Biography
Over the past 40 years David Gale has established himself as a rare talent on the stage, on the page, in front of the camera and behind the scenes. He acts, sings, dances and is a comic, a writer, a director, a producer, an improvisor, a teacher and an award-winning television host. David Gale has made a career perfecting his unique gift of cheeky humor with heart. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Loving Spoonfuls, the internationally-airing television program which Gale hosts. The series currently airs in on Amazon Prime Video. On each episode of Loving Spoonfuls Gale flirts, sings and dances with a different grandmother, playfully coaxing out her family secrets, while preparing some of the world’s best loved home-cooked meals. Gale won both a Gemini (Canadian Emmy - 5 nominations) and a Galaxi award (Canadian Cable award) for Best On Camera Performance hosting Loving Spoonfuls, Since Loving Spoonfuls Gale has produced and hosted W Network's series Second Time Around and a pilot for a daytime talk show called The David Gale Show.
Gale honed his talents early. Growing up in the ultra-creative north-end of Winnipeg, Gale began acting as a youth and appeared in The High School, Joseph Stein's Enter Laughing, and received his first critical success at age 16 playing Peter Van Damme in The Diary Of Anne Frank. As a teenager Gale’s songwriting skills emerged and he twice won top prizes at his school’s annual song festival. He graduated from a Winnipeg’s Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate and went on to study Theatre Arts at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis starring in many university productions.
Gale moved to Toronto in 1979 to further his career. He quickly became a part of Theatresports and Toronto’s burgeoning improv comedy scene and regularly performed with Mike Myers and The Kids In The Hall. He created and performed with his own improv comedy troupe Club Improv through the 1980s and is still performing with improv troupes across Ontario.
On film Gale appears in Portrait Of A Serial Monogamist and he gave a revealing performance in the award-winning AIDS musical Zero Patience. A publicity shot of Gale in Zero Patience hangs in Terminal 3 at Toronto's Pearson Airport as part of a Toronto On Film display. Gale has been featured in a variety of TV programs including Suits, The Listener Degrassi TNG, Beauty & The Beast, The Tournament, Puppets Who Kill, and Nikita. Gale had a recurring role on the original The Newsroom. An accomplished stage actor Gale has performed in comedies, dramas, and musicals with highlights being Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Yiddish Radio Hour, The Fantasticks, All Out, What The Butler Saw and The Pirates of Penzance (Stratford.) And originated the role of Mr. Goldberg in the premiere of Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv for Infinate Theatre in Montreal. He has dozens of commercials under his belt and has done voice work for hundreds of films and television shows including Resident Evil, Saw, Less Than Kind, Little Mosque On The Prairie, Barney’s Version, Chloe, The Fountain, and A History of Violence.
In 1989 David joined forces with composer/writer/performer Randy Vancourt and created GILBERT & GLICK, a singing, songwriting comedy team. They’ve performed together in theatres and clubs across Canada ever since. In 1993 they penned the hit musical comedy Chutzpah à go-go, which won rave reviews, a Dora Award and has played to sold out houses in St. Paul, Montreal, Winnipeg and Toronto.
As a solo performer Gale’s Elvis Shmelvis has left audiences “plotzing” and swooning at the Ashkenaz Festival, and Spiegeltent in Toronto and at other venues across Canada. Gale won over live theatre audiences hosting Toronto's Theatre Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the alternative theatre awardsThe Harolds 3 tomes. In 2006 Gale had the honor of emceeing the live simulcast launch of the Canadian Opera Company's Four Season’s Centre, introducing Toronto’s then mayor David Miller to two thousand opera enthusiasts at City Hall outdoor square. For four years Gale moderated The COC’s Opera 101 where he conducted live interviews with an array of international opera stars including the witty and irascible writer Margaret Atwood (A Handmaid’s Tale – The Opera.)
Drawn to the volunteer world, Gale trained with the Distress Centre. Using his hosting skills for good, Gale helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a myriad of causes hosting fundraising events for organizations including The Miles Nadal JCC, Kids.Now, Beit Halochem, Casey House, The Breast Cancer Quilt, Tobias House, Toronto Dance Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
As a theatre director, choreographer and teacher Gale has put his unique stamp on a variety of productions including Bye, Bye Birdie, Godspell, The Me Nobody Know, Dads in Bondage, "I Slept With Tony Trouble" (performed across Canada and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and the ACTRA Awards in Toronto. and has taught improv, acting and musical theatre at schools and Universities across Canada.
As a writer Gale co-wrote half a dozen musicals for his comedy duo Gilbert & Glick and countless Industrial Shows and fundraisers. His solo play Pop was commissioned by and produced at the WJT Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. Gale regularly contributes to ACTRA Toronto’s Performers Magazine and in 2008 became its publisher. He also wrote for The Loving Spoonfuls Cookbook (Penguin.)
Gale was acclaimed President ofACTRA Toronto council in 2020 and again in 2022, spending most of his time in his home office on Zooms to ACTRA Toronto council. First elected to ACTRA Toronto council In 2007 Gale has proudly served as Chair of the Conference Committee, VP Member at Large and as Vice President: Communications. In 2021 Gale was elected President of ACTRA Toronto. He was instrumental in the formation of the Young Emerging Actors Assembly (YEAA) ACTRA's very active youth committee and perhaps most proud of working alongside Joanne Vannicola in the creation of outACTRAto ACTRA's first queer committee. He is ACTRA Toronto's representative on ACTRA National's Executive Council and is co-chair of their Constitution and By-Laws Committee. Gale sat on the board of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television as performers’ rep for two terms and currently sits on their Rules and Regulations Committees for TV and Film.
Gale's greatest production to date is his son Eli.
Gale honed his talents early. Growing up in the ultra-creative north-end of Winnipeg, Gale began acting as a youth and appeared in The High School, Joseph Stein's Enter Laughing, and received his first critical success at age 16 playing Peter Van Damme in The Diary Of Anne Frank. As a teenager Gale’s songwriting skills emerged and he twice won top prizes at his school’s annual song festival. He graduated from a Winnipeg’s Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate and went on to study Theatre Arts at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis starring in many university productions.
Gale moved to Toronto in 1979 to further his career. He quickly became a part of Theatresports and Toronto’s burgeoning improv comedy scene and regularly performed with Mike Myers and The Kids In The Hall. He created and performed with his own improv comedy troupe Club Improv through the 1980s and is still performing with improv troupes across Ontario.
On film Gale appears in Portrait Of A Serial Monogamist and he gave a revealing performance in the award-winning AIDS musical Zero Patience. A publicity shot of Gale in Zero Patience hangs in Terminal 3 at Toronto's Pearson Airport as part of a Toronto On Film display. Gale has been featured in a variety of TV programs including Suits, The Listener Degrassi TNG, Beauty & The Beast, The Tournament, Puppets Who Kill, and Nikita. Gale had a recurring role on the original The Newsroom. An accomplished stage actor Gale has performed in comedies, dramas, and musicals with highlights being Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Yiddish Radio Hour, The Fantasticks, All Out, What The Butler Saw and The Pirates of Penzance (Stratford.) And originated the role of Mr. Goldberg in the premiere of Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv for Infinate Theatre in Montreal. He has dozens of commercials under his belt and has done voice work for hundreds of films and television shows including Resident Evil, Saw, Less Than Kind, Little Mosque On The Prairie, Barney’s Version, Chloe, The Fountain, and A History of Violence.
In 1989 David joined forces with composer/writer/performer Randy Vancourt and created GILBERT & GLICK, a singing, songwriting comedy team. They’ve performed together in theatres and clubs across Canada ever since. In 1993 they penned the hit musical comedy Chutzpah à go-go, which won rave reviews, a Dora Award and has played to sold out houses in St. Paul, Montreal, Winnipeg and Toronto.
As a solo performer Gale’s Elvis Shmelvis has left audiences “plotzing” and swooning at the Ashkenaz Festival, and Spiegeltent in Toronto and at other venues across Canada. Gale won over live theatre audiences hosting Toronto's Theatre Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the alternative theatre awardsThe Harolds 3 tomes. In 2006 Gale had the honor of emceeing the live simulcast launch of the Canadian Opera Company's Four Season’s Centre, introducing Toronto’s then mayor David Miller to two thousand opera enthusiasts at City Hall outdoor square. For four years Gale moderated The COC’s Opera 101 where he conducted live interviews with an array of international opera stars including the witty and irascible writer Margaret Atwood (A Handmaid’s Tale – The Opera.)
Drawn to the volunteer world, Gale trained with the Distress Centre. Using his hosting skills for good, Gale helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a myriad of causes hosting fundraising events for organizations including The Miles Nadal JCC, Kids.Now, Beit Halochem, Casey House, The Breast Cancer Quilt, Tobias House, Toronto Dance Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
As a theatre director, choreographer and teacher Gale has put his unique stamp on a variety of productions including Bye, Bye Birdie, Godspell, The Me Nobody Know, Dads in Bondage, "I Slept With Tony Trouble" (performed across Canada and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and the ACTRA Awards in Toronto. and has taught improv, acting and musical theatre at schools and Universities across Canada.
As a writer Gale co-wrote half a dozen musicals for his comedy duo Gilbert & Glick and countless Industrial Shows and fundraisers. His solo play Pop was commissioned by and produced at the WJT Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. Gale regularly contributes to ACTRA Toronto’s Performers Magazine and in 2008 became its publisher. He also wrote for The Loving Spoonfuls Cookbook (Penguin.)
Gale was acclaimed President ofACTRA Toronto council in 2020 and again in 2022, spending most of his time in his home office on Zooms to ACTRA Toronto council. First elected to ACTRA Toronto council In 2007 Gale has proudly served as Chair of the Conference Committee, VP Member at Large and as Vice President: Communications. In 2021 Gale was elected President of ACTRA Toronto. He was instrumental in the formation of the Young Emerging Actors Assembly (YEAA) ACTRA's very active youth committee and perhaps most proud of working alongside Joanne Vannicola in the creation of outACTRAto ACTRA's first queer committee. He is ACTRA Toronto's representative on ACTRA National's Executive Council and is co-chair of their Constitution and By-Laws Committee. Gale sat on the board of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television as performers’ rep for two terms and currently sits on their Rules and Regulations Committees for TV and Film.
Gale's greatest production to date is his son Eli.
SELECTED Resume
Selected Press
"Gale instantaneously garnering hearty laughter for his comical portrayal
of the quick-to-condemn but charismatic title character."
of the quick-to-condemn but charismatic title character."
As its indicative title suggests, the play revolves around renowned (but herein fictitious) Canadian author Tony Goldberg (played by David Gale) who has arrived in Tel Aviv to ostensibly present a speech about his latest book at a scholastic convention. A left-leaning intellectual gay Jew from the diaspora, he’s got a bone to pick with the Israeli authorities, impudently criticizing their policies on the Palestinian conflict. He’s loud, he’s proud, and he drops as many f-bombs as there may be dynamite explosives lurking in forbidden corners of the coastal Mediterranean city....
...Although Safdie’s provocative script and the energy of the veteran male ensemble of Gale, El Gharbi, and Rosenstein render Mr. Goldberg engaging throughout, the one-act play is arguably most enjoyable at its lightest and purest, – the outset – with Gale instantaneously garnering hearty laughter for his comical portrayal of the quick-to-condemn but charismatic title character (a nod to Cassandre Chatonnier’s compelling set design and Andrew Scriver’s lively video projections for also arousing the senses early on).
CLICK ABOVE PICS FOR FULL REVIEW
Review by Montreal Theatre Hub Editor-in-Chief Camila Fitzgibbon
...Although Safdie’s provocative script and the energy of the veteran male ensemble of Gale, El Gharbi, and Rosenstein render Mr. Goldberg engaging throughout, the one-act play is arguably most enjoyable at its lightest and purest, – the outset – with Gale instantaneously garnering hearty laughter for his comical portrayal of the quick-to-condemn but charismatic title character (a nod to Cassandre Chatonnier’s compelling set design and Andrew Scriver’s lively video projections for also arousing the senses early on).
CLICK ABOVE PICS FOR FULL REVIEW
Review by Montreal Theatre Hub Editor-in-Chief Camila Fitzgibbon
Click above for full review
"There’s some lovely interplay between David Gale’s self-indulgently bristling Tony and Mohsen El Gharbi’s ever-smiling room-service provider, and when things go south, there’s a certain exhilarating frisson in watching how far Safdie is prepared to push it, both in terms of saying the unsayable and of topping the bloody excesses of Jacobean theatre..."
Jim Burke, Special to Montreal Gazette
"There’s some lovely interplay between David Gale’s self-indulgently bristling Tony and Mohsen El Gharbi’s ever-smiling room-service provider, and when things go south, there’s a certain exhilarating frisson in watching how far Safdie is prepared to push it, both in terms of saying the unsayable and of topping the bloody excesses of Jacobean theatre..."
Jim Burke, Special to Montreal Gazette
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