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ENTERTAINMENT TORONTO LIFE DECEMBER 1988 Amazing Events Unlimited Ltd, Professional wild and crazy guy Robin Coverdale, a.k.a. Robin the Ripped, is infamous for zany antics, practical jokes and weird theme parties your guests will be talking about years hence. He will cheerfully orchestrate an alien invasion, bring in a marching band or stage a convincing comic revenge on a hapless guest. The size of your party is no object; prices from $200.00 to $2500.00 |
| YUK'S FOR SALE By Sandra Hawryn - The Ryersonian Imagine it's your wedding day. You've just been married and you're at your reception of 100 people at the Inn on the Park. Suddenly another bride, a rather large woman, bursts in. The ball room goes silent in 45 seconds and one or two wineglasses hit the floor.. She points at the groom and says, "You son of a bitch! You told me to meet you at the other church.. and....you married that bimbette?" As the groom turns very red and the bride tries hard not to laugh, the apparition in white stroms back out the door. The groom was set up by his bride... and Robin the Ripped. Robin Coverdale, 48, is the owner of an entertainment company called Amazing Events Unlimited Ltd. He performs pranks, practical jokes, and roasts at birthdays, weddings, Christmas parties and business conventions. He can be hired to play any character, form a crass guest at a party to an unwanted relative who drops in for a long visit. "I've alway been rather entertaining at a party and I've been asked by friends to pull little stunts," Coverdale said. "But I never thought of it as a possible career. Until 1993, that is. That's when Coverdale took a leave of absence, after teaching elementary school in Oakville for 14 years. Suddenly, he had a problem. "It never dawned on me when I quit working that the paycheques would stop, Coverdale said. He saw an ad for a position with a singing company owned by his future Amazing Events partner, Morton Katz. Katz heard about Coverdale's shows and suggested becoming his partner and expanding the business into large-scale pranks. "He (Katz) thought that together, we could do quite a number," Coverdale said. "He's a bit of a prankster himself and an enterpreneur - he knows how to make money." Amazing Events Unlimited Ltd. was born in 1984. The partners put ads in The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, and Toronto Life magazine. Soon, they were doing 25 to 30 shows a month. Their prices ranged from $150.00 to $2,500.00 depending on the number of actors involved in the show, costumes, and props. "As few laughs a day can improve your entire health and always improves my bank account," Coverdale said." Coverdale has many corporate clients. When firms have conventions, when someone retires or is promoted, he has songs fo the event. He does reseach through friends and colleagues, twists the information to make it comical and slighty risque, and does a character cut-up. One of Coverdale's stock characters is th Fairy Godfather. The Fairy Godfather dresses in a tutu, carries a wand, crashes corporate parties and razzes the guest(s) of honor. He performs songs for any ocasion. A promotion, for example: "Congratulations on your promotion; Considering how many idots applied; Whoever though that you of all creatures could come through; After all, you were the least qualified," be ruffled. It doesn't bother Coverdale. "When you hire Robein the Ripped to do something, you don't worry about offending people," he said. Coverdale returned to teaching in 1987, but continued to do Amazing Events in his spare time. Coverdale is just as much of a prankster in his classroom as he is in business. He tries to incorporate "a lot of fun" into his program. "I tell my students, If you're not having a good time let me know," Coverdale said "Because if I'm not having a good time I certainly will let them know". He is teaching the fifth grade this year. Earlier this month, a student brought in an article on Amazing Events Unlimited from The Toronto Star. The class discussed it, and Coverdale did a unit on pranks. Some students tried to play a few on him, but he out witted them. " I thew a major temper tantrum and gave them a horribly long assignment to do," he said. "When they were done, I said, "By the way, you can file that in the garbage can on your way out. You've just been had." Coverdale once made fake report cards for his class giving some students zeds. It's an enjoyable business. I'm very well paid to go and insult people. What better therapy can you find than that?" |