ATHABASCA — Albertans are no strangers to East Coast humour, but instead of hearing it around the kitchen table or in the garage with a drink in hand, locals and long-time radio fans can listen to one of the best-known Maritime funny men live on stage at the Nancy Appleby Theatre.
Sandy Gillis, better known as Jimmy the Janitor, will be making his third stop in Athabasca on March 16 after performing in Barrhead March 15 and St. Paul March 14. Gillis said despite being on the airwaves and stages across the country for 37 years, his show, open to all audiences, is sure to have laughs in store for both old fans and new, and those looking for pure escapism.
“The goal is to try to hit them with fresh material,” said Gillis. “We don’t do any politics at all, which is a choice. What works in the Maritimes doesn’t work in Alberta, and vice versa.
“We stick to solid material that people find funny. They’re probably sick to death of politics right now as a matter of fact.”
Gillis, a career radio broadcaster, had satisfied his silly itch by creating and performing characters for years while on daytime air. But after moving up the ladder to take the position of operating director of the Maritime Broadcasting System, the itch proved persistent.
“When I moved behind a desk full-time, I needed some sort of way to quell my desire for comedy,” said Gillis. Thus, Gillis’s most famous character, a fictitious custodian for the radio station was created, and immediately made a name and career for himself outside of cleaning.
Originally a pop-in guest on one station every morning, Jimmy soon expanded his services to nine other outlets, with bits airing every single day for a decade. Jimmy made waves not only in the Maritimes, but across the country too, and eventually began a syndicated radio show airing on 90 stations from coast to coast, and made appearances on CBC and the Comedy Network.
Jimmy the Janitor ‘s show was a daily feature up until the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then, Gillis, now semi-retired, has been taking it easy on the beach and on the links in his downtime when he’s not on the road as his janitorial alter-ego.
“It’s a charmed life I live. It’s very rare that you find a job where people applaud at the end of your day’s work, and that’s what happens in the comedy business.”
Although Gillis and Jimmy are two distinct entities, the personas do have elements in common. Now a resident of Prince Edward Island, Gillis said Jimmy still carries the signature Cape Bretoner lilt he grew up around, is the oldest of ten siblings, and uses storytelling as part of his act, a skill he said is useful both on and off the stage.
“If you’re in business and you want to sell your concept to your staff, to your shareholders, there’s nothing that will beat getting the message across in an interesting story. It doesn’t have to be funny, but storytelling is huge.”
Although Jimmy’s act consisted largely of stories in his early career, Gillis said fans and attendees at the show can expect more observational humour and refreshed century-old jokes with titillating tales sprinkled in between.
“I (opened) a book one time, and it was 1930’s jokes. I was leafing through it and was surprised on how many of those jokes were on some of my albums, they just keep going around and around,” said Gillis.
Despite their age, he assured the bits with origins from nearly 100 years ago won’t be too stale for the audience’s taste.
“We rewrite them and add them to the show so that when you hear it, you may have heard the joke before, but you don’t see it coming.”
When he’s not on stage cracking jokes as the unserious sanitation man, Gillis is an active member in his community, having been awarded multiple volunteer of the year titles, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for community service.
Gillis also remains dedicated to raising funds for the Moncton Hospital Foundation and the CTV Christmas Daddies Telethon, causes he got first got involved with through his work in radio.
“We had quite a bit of influence in the community, we could make things happen,” said Gillis. “That had to do with having a desire and having the opportunity to influence in a positive way, the local community, and that’s what radio stations should be doing.”
Jimmy prides himself on providing clean comedy for everyone over the age of 14. Tickets for all three of Jimmy shows can be bought ahead of time with cash-only at specific community retailers. St. Paul tickets can be purchased at Lakeland Fire and Safety, in Barrhead from Barrmart Foods or Windsor Plywood in Westlock, and Athabascans can head to Value Drug Mart. Doors at the Nancy Appleby Theatre open at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the 7:30 p.m. showtime.
