Alyson Court Recalls Playing Loonette While 6 Months Pregnant in Final Season ofThe Big Comfy Couch(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Pregnant Alyson Court as Loonette (left), Loonette doing her clock stretch.Photo:Radical Sheep Productions/Owl Communications

Radical Sheep Productions/Owl Communications

Alyson Courtwas just a teenager when she began playing Loonette the Clown onThe Big Comfy Couch.

The early 1990s Canadian children’s series took off in a way the actress could have never imagined. What felt like “just a job” at the time turned into a big piece of her life, Court tells PEOPLE.

“At first it was just ‘This is the character that I’m playing, and I’ve got my life outside of it.’ And then I started interacting with little children that loved the show,” the actress, 50, says. “I understood the need to be on my best behavior but there was still very much a distance between doing the show and the impact that it was having on the world.”

There was no indication the show would become a phenomenon in the early days, where Court would be “clowning around” with her castmates in the summer heat.

“I remember our first season. Where we shot, we didn’t have air conditioning at the time and we were shooting in July. The noses we were wearing for the first season were a heavier kind of rubber material,” she recalls.

“Our lighting director dropped the set lights when we went out for lunch, and it read 104 degrees in the studio. Obviously, with all the lights up, it was much more. We’re trying to do these scenes, and our noses are just sliding down our faces because the glue is melting,” she says with a laugh.

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Pregnant Alyson Court as Loonette on “The Big Comfy Couch”.Radical Sheep Productions/Owl Communications

Court played Loonette throughout the show’s original run, from 1992 to 1996. There was a long pause until her final season as the character, in 2002.

“We were greenlit for the last 13 episodes, and there were talks of a feature film, so everyone stayed engaged for those conversations. We were keeping the property alive,” she explains.

“That’s when the dolls first started to come out. First it was the Molly dolls and everyone wanted a Molly doll. Then there were books and videos available. They started making other toys like Snicklefritz dolls. There were even Loonette dolls, and some talking Loonette dolls, which was weird. But it was very much about keeping everything going.”

It meant a lot to Court to be embarking on motherhood while still keeping Loonette a part of her.

“I was about to be a mom, and I had so many experiences with little kids that there was a huge aspect of wanting to do this thing. I wanted to be part of this because it’s almost a legacy at this point, right? So, it came back, and we did those 13 episodes,” she says.

Court’s son, Blaede, was just 2 months old when he first started to realize the character and his mom were one in the same. She was preparing to work with a charity calledDreams Take Flight

“The charity works with Air Canada to take kids toDisney Worldfor the day. The only criteria is if there’s something in your childhood preventing you from getting to Disney World — be it illness, economic hardship, abuse — and we’d take those kids for the day.”

Preparing to make an appearance, “I was in a hotel room getting into my costume. I have my son on the bed and he’s looking at me [strangely] because I have the costume on. I’m like, ‘No, sweetie. It’s me. It’s Mummy,’ " she shares.

“I remember him looking at me, and all of a sudden, you just see the recognition. He starts to smile as he realizes that I am Mummy,” she continues. “That was one of the most impactful moments, watching my son kind of put the two together and then, be comfortable with me as Loonette.”

Once he was a little older, “His dad would sometimes put episodes on if I had to go out and go to work. He’d watchComfy Couchepisodes because he knew it was Mummy.”

Alyson Court as Loonette on the set of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes”.Ben Deutsch (via Alyson Court)

Ben Deutsch (via Alyson Court)

Court also notes how that charity work continued to become more meaningful, especially as she became a mom herself.

“That changed everything. That’s a heavy thing,” she says of her charity work, which included organizations likeDreams Take FlightandMake-A-Wish.

“Once I got involved with a lot of charities, it sort of completely engulfed me. I would say it made me a better person, but it did take a toll, especially at that age. The charity stuff I’ve continued more than anything else.”

Court is grateful to see what an imprint Loonette has left on the hearts of fans and for the opportunity to see that linger years later.

“It’s been feeding my soul because people are just so genuinely kind. They just want to express love and gratitude. You get to watch them become that little kid again, in that moment,” she says.

“It’s particularly when we’re doing the photos together, and then I’ll put the nose on without them realizing, and then they look over and they just lose it. They are these giddy little children again. So that has been wonderful to be part of something that has had that impact on people for decades.”

Courtesy of Warner Bros Inc & Muppets

Today, Blaede is all grown up and has a pretty healthy perspective on his mom’s fame.

“He’s typical in the sense of, ‘Oh I don’t want to talk about my mom,’ which I wanted. He needs to have his own life and live in his world, not my bubble. But I also joked with him once he was a teenager that I’d end up being thebest wingmanever. And he didn’t know what that meant, but I was like, ‘Trust me.’ "

“Around Christmas, right before the pandemic, I took gifts for his teachers and stuff to the school. I came to drop them off, and he said, ‘Hey, a couple of my friends want to meet you,’ and they were girls. In the past, Blaede had kind of ignored it. He’d always been quiet, but he was a little giddy. And I remember whispering to him as I left, like, ‘I told you, best wingman.’ "

While Blaede wasn’t always thrilled about Loonette the Clown, Court scored cool points with her part in the animatedScott Pilgrim.

“I handled a bit of a Canadian casting, which was cool. He lovesScott Pilgrimso much, so I was excited I finally got to be part of something my son would think is cool.”

“I know that he values my opinion, certainly from the breadth of work that I’ve done,” Court says, “and I think he’s starting to respect it more.”

source: people.com