Saturday, July 19, 2008

Just Don't Call Me Late For Dinner


The Wrench. The Great One. The Rocket. The Hitman. Stubby.

Some nicknames instill fear, others inspire people with their greatness.

Rick Campanelli's does neither of those.

The bearer of Canada's most mediocre nickname, Campanelli was dubbed "The Temp" after he won a competition to become a temporary employee or "temp" at Much Music. With his proven ability to throw a Christmas tree into a dumpster and his "I have dental coverage" smile, he parlayed his delusions of adequacy into a spot on Global's version of eTalk Daily.

As one astute voter put it:

"I remember him as a VJ on Much Music and now I think he is a co-host of ET Canada. This guy is politically impotent, culturally irrelevant, and his death will not be remembered. But he's still on TV and he's recognizable. I can think of no other Canadian who espouses mediocrity like Rick 'The Temp'."

Campanelli's handle, while amusing for a few months, lost some of its lustre during his long tenure with the nation's music station, yet it still retained enough comedic value to surpass the likes of Jimmy the Janitor, Humble Howard Glassman and Dull Vicki Gabereau.


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