At the time when Alyson Court was given her first job as a child actor, she had no clue that it would also be the beginning of her journey toward becoming a beloved figure in her youth.
The actress, who was born in Canada and is now 50 years old, was one of the fortunate few children who were able to find possibilities on the production scene in Toronto during the 1980s.
“At the time, there were not a lot of young people working professionally in the film and television industries in Toronto. It was a happy coincidence that I was attending a school that specialized in the arts. It was quite similar to Fame, except it was for younger children, and you had to audition in order to get in. An exclusive interview with PEOPLE reveals that she describes the experience as “a real dream come true.”
When local producers required kid performers, they would check the pupils at Court’s school. This led to her going on several auditions, which finally led to her meeting agent Sandra Newton, who continues to represent her to this day.
I was in the fifth grade when she hired me, and throughout the first year that I worked with her, I did a lot of commercials and ended up doing a few episodes on television programs. She was the one who signed me on. During that summer, when I was ten years old, I participated in the Sesame Street film version of the film Follow That Bird. Furthermore, there was no turning back after that incident.
Court was able to get a position on Mr. Dressup, which she affectionately refers to as “Canada’s Mister Rogers in many ways.”
It was Cheryl Wagner and Karen Valleau who were my coworkers at the time. In addition, they are puppeteers, and Cheryl had just finished developing and beginning the pitch package for The Big Comfy Couch,” Court says. When I was sixteen years old, I seem to have been required to tell a tale on the program. Cheryl responded by saying, “She tells the story in the same way that I tell a story.” The way I see [the character of Loonette] being is exactly how I want her to be.
When Court was taking a break during a practice, she saw that Wagner was observing her and studying her every move. Almost immediately, she presented her to the producer Rob Mills, who agreed that Court was an excellent choice for the part of Loonette the Clown. She gave her consent when they contacted her to ask for assistance with the pilot.
“The show was sold and picked up, so the following year, they sent me to clown school for workshops in Philadelphia, which was phenomenal,” Court is quoted as saying. “Then the following year, the summer of 1992, we filmed the first episode for The Big Comfy Couch.”
Not only did she have the opportunity to work on the burgeoning children’s series, but she also worked on her profession as a voice actor. Being able to have a life outside of the show helped Court feel less awkward about playing a child clown at the age of 18.
According to her explanation, “I benefited from timing.” When YouTube was not available. The cameras on mobile phones were not present. There was none of that stuff. The beauty of it was I got to have a real life outside of doing that show, so I got to go through my teenage years in my early 20s and have all of those experiences that I think are really, really important in those formative years.”
At the time, the show was “just a job” to Court, but a year later, she recognized how it evolved into more.
“I started interacting with little children who loved the show. I understood the need to be on my best behavior, but there was still a great distance between doing the show and the impact that it was having on the world,” she says.
Once The Big Comfy Couch started airing on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States, the court noted that a change occurred.
I went to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House in the spring of 1995, which was one of the first things I did after moving to the United States. The reading portion of our program was something that Hillary Clinton, who was the first lady at the time, found to be quite enjoyable. She was also involved in an early childhood literacy initiative. She remembers that Loonette had been invited to the South Lawn of the White House to tell tales to the children. “So Loonette had been invited down there.”
“There were a great number of families pursuing one another. “I was sitting there, and the place where I was reading turned out to be this lovely sort of safe oasis in the midst of the chaos,” she explains. “It’s mayhem.” “As the parents were moving their children around, I was just sitting there with my book, and you could see the children noticing me,” she said. In the end, it turned out to be a great experience because they would come sit down and shut out all of the commotion.According to Court, this was the last performance in which she was able to maintain some degree of anonymity before the show began to get significant traction. In the latter part of that year, while I was making an appearance at the Galleria Mall in Atlanta, “they wanted to sneak me through the crowd in order to get into the store.” After I had entered, I saw that there was a queue of people waiting for Loonette that stretched for five hours and had taken over the whole shopping center.
When Court met with fans and their families, she began to understand what the series meant to them. It was during these meetings that she “started to realize the impact of the show.”
While I was thinking about it, I recalled thinking, ‘This is something that I need to take a responsibility for.’ In light of this, she explains, “I was always very aware whenever I was in public and wearing the costume of that representation for the show and the impact that it was having on people.”
Almost immediately after that, Make-A-Wish made contact with a sick youngster who expressed a desire to meet Loonette.
