Thomas Sexton (July 3, 1957 – December 13, 1993) was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, he was the youngest member of the CODCO comedy troupe.
Educated in St. John's, he was an honours student before quitting after Grade 10 to pursue an acting career in Toronto. After briefly working on a children's touring theatre show, he landed his first television role in the drama series Police Surgeon. Sexton and colleague Diane Olsen subsequently wrote Cod on a Stick, a comedic play which launched CODCO.[1]
In 1975, Sexton took a brief sabbatical from CODCO to study at the Toronto Dance Theatre. He subsequently returned, working on other shows with CODCO and subsequently touring with colleague Greg Malone in two co-written works, The Wonderful Grand Band and Two Foolish to Talk About. In 1985 and 1986, Sexton and Malone wrote and performed in a series of television specials for the CBC, called The S and M Comic Book, which in turn led to CODCO landing its own series in 1987.
After CODCO's run concluded in 1993, Sexton and Malone wrote and starred in a CBC television special, The National Doubt, satirizing the constitutional debates of the early 1990s. Sexton subsequently wrote a semi-autobiographical film, Adult Children of Alcoholics: The Musical, which was in production in November 1993 when Sexton, who was openly gay,[2] fell ill due to complications from AIDS. He died on December 13 of that year.
Malone subsequently campaigned for HIV and AIDS education in Sexton's memory. His sister, filmmaker Mary Sexton, produced a documentary film about him, Tommy...A Family Portrait, in 2001.[3] Along with Malone and their CODCO co-star Andy Jones, Sexton was a posthumous recipient of the Earle Grey Award, the lifetime achievement award of Canadian television's Gemini Awards, in 2002.
The Tommy Sexton Centre, a new assisted housing complex for people living with HIV and AIDS, was opened in St. John's in 2006.[4][5] In 2009, several drag queens in the city put together "Ravishing in Red", a tribute show to Sexton, as a fundraiser for the Sexton Centre.[6] One performer, Betty "Boo" Kakke, singled him out as Newfoundland's "clown prince".[6]
Sexton's mother, Sara Sexton, became a major figure in HIV/AIDS awareness in Newfoundland and Labrador following her son's death.[7][8] Sara Sexton was announced as an inductee to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2013,[9] and was inducted in February 2014.[10]
References
^, archived from the original on August 8, 2007, retrieved 2007-09-06
tommy, sexton, thomas, sexton, july, 1957, december, 1993, canadian, comedian, born, john, newfoundland, youngest, member, codco, comedy, troupe, bornthomas, sexton, 1957, july, 1957st, john, newfoundland, canadadieddecember, 1993, 1993, aged, john, newfoundla. Thomas Sexton July 3 1957 December 13 1993 was a Canadian comedian Born in St John s Newfoundland he was the youngest member of the CODCO comedy troupe Tommy SextonBornThomas Sexton 1957 07 03 July 3 1957St John s Newfoundland CanadaDiedDecember 13 1993 1993 12 13 aged 36 St John s Newfoundland CanadaEducated in St John s he was an honours student before quitting after Grade 10 to pursue an acting career in Toronto After briefly working on a children s touring theatre show he landed his first television role in the drama series Police Surgeon Sexton and colleague Diane Olsen subsequently wrote Cod on a Stick a comedic play which launched CODCO 1 In 1975 Sexton took a brief sabbatical from CODCO to study at the Toronto Dance Theatre He subsequently returned working on other shows with CODCO and subsequently touring with colleague Greg Malone in two co written works The Wonderful Grand Band and Two Foolish to Talk About In 1985 and 1986 Sexton and Malone wrote and performed in a series of television specials for the CBC called The S and M Comic Book which in turn led to CODCO landing its own series in 1987 After CODCO s run concluded in 1993 Sexton and Malone wrote and starred in a CBC television special The National Doubt satirizing the constitutional debates of the early 1990s Sexton subsequently wrote a semi autobiographical film Adult Children of Alcoholics The Musical which was in production in November 1993 when Sexton who was openly gay 2 fell ill due to complications from AIDS He died on December 13 of that year Malone subsequently campaigned for HIV and AIDS education in Sexton s memory His sister filmmaker Mary Sexton produced a documentary film about him Tommy A Family Portrait in 2001 3 Along with Malone and their CODCO co star Andy Jones Sexton was a posthumous recipient of the Earle Grey Award the lifetime achievement award of Canadian television s Gemini Awards in 2002 The Tommy Sexton Centre a new assisted housing complex for people living with HIV and AIDS was opened in St John s in 2006 4 5 In 2009 several drag queens in the city put together Ravishing in Red a tribute show to Sexton as a fundraiser for the Sexton Centre 6 One performer Betty Boo Kakke singled him out as Newfoundland s clown prince 6 Sexton s mother Sara Sexton became a major figure in HIV AIDS awareness in Newfoundland and Labrador following her son s death 7 8 Sara Sexton was announced as an inductee to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2013 9 and was inducted in February 2014 10 References Edit Tommy Sexton archived from the original on August 8 2007 retrieved 2007 09 06 Sexton Tribute NOW Magazine Online Edition vol 21 no 10 2001 11 08 retrieved 2015 10 27 Our Collection Tommy A Family Portrait NFB retrieved 2007 09 06 AIDS centre keeps Sexton s memory alive Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 16 September 2006 Retrieved 24 December 2013 New Short Term Shelter Opening Soon 2006 09 06 archived from the original on 2007 09 27 retrieved 2007 09 06 a b Queens pay tribute to clown prince The Telegram December 21 2009 A cause close to her heart Sara Sexton continues AIDS awareness crusade The Western Star 22 September 2008 Retrieved 15 December 2015 92 year old HIV AIDS advocate remembers son Tommy Sexton Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2 May 2015 Retrieved 15 December 2015 Rick Hillier among inductees to Order of N L Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 24 December 2013 Retrieved 24 December 2013 Province honours 7 with Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 8 February 2014 Retrieved 15 December 2015 External links EditTommy Sexton at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tommy Sexton amp oldid 1158452334, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
