About Marla
The Toronto Star calls Marla Lukofsky,
“A captivating story teller with lightning-quick comic timing.”
The Globe and Mail calls her, “A suave stylish comedian.”
Eye Magazine says she's the "Mini Mistress of Mirth."
For over 30 years (she started when she was a fetus), Marla Lukofsky has performed her stand-up comedy and music in every major city in Canada, the United States, England and Scotland. She's shared the bill with the likes of Jim Carrey, Sherri Shepherd and Howie Mandel. Marla's television credits include Evening at the Improv, and The Alan Thicke Show.
As an entertainer, Marla has graced the stages of the Winter Gardens Theatre, Roy Thomson Hall with Gloria Steinem, the Mayfest Festival in Scotland and Yuk Yuks nationwide. Lukofsky was also a proud member of Second City for one whole month until they realized she wasn’t Andrea Martin and asked her to leave. She also gets mistaken for Dustin Hoffman but that’s only when wearing a dress.
Marla is a woman of a thousand voices from Dr. Ruth and Joan Rivers to all the characters from her Wizard of Oz in 3 Minutes and Gone with the Wind in 6 (with intermission). Her animated voice credits include Sylvanian Families, Rupert the Bear, Super Mario Bros., Fugget About It, The Care Bears movies and cartoon series as Good Luck Bear and Playful Heart Monkey and ALF Tales.
Ms. Lukofsky is a seasoned columnist/writer on TV and Radio. She was Canada's Andy Rooney on CBC's national TV news show Midday with Valerie Pringle and Keith Morrison (having the weekly "last word" spot). Marla was also a regular on CBC Radio's Day Shift with Erica Ritter, The Vicki Gabereau Show and on Arthur Black's Basic Black where she delivered her spellbinding 3-minute versions of movies. Fan favorites included; Funny Girl , Pharlap - Story of a Horse, Gone with the Wind,
and The Sound of Music doing all the voices and sound effects, in one take.
Marla Lukofsky is also a Keynote Speaker and Cancer Survivor. Her one-person show “I’m Still Here…and So Is My Hair!” about her breast cancer journey, received rave reviews across North America. Gilda's Club says, "Marla's show will save lives." Canadian Cancer Society says, "Marla has an informative powerful message while still entertaining her audience." Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada says, "Marla's quick wit, excellent timing and fantastic repertoire of voices make her presentation one that will make you laugh and cry." Darlene Gray (Cancer Patient) said, "I've seen several motivational speakers. They do the ‘positive’ thing. Nothing new. There's something lacking in their speeches that made me feel very alone. That is, - until I heard Marla! “Real” is what appeals to me about her and her speech. Real." Whether she's speaking to 600 people or 60, her show leaves its mark.
As a writer, Lukofsky's personal stories and essays have been published in a variety of medical journals including Cell2Soul, International Journal User-Driven Healthcare, OJCPCD and Health Story Collaborative. Ms. Lukofsky also has two TEDx Talks to her credit (Toronto, India). She continues to share her experiences in the hopes of helping others. “If I can touch even one person, and have them feel that they are not alone, then I've succeeded.”
Acting grabbed Marla full force throughout her career. She co-starred in several feature films including Honeymoon (Lune de Miel) starring Nathalie Baye and John Shea, Zero Patience (John Grayson director) and Disney's Young Again with Keanu Reeves, Lindsay Wagner, and Robert Urich, and Rubber Face with Jim Carrey as well as guest starred on many episodic TV shows like T&T, The Twilight Zone, Doc and Seeing Things.
Lukofsky started her career as a folksinger, hitting all the major folks clubs in Toronto including the famed Riverboat coffee house in Yorkville. It was during that time where she got lots of laughs for her between-song banter and her musical stand-up comedy act emerged, sending her successfully into the comedy world for the next 30+ years. Marla headlined throughout the comedy circuit hitting cities like Detroit, New York, San Francisco, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Toronto, Montreal, Bermuda, Washington D.C., Vancouver and Los Angeles just to name a few. (a few?)
A true chanteuse, Marla’s not just a smooth, engaging vocalist; she’s an entertainer, setting her apart from the rest of the pack.
