- Born
- Nickname
- Leapin' Lou / The Champ of Cheap
- Height1.80 m
- Lou was born in Montreal and studied theatre at McGill University. Although he began acting at age 11, he performed mostly in theatre and small films before moving to Toronto in 1997, where, among other things, he studied improv at Second City and Bad Dog Theatre. A former classmate, now the producer of a local teen TV program, hired Lou as a guest star on that show for several episodes over three seasons. Lou also appeared in the local syndicated show "Style By Jury", serving on a dozen panels over four seasons. His first infomercial aired in 2006 for a mobility scooter, a commercial that aired nationwide. He does theatre, film, TV, commercials "and anything else people want to pay me for".
Lou is a Star Trek (1966) expert (he is known as Canada's Classic Trekspert) and often hosts his own "game show", called, not surprisingly, "Trek Trivia Starring Lou Israel", based on information from all incarnations of that show. An accomplished songwriter, former columnist/journalist and improviser, he went back into standup in 2013 and became an "official" professional standup comic at the tender age of 62. Over the years, he has shared the stage with such Canadian luminaries as Jim Carrey, Kenny Robinson and Glen "That Canadian Guy" Foster, his mentor in comedy (Lou usually wears Montreal attire during his standup and calls himself "That Canadiens Guy" as a tribute to Foster). UPDATED August 2024- IMDb mini biography by: Lou Israel Management
- Called "Canada's Classic Trekspert", has been a guest on several radio trivia shows.
- Has written over 50 songs, including parodies and Star Trek (1966) songs.
- Never uses four-letter words. Jokes that he has "reverse Tourette's Syndrome" and when he tries to curse, it comes out as gobbledygook.
- Runner-up in a city-wide contest for talk-show host at CFRB, a major radio station in Toronto.
- Lou's film, Sweet Revenge, was chosen as the winner of the Just for Laughs Eat My Shorts contest in 2018. The film won first prize in a field of over 650 entrants , and secured a development deal with Kevin Hart.
- Do not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.
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