) October 17, 1969 (age 42) St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Website
http://www.rickmercer.com/

Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.

Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. A pointed, satirical political commentary on Canadian life after Meech Lake, Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada.^{[citation needed]} Mercer came to greater attention for his role in the satirical news show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and his spinoff special Talking To Americans was the highest-rated comedy special in the history of CBC Television, with 2.7 million viewers.

Television shows[link]

In 1992, he created and performed his second show, I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again, which was also a popular touring show. Also in that year, he began to work with former CODCO members Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, and with fellow Newfoundlander Greg Thomey, to create a new television series for CBC Television which became This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

In the first eight seasons of 22 Minutes, Mercer provided some of the show's signature moments, including an Internet petition (on the 22 Minutes website) to force Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris.

Mercer's tightly scripted and performed two-minute "rants," in which he would speak directly to the camera about a current political issue, shot in a style similar to those Denis Leary used in MTV commercials, quickly became the show's signature segment. In 1998, he published a book, Streeters, which compiled many of his most famous 22 Minutes rants. It quickly became a national bestseller. In 2007 he published his second book, Rick Mercer Report: The Book.

In November 2010, Mercer contributed a rant he had previously recorded in 2007 on the subject of teen bullying in high schools to Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project.^[1]

[edit] Made in Canada

Mercer co-created the series Made in Canada, which ran for five seasons on CBC Television from 1998–2003. The show was a fast-paced situation comedy which self-referentially satirized the Canadian TV production industry, often drawing from details of its own production companies and including thinly veiled parodies of contemporary programs. It was syndicated abroad as The Industry and won several Gemini Awards (which were themselves satirized in subsequent episodes.)

[edit] Talking to Americans

One of Mercer's trademark comedy routines on 22 Minutes was Talking to Americans, in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with average Americans regarding Canadian politics, the weather, etc., often with hilarious results as the subject's ignorance about Canada was illustrated. One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24 hour one used by the United States. He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack. On another occasion he got the support of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo."

Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled a Talking to Americans stunt on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush. He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "Jean Poutine". Bush was not amused at the time, and thereafter refused to accept interviews from the CBC^{[citation needed]}. However, he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004. In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidate Al Gore to promise to visit the "Canadian capital city" of Toronto after his election. Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.

In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based on Talking to Americans, which attracted 2.7 million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated television special in Canadian history. Later, the respected ABC News program Nightline would devote a show to it. This was his last major project related to 22 Minutes—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show. It was rumoured that he had decided to leave because of friction between Mercer and co-star Mary Walsh^{[citation needed]}, although other reasons include focusing on his other television show, Made in Canada. Talking to Americans was nominated for a Gemini Award, but following the 9/11 attacks, Mercer declined the nomination.

[edit] The Rick Mercer Report

In 2003, Made in Canada ended its run as well, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series, Rick Mercer's Monday Report. Similar in format to 22 Minutes and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the show debuted in January 2004. Also in 2003, Mercer went to Afghanistan to visit the Canadian troops stationed there (See: Operation Athena), resulting in the television special Christmas in Kabul.

Despite reports of a long-standing feud Mercer invited Walsh to appear on Monday Report as a special guest to promote her own series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.

At the end of its second season, Monday Report was the highest rated arts and entertainment show on the CBC. Mercer has had a who's who from the world of Canadian entertainment and politics appear as guests on his show. Ex-Prime Minister Paul Martin gave him a private tour of 24 Sussex Drive and former New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent made snow angels with Mercer on Parliament Hill. Other prominent guests were NDP leader Jack Layton; Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (now Prime Minister); Green Party leader Elizabeth May; then-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach; Conservative MP Peter MacKay; Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams; Olympic gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt; author Pierre Berton; recording artists Jann Arden, Bif Naked, Rush bassist Geddy Lee and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, and Sarah McLachlan; publishing mogul Conrad Black; and former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. When Mercer hosted a relief benefit concert for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, musical guests Barenaked Ladies appeared in a segment Mercer shot backstage completely naked.

Since Mercer launched his own show, he became a regular target of his old show 22 Minutes. Criticism of Mercer focused mostly on his ongoing support of the Canadian Forces and his personal wealth.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the CBC moved Monday Report to Tuesday nights, which caused the show's name to be changed to The Rick Mercer Report. On his blog, Mercer wrote of the time slot shift that "we ended the season as the highest rated comedy show on the network. Clearly some drastic changes were needed."

