Carla Collins
Encyclopedia
Carla Collins is a Canadian comedian, actress, television host and writer. A
stand-up, she has been hailed by the press as “Canada’s Tina Fey” and the “Queen of Comedy”. Carla performs across North America. She is a regular at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles and on tour with the renowned “Hot Tamales”.
, until moving to Guelph
, Ontario and attending Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
where she was Prom Queen and Valedictorian, Collins pursued her education at the Université de Franche-Comté in France and the University of Western Ontario
.
in 1990 as an on-air host, and subsequently moved to CFTO
to host Eye on Toronto. In 1995, she began hosting CTV
's Entertainment Now, which she cohosted with Dan Duran
. She also hosted the Canadian variety series Sonic Temple and the sketch comedy
series Chez Carla. In 1998, Collins played an anchorwoman in Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Donna Jean in When Husbands Cheat.
Earlier in her career, she was a morning radio personality on Toronto's Mix 99.9
from 1992 to 1994, co-hosting with Tom Rivers along with Larry Fedoruk. Rivers left in 1993 and Fedoruk and Collins continued as a duo. She returned from 2001 to 2003. For the latter stint, following a short period co-hosting with Steve Anthony
who then moved to afternoon drive time
, Collins became the first woman in Canada to be billed as the sole regular host of a morning radio show on a commercial station in a major media market
, as opposed to co-hosting with one or more men.
in 2001. It was one of the highest rated in the Comedy Now series.
Collins starred in 50 episodes of Paradise Falls
a soap opera on Showcase Television
as Rusty Sinclair (2001). She also appeared in: Deep in the City as a Sex-Shop Owner (2000), The Caveman's Valentine
(2001), Degrassi: The Next Generation
as Herself (2002), two episodes of Doc
as Felicia Brand (2002–2003), Recipe for Murder as a Glam Reporter (2002), Tracker
as Dr. Janet Sullivann (2002), and Show Me Yours
as Tammy (2005).
In 2003, she began to lend her voice to the PBS animated show cyberchase
as Erica Ram, a reporter who reports on events in cyberspace.
Collins was a writer, star and host of: "Chez Carla" (2000), "Sonic Temple" (2001), “2 Smart Blondes” (2003) and "E-Now" (1995)
In 2006 Carla teamed up with producer Frank Sicoli for an unscripted television sitcom titled The Visionary Position. This series (released on DVD) is described as Curb Your Enthusiasm
meets Sex and the City
meets Bewitched
. Collins says, "I prefer to think of it as The Ghost Whisperer
on crack."
In 2006, she workshopped a well-received one-woman show called The Visionary Position in Toronto and Los Angeles.
She is also a freelance writer for Inside Entertainment
.
Collins' reality show Carlawood debuted on TVtropolis
in April 2009. The show follows her attempt to find work after her move to Hollywood, and satirizes reality shows.
She also completed her first book “Angels, Vampires and Douche Bags” published by Burman Books.
She also lent her voice to a special from the hit Canadian animated series, Total Drama Action, in its special, "Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special", as the host of the show-within-a-show, Celebrity Manhunt, Blaineley. Then she lent her voice for the next season in Total Drama World Tour, once again playing Blaineley, the co-host of Total Drama Aftermath, and then she became a contestant of the reality staying in the sixth place. This is her voice acting role, a role which also requires her to sing.
stand-up, she has been hailed by the press as “Canada’s Tina Fey” and the “Queen of Comedy”. Carla performs across North America. She is a regular at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles and on tour with the renowned “Hot Tamales”.
Early life
Collins was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, OntarioSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, until moving to Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario and attending Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute is a public high school located in the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada...
where she was Prom Queen and Valedictorian, Collins pursued her education at the Université de Franche-Comté in France and the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
.
1990s
She joined The Weather NetworkThe Weather Network
The Weather Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts weather-related news and information 24 hours a day....
in 1990 as an on-air host, and subsequently moved to CFTO
CFTO-TV
CFTO-DT, broadcast on channel 9 and cable 8, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Currently branded as CTV Toronto, it is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network, and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It...
to host Eye on Toronto. In 1995, she began hosting CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
's Entertainment Now, which she cohosted with Dan Duran
Dan Duran (broadcaster)
Dan Duran is a Canadian actor and broadcaster, best known as a former co-anchor with Carla Collins of the Canadian entertainment news series ENow...
. She also hosted the Canadian variety series Sonic Temple and the sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series Chez Carla. In 1998, Collins played an anchorwoman in Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Donna Jean in When Husbands Cheat.
