Trailer Park Boys Push Back Their Live Holiday Show After Actor John Dunsworth's Death

The recent death of John Dunsworth, the actor who played trailer park supervisor Mr. Lahey on the Canadian comedy series Trailer Park Boys, was a big shock to the show's legions of fans. It also shocked the show's stars and creators — John Paul Tremblay, Mike Smith and Robb Wells — who were preparing to begin their annual Dear Santa Claus, Go F#ck Yourself Tour, on which Dunsworth was set to appear.

The comedy trio was scheduled to perform Saturday, Dec. 9, at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie along with Dunsworth and actor Pat Roach as Mr. Lahey's shirtless longtime lover, Randy. Shortly after Dunsworth's death in October at age 71, the tour was postponed.

The Trailer Park Boys announced this week that they'll start a new American tour that kicks off in early April and closes with an April 14 performance in Dallas at the Majestic Theater. Customers who purchased tickets for the Dec. 9 show will be able to use the same tickets to get into the Majestic Theatre show.

Tremblay, Smith and Wells said in a statement that they decided to schedule a new tour because they couldn't rework the show without Dunsworth, a lifelong actor from Nova Scotia who also starred on the SyFy series Haven. They also apologized to the fans and tour venues for any inconveniences caused by the cancellation.

"The sudden passing of our dear friend John Dunsworth has affected people from all over the world, especially those of us who were closest to him," the statement reads. "We have tried to re-work the show without him but it has become clear that this is not going to be possible in the available time. We deeply regret having to inform our fans that the TPB Christmas tour is officially postponed until 2018."


Dunsworth was an essential comic foil to Julian, Ricky and Bubbles and one of the show's biggest fans and supporters. One of his most memorable moments happened off the Trailer Park Boys set in 2008 when he appeared on a local CBC newscast in Nova Scotia with anchor Jim Nunn.

During Dunsworth's interview following the show's seventh season, expected to be the show's last, Nunn did not hold back his true feelings about the end of Trailer Park Boys. Nunn called it an "awful television program filled with foul-mouthed, dope-smoking, hard-drinking people who gave a very bad impression of the poor who live in trailer parks."

Dunsworth handed Nunn's words right back to him, calling his characterization of Trailer Park Boys "myopic" and calling him a "narcissistic guy." He cited countless fans from all over the world. (Dunsworth later revealed on social media that Nunn was acting and in on the joke.)

Dunsworth ended the segment by defending the show, which Netflix later revived. "Canadians love the Trailer Park Boys," Dunsworth said, "and we're proud to be Canadian."