A book by Mercer, Rick Mercer Report: The Book, based on his television program, was published on September 25, 2007, by Doubleday Canada. This was Mercer's first book since his bestselling Streeters of 1998, and contained a collection of the best of Mercer's "rants" from the first four seasons of Rick Mercer Report, together with choice moments from interviews for the program and other writings by Mercer. On CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada on September 21, Shelagh Rogers said of the book that "it's the most fun I've had in bed in a long time." The book entered the Globe and Mail books chart on October 6 at number three. A continuing commercial success, it was number one in the Globe bestseller list in the week before Christmas 2007, and has been reprinted eight times.

An expanded and updated paperback version of Rick Mercer Report: The Book, called Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book, was published by Anchor Canada on September 16, 2008 and immediately entered the top ten of the Globe and Mail bestseller list. It continues to sell well and has been reprinted several times.

Other film and television work[link]

Mercer has hosted It Seems Like Yesterday, which examines pop-culture from the 1950s to the 1980s. He has appeared in a few films, including Secret Nation, Understanding Bliss and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.

Awards[link]

Mercer has received more than 20 Gemini Awards for his television work. He has also been a winner of the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, presented to him at the 2003 Banff Television Festival. In 1993, Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells honoured Mercer with the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Artist of the Year award. In 2004, Mercer was presented with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. He donated his $15,000 cash prize to the LSPU hall, the theatre in Newfoundland where Mercer performed his early work.

He holds honorary degrees from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Brock University in St. Catharines, McMaster University in Hamilton, Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, and the University of British Columbia. He received an honorary high school diploma for his outstanding efforts and determination from Landmark East School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia in 1999.^[2]

Mercer was awarded the 30th Annual Bob Edwards Award in Calgary.^[3]

In 2007, he was named honorary colonel of the 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based in Shearwater, Nova Scotia; the squadron flies the Sea King helicopters.^[4][5]

Spokesperson and endorsements[link]

Rick Mercer is co-chair, along with Belinda Stronach, in the Spread the Net campaign, partnered through UNICEF, which kicked off at Brock University on September 10, 2008. Spread the Net provides bed nets for $10 each to prevent the spread of malaria among children in Africa.

In December 2004 Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising the One-Tonne Challenge for the Government of Canada. Mercer also appeared as a model in a national ad for men's clothing store, Harry Rosen, wearing a Canali suit. All of Mercer's fees for the campaign went to Casey House, a hospice in Toronto for people living with AIDS. Casey House was founded by June Callwood, who appeared as a celebrity guest on Monday Report.

In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of the Canadian AIDS Society.

Mercer has narrated an animated science video on climate change for Science North in Sudbury.

In November 2010, Mercer joined the It Gets Better campaign, a series of videos that aim to help gay and lesbian youth to overcome bullying.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Mercer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland. He dropped out of Prince of Wales High School in St. John's before completing his diploma requirements. However, in 2002 he was presented with an honorary doctor of letters by Laurentian University and in 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Memorial University of Newfoundland.^[7] He was a member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets when he was in his teen years.

Mercer's partner is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and is currently the executive producer of The Rick Mercer Report. He regards his personal life as private, and says little about it in public beyond acknowledging that he is gay;^[8][9][10] in a 2011 interview on CBC Radio One's The Current, he clarified that he doesn't specifically mention his sexuality on Rick Mercer Report because it's just "not what the show is about".^[11]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Mercer, Rick (2008), Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book, Anchor Canada, ISBN 9780385665193, http://books.google.ca/books?id=Ayhl-wbRqRIC&lpg=PA1&dq=Rick%20Mercer%20Report%3A&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=true 
• Mercer, Rick (2007), Rick Mercer Report: The Book, Doubleday Canada, ISBN 978-0-385-66518-6, http://books.google.ca/books?id=ltoAqCAEnCMC&lpg=PP1&dq=Rick%20Mercer%20Report%3A&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rick Mercer

• Personal website
• Rick Mercer Report Official website
• Rick Mercer on Twitter

Rick Santelli is an American on-air editor for the CNBC Business News network.^[1] He joined CNBC as an on-air editor on June 14, 1999, reporting primarily from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. He was formerly the vice president for an institutional trading and hedge fund account for futures-related products. He is also credited with being a catalyst in the early formation of the Tea Party movement via a statement he made on February 19, 2009.^[2]