Earlier in her career, she was a morning radio personality on Toronto's Mix 99.9
CKFM-FM
CKFM-FM, branded as 99-9 Virgin Radio , is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 99.9 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Astral Media...
from 1992 to 1994, co-hosting with Tom Rivers along with Larry Fedoruk. Rivers left in 1993 and Fedoruk and Collins continued as a duo. She returned from 2001 to 2003. For the latter stint, following a short period co-hosting with Steve Anthony
Steve Anthony
Steve Anthony is a Canadian television host. He gained attention throughout Canada as a MuchMusic host, or "VJ" from May 1987 to November 1995....
who then moved to afternoon drive time
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
, Collins became the first woman in Canada to be billed as the sole regular host of a morning radio show on a commercial station in a major media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, as opposed to co-hosting with one or more men.
2000s
Collins had her first solo stand-up special, The Wonder Bra Years, on The Comedy NetworkThe Comedy Network
The Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
in 2001. It was one of the highest rated in the Comedy Now series.
Collins starred in 50 episodes of Paradise Falls
Paradise Falls
Paradise Falls is a weekly soap opera shown nationally on the Showcase channel in Canada, starting in 2001. It is set in a summer cottage community in Central Ontario....
a soap opera on Showcase Television
Showcase Television
Showcase is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. Showcase is a predominantly fiction-based service centred around scripted television series and films....
as Rusty Sinclair (2001). She also appeared in: Deep in the City as a Sex-Shop Owner (2000), The Caveman's Valentine
The Caveman's Valentine
The Caveman's Valentine is a 2001 American mystery-drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Samuel L. Jackson based on George Dawes Green's novel of the same name. The film was released by Universal Focus, a subsidiary of Universal Studios and Focus Features.-Plot:A former family man and...
(2001), Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
as Herself (2002), two episodes of Doc
Doc (TV series)
Doc is a medical drama/family drama with strong Christian undertones starring Billy Ray Cyrus as Dr. Clint "Doc" Cassidy, a Montana doctor who takes a job in a New York City medical clinic. It ran from March 11, 2001 to November 28, 2004 on PAX...
as Felicia Brand (2002–2003), Recipe for Murder as a Glam Reporter (2002), Tracker
Tracker
Trackers are a class of music sequencer software used to create and edit module files; they allow the user to arrange notes stepwise on a timeline across several monophonic channels....
as Dr. Janet Sullivann (2002), and Show Me Yours
Show Me Yours
Show Me Yours is a Canadian comedy television series originally aired on Showcase between May 26, 2004 and May 31, 2005.- Plot :* Dr. Kate Langford is a psychologist whose life is going well: she has a boyfriend David Exley , and a new book deal until she meets Dr...
as Tammy (2005).
In 2003, she began to lend her voice to the PBS animated show cyberchase
Cyberchase
Cyberchase is an American educational television series for children age 6-12, that teaches children discrete mathematics. The show airs on Public Broadcasting Service and PBS Kids GO! in the United States. Seasons one through five were produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana...
as Erica Ram, a reporter who reports on events in cyberspace.
Collins was a writer, star and host of: "Chez Carla" (2000), "Sonic Temple" (2001), “2 Smart Blondes” (2003) and "E-Now" (1995)
In 2006 Carla teamed up with producer Frank Sicoli for an unscripted television sitcom titled The Visionary Position. This series (released on DVD) is described as Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
meets Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
meets Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
. Collins says, "I prefer to think of it as The Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
on crack."
In 2006, she workshopped a well-received one-woman show called The Visionary Position in Toronto and Los Angeles.
She is also a freelance writer for Inside Entertainment
Inside Entertainment
Inside Entertainment was a Canadian produced entertainment news program. The show was produced in Calgary, Alberta and aired on the Global and CH networks throughout Canada. It no longer airs as of 2006.The show was hosted by Calgary-based Su-Ling Goh....
.
Collins' reality show Carlawood debuted on TVtropolis
TVtropolis
TVtropolis is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media and Rogers Media.The channel operates two time shifted feeds: East and West .-Programming:...
in April 2009. The show follows her attempt to find work after her move to Hollywood, and satirizes reality shows.
2010s
Collins' filmed season two of her docu-soap/comedy Carlawood, and is working on the movie The Hack, a comedy/horror film in which she stars as a comedian who kills other performers for their material.She also completed her first book “Angels, Vampires and Douche Bags” published by Burman Books.
She also lent her voice to a special from the hit Canadian animated series, Total Drama Action, in its special, "Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special", as the host of the show-within-a-show, Celebrity Manhunt, Blaineley. Then she lent her voice for the next season in Total Drama World Tour, once again playing Blaineley, the co-host of Total Drama Aftermath, and then she became a contestant of the reality staying in the sixth place. This is her voice acting role, a role which also requires her to sing.