Early life
Menton was born in 1948, in the city of Swansea, Wales, to Lowri Menton (née Vaughan), the owner of a hat shop, and Macsen Menton, a lead miner in the Clyne valley. He has a younger brother, Sean (b. 1951) and sister Megan (b. 1952). As a preteen, Menton worked as a milkman to help the family finances, which were meager at that time. To cheer his family, he performed short plays with his peers. This was the basis for his passion for theater.
In 1962, Menton and his family, moved to Vancouver, Canada, which improved their financial position and made his future career possible.
Career
Menton lived and worked mainly in Vancouver, Chicago and New York.
In 1975, after graduating from acting school, Menton joined the group "Wild Things" where he combined acting on stage with working as a coach. Three years later, during one of their guest appearances in New York, he was spotted by Michael O'Donoghue. Shortly after, Chuck Menton joined the staff of Saturday Night Live as a writer. He worked on the show intermittently until 1982. Menton was one of the first to apply the techniques of improvisation to the creation of sketches and jokes for television comedy.
After 1982, Menton devoted himself to teaching and running theater workshops. He became a 'silent partner' for many improvisational groups in Canada and the USA. At that time, he was a pioneer and promoter of long form improvisational theater. From 1990 to 1995, Menton traveled throughout Europe, leading improvisation classes and popularizing this form of performance in Germany and the Netherlands.
In 1995, Menton founded The Chuck Menton Institute in Vancouver – a school where actors are trained in the art of improvisational theater and an association organizing improv events.
Menton has worked as a private acting coach for many of today's stars. Among his most prominent students are Jerry Minor, Chris Farley, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Murray, Heather Anne Campbell and Tina Fey.
Personal Life
Chuck Menton currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with his wife Judy Menton. His son, Luke, is a director, drama instructor and a member of the One Two Four improv group.
Chuck Menton
Charles Edward "Chuck" Menton (born June 12, 1948) is a Welsh-Canadian actor, writer and drama teacher most famous for his contribution to the origins of the Canadian school of on-stage improvisation. As a theater director and innovator of experimental theater he works with improv groups in Canada and Europe. He is best known for his cooperation with Colin Mochrie and groups such as "Out Of The Blue", "Just Go With It" and "Flow". Disliking attention, he often works under one of his aliases, which include: Greyhound, Iolo (from the time of cooperation with Second City) and many others.
