Les Lye (1924-2009)

Despite our officemate Kate Messer’s entreaty yesterday that people need to stop, like, dying this summer, today we lost another: Les Lye of Nickelodeon’s You Can’t Do That on Television. Lye portrayed some of the Canadian sketch show’s most memorable characters, including dirty burger joint owner Barth Bagge and the ever-thwarted firing squad captain El Capitano. Fansite barthsburgery.com has a sweet little photo gallery of Lye’s roles here – and lest you get too misty-eyed, the accompanying soundtrack of a Casiotoned “Mmmbop” ensures you’ll only remember the good times.

Slime on, Les Lye.

This article appears in July 17 • 2009.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...