In the course of his normal production schedule at CNBC Business, Santelli appears on-air approximately 12 to 16 times a day.^[3]

Early life[link]

The grandson of four Italian immigrants, Santelli was born near Taylor Street in Chicago's old Italian neighborhood and at age 6 moved with his family to Lombard, Illinois.^[4] After graduating from Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois,^[4] Santelli graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. He began his career in 1979 as a trader and order filler at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in markets that included gold, lumber, CD's, T-bills, foreign currencies, and livestock. While at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Santelli joined Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

Career[link]

Financial[link]

After college, Santelli began trading in 1979 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in various markets, including commodities, CD's, Treasuries, and currencies.^[1]

During the time he spent as a financial trader and executive, Santelli worked for Drexel Burnham Lambert as the Vice President of Interest Rate Futures and Options.^[1]

Media[link]

In the 1990s, Santelli felt that the financial industry was changing in a way "not beneficial to me and my family",^[5] and in 1999, accepted a full-time job with CNBC.^[1]

Criticism of government Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan[link]

Santelli drew attention for his remarks made on February 19, 2009, about the Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan. While broadcasting from the floor of the CME Group during pre-market hours, Santelli accused the government of "promoting bad behavior", and raised the possibility of a "Chicago Tea Party". He also suggested that individuals who knowingly purchased high-risk mortgages (and faced impending foreclosure as a consequence) were "losers".

Scattered cheers, whistles, and applause could be heard from some of the personnel around the floor.^[6] Some subsequent protests in American cities, dubbed Tea Parties, may have drawn inspiration from Santelli's outburst, but were not directly associated with him.^{[citation needed]} During a White House press briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Santelli's comments and expressed skepticism over whether Santelli had actually read the government's plan.^[6][7]

Santelli later clarified his comments and addressed concerns that the event was staged.^[8][9]

CNN.com reported that some compared Santelli to fictional reporter Howard Beale, the protagonist of the 1976 satirical film Network.^[10] Santelli has said, "I think that this tea party phenomenon is steeped in American culture and steeped in the American notion to get involved with what’s going on with our government. I haven’t organized. I’m going to have to work to pay my taxes, so I’m not going to be able to get away today. But, I have to tell you — I’m pretty proud of this."^[11]

On April 20, 2009, Santelli participated as a panel member in an Economic Leadership Forum hosted by the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M University.^[12]

Praise and criticism[link]

On November 4, 2010, the Tea Party Patriots organization confirmed in an email to their members that Santelli's comments did in fact start the Tea Party movement:^{[citation needed]}

"Tea Party Patriots wishes to extend a special thank you to Rick Santelli for his rant on February 19, 2009, which started this entire movement. Without Rick's rant, this movement would never have started. Many others will try to take credit but don't be fooled. He was the spark that began this fire."

In addition to this acclaim from the Tea Party movement, Santelli has also garnered some praise from libertarians:^[13]

In the world of financial "journalism," CNBC's Rick Santelli stands out as a refreshing and intelligent antidote to the hoards of perma-bulls, fed apologists, and chart sorcerers that otherwise pollute the financial airwaves. ... The trouble with Santelli, however, is that his political and economic philosophy is inconsistent and incomplete, and does not offer a viable alternative to that being peddled by his Keynesian opponents.

Santelli has also been heavily criticized from the left, for example from George Monbiot:^[14]

it is the most alarming example of cheap demagoguery you are likely to have seen.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rick Santelli bio on CNBC.com
• Original speech by Rick Santelli on CNBC.com
• Santelli's speech and White House response

v t e Tea Party movement Issues Constitutional conservatism Constitutional economics Contract from America Opposition to taxation Originalism American exceptionalism 9–9–9 Plan History Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail Tea Party protests List of Tea Party protests, 2009 Taxpayer March on Washington List of Tea Party protests, 2010 Restoring Honor rally People Dick Armey Michele Bachmann Glenn Beck Herman Cain Keli Carender Jim DeMint Karl Denninger Matt Kibbe Amy Kremer Rush Limbaugh Mark Levin Sarah Palin Ron Paul List of Tea Party politicians Organizations Tea Party Patriots Americans For Prosperity FreedomWorks Tea Party Express Tea Party Nation National Tea Party Federation Related topics Tea Party Caucus DontGo Conservatism Portal