That completely altered everything. What a weighty item it is! According to her, “Once I became involved with a large number of charitable organizations, it kind of completely engulfed me.” I would say that it allowed me to become a better person, but it did have a negative impact on me, particularly at that age. To a greater extent than anything else, I have gone on with the charitable work.
Court established a connection with an organization known as Dreams Take Flight, and she claims that she continued to interact with children in the role of Loonette “even long after I stopped doing the show.”
On the other hand, Court is influenced by the emotions of fans of all shades.
Participating in a variety of conferences is an intriguing experience. I’ll be there with the other voice actors who worked on the original X-Men animated series, but I also have a picture of myself dressed up as Loonette to show folks that I’ve also done something different. “I would say that approximately forty percent of people will end up crying when they see that,” she adds.
They have no idea what is causing them to have such a strong emotional response. They could say something along the lines of, “I’m just having this childhood thing right now.”
Court makes the observation that many people who go to these conventions and fan expos “are there for a thing they chose later on in life, as a tween or a teenager,” and they do so without the expectation of having a Big Comfy Couch moment as well.
“You don’t always think about the early years, the preschool years, the things that were there first,” according to her explanation. “In my opinion, it is providing individuals with the opportunity to recall the moments they spent with their parents or grandparents, who are often no longer with them. At times, there will be a situation in which a parent will come up to express their gratitude, despite the fact that their kid has died away and that the program in question was their favorite TV show. It has a great deal of significance.”
Because to her ongoing charitable work as Loonette, which she continues to do to this day, she has been able to maintain the outfit that she wore as the role. In addition to that, she was presented with an unanticipated opportunity to acquire something even more unique from that era.
As soon as the touring firm that was responsible for the mall performances finished their work with Comfy Couch, they had already paid for a large number of props to be constructed for their show, and they were selling things off. They asked him, “Do you want the couch for one hundred dollars?” He was a buddy of mine who had really worked on that touring show. That being said, he phoned me right away,” she reveals.
As a result, he purchased it from them, and I subsequently purchased it from him. Therefore, I am now in possession of one of the couches, in addition to a few other miscellaneous items.
The one and only issue is that it is, in fact, a very large and comfortable sofa.
“I don’t know if I could afford a house that is big enough for the couch,” she admits with a bit of a chuckle. “It is conveniently one that comes apart and is easy to assemble because it was part of the traveling stage show, but it is currently sitting in my storage unit.”
Court agrees that it “can get pretty heady” to contemplate the influence that the program has had on a large number of people throughout the world.
For the most part, my spouse was unfamiliar with the term “Comfy Couch.” In order to make an appearance, we traveled to St. John’s, Newfoundland, and the whole town was aware that I was there. It was the night before that I had given him a warning, saying, “I don’t think you fully comprehend what you are about to experience.” However, you will. And it is essential that you be well-prepared since there have been individuals in the past who have been unable to cope with the situation.
The scene, which transpired in a manner that was very similar to what she had envisioned it would be, is illustrative of “the lasting impacts” of the children’s series.
“It happens once a year, if not more often, that Loonette is featured in a meme or that something is posted on Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, and my feed will instantly get flooded with posts. “It’s almost as if a whole new group of people are always coming across the show or remembering it,” she reveals.
“A significant portion of the revival may be attributed to the fact that individuals who were raised with this as one of their first shows are now parents of their own children. Really, nostalgia is a really powerful emotion to experience. Despite the fact that the demand for Comfy Couch is still quite high, it has been amazing to see and interact with individuals… It’s been awesome all along. Because people are so truly nice, and because they just want to show love and thanks, it has been a source of nourishment for my spirit.
Her next statement is as follows: “I have been so fortunate to be a part of a great number of iconic franchises.” At this point, it’s been a wonderful ride and I’ve also had the blessing of being able to still keep my life my own. It has definitely been an intriguing combo. I really thank everyone who’s been a fan of properties that I’ve been a part of for both continuing to show their kindness and appreciation for what I worked on, but also for giving me my space and privacy.”
Today, Court continues to work in children’s television, having recently wrapped on a series called Let’s Go Bananas, which she describes as “an animated preschool show that’s comedy for little kids,” in addition to the whimsical Canadian program Miss Persona (pictured) and stints on Blue’s Clues & You and My Little Pony.
“I’m not really sure what’s next,” she confesses to herself, “but I’m enjoying taking time for conventions.”
