Guy Caballero is a fictional character on the television series
SCTV Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
played by
Second CitySecond City may refer to:* List of second cities, a list of second cities of importance in their nation* "Second City" , an episode of the Dresden Files.* The Second City, an improvisational comedy troupe in Chicago....
alum Joe Flaherty. President and owner of the fictional SCTV network, Caballero usually appeared on the series to introduce various network programs, although he also occasionally got wrapped up in behind-the-scenes storylines. Cheap, dishonest, gruff, and prone to making meandering patriotic speeches for no good reason, Caballero liked to affectionately describe his employees as "the SCTV family," although he routinely treated them with disdain.
Guy Caballero is a fictional character on the television series
SCTV Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
played by
Second CitySecond City may refer to:* List of second cities, a list of second cities of importance in their nation* "Second City" , an episode of the Dresden Files.* The Second City, an improvisational comedy troupe in Chicago....
alum Joe Flaherty. President and owner of the fictional SCTV network, Caballero usually appeared on the series to introduce various network programs, although he also occasionally got wrapped up in behind-the-scenes storylines. Cheap, dishonest, gruff, and prone to making meandering patriotic speeches for no good reason, Caballero liked to affectionately describe his employees as "the SCTV family," although he routinely treated them with disdain. His most notable quirk, however, was his use of a wheelchair despite not needing one; he believed that the wheelchair helped earn people's respect. It is revealed in one
CinemaxCinemax is a collection of premium television networks that provide movies, special features, erotica, and other services to consumers. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc....
episode of the show that Guy's idea of a fun weekend is hanging out in the parking lot of a 7-11 and daring teenagers to buy him beer. Though his personal past was left deliberately shady, it was mentioned several times that he was an illegal alien (From South America) who had managed to buy his way in to the United States "When he showed up in Panama with suitcases full of Nazi gold." He has a huge mansion named "Casa del Forgeo" that he paid for by forging checks, but is too cheap to pay for a phone inside the house, so he had it built near a payphone.
Guy Caballero did not appear on
SCTV until 1978, and it is rumored that Flaherty based the mannerisms and appearance of the character on
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
's portrayal of Loren Hardman in the movie
The BetsyThe Betsy is a 1978 film made by the Harold Robbins International Company and released by Allied Artists. It was directed by Daniel Petrie and produced by Robert R. Weston and Emanuel L. Wolf with Jack Grossberg as associate producer. The screenplay was by William Bast and Walter Bernstein, adapted...
, released earlier that year. Adapted from the
Harold RobbinsHarold Robbins was an American author.Robbins, born Harold Rubin in New York City, claimed to be a Jewish orphan raised in a Catholic boys home; actually, he was the son of well-educated Russian and Polish immigrants. He was reared by his pharmacist father and stepmother in Brooklyn...
book of the same name, the movie portrays Loren Hardman as the gruff business patriarch of an automobile empire. Like Caballero, Hardman wears a white suit and white panama hat, and rides in a wheelchair even though he can walk.
Don CaballeroDon Caballero are a rock group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are often categorized as math rock, though the band dislikes this label. The group took their name from the character Guy Caballero, portrayed by Joe Flaherty, on the sketch comedy show Second City Television...
's debut album,
For RespectFor Respect is the debut album by Don Caballero, a Pittsburgh-based math rock band. For Respect was released on Touch and Go Records in 1993....
, pays tribute to Guy Caballero and SCTV throughout the album.
Notable SCTV Storylines
- Caballero and actor DeForest Kelley
Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic role Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...
(the latter actually played by Dave Thomas) team up to prevent aliens from taking over the network and the world.
- Caballero develops a long-running feud with star Johnny LaRue, as a result of LaRue's TV movie Polynesiantown running significantly over budget. Caballero forces LaRue to take the demeaning job of hosting the cheap show "Street Beef."
- Caballero is briefly fired by the network's board of directors, after involving Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American comedian and actor known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is best known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. He is also an alumnus of The...
(playing himself) in a scam that involves pocketing money meant for the station.
- Caballero develops a feud with the presidents of ABC, CBS, and NBC, resulting in a gangland-style war which parodies The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne . It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S...
.