Rick Moranis

Best known as a comedic actor, having starred in the films Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Spaceballs, and as part of the cast of the cult favorite television show SCTV, Canadian Rick Moranis has sporadically released albums throughout his career, some of them falling strictly in the comedy section while others did not. Moranis' first landed in record store shelves in 1981 when The Great White North album appeared courtesy of the fictional characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, Doug being played by his SCTV co-star Dave Thomas. The album featured a guest appearance from Rush's Geddy Lee, was nominated for Grammy, and was followed in 1983 by the soundtrack to the Bob & Doug film Strange Brew. A role in the 1986 film of the musical adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors meant Moranis was a main feature on the soundtrack, while 1989 saw him release the comedy album You, Me, the Music and Me, featuring the bossa-nova-hip-hop single "Ipanema Rap." After his wife passed away from cancer in 1991, Moranis felt the stress of raising his kids as a single parent, leading to his decision to retire from acting in 1997. Still, inspired by comedic country songwriters like Kinky Friedman and Roger Miller, he released the album The Agoraphobic Cowboy in 2005, which earned him another Grammy nomination. With songs like "My Wednesday Balabusta" and "Live Blogging the Himel Family Bris," his 2013 effort My Mother's Brisket & Other Love Songs was a musical look at the lighter side of Jewish-American culture.
© David Jeffries /TiVo