Biography

Del Grande was born in Union City, New Jersey, United States on March 23, 1943. In 1964, he moved to Toronto after being drawn by the Stratford Festival. In Toronto, he pursued a career as a stand-up comedian and comedy writer. Eventually, he became the head writer for the successful sitcom, The King of Kensington, which aired until the late 1970s. Del Grande also occasionally appeared on the show as Fred, a friend of the main character. Later on, he became the co-producer of the show alongside Jack Humphries. Del Grande's next venture was Seeing Things, a series that he created, wrote, and produced. It ran from 1981 to 1987 and featured Del Grande as a clairvoyant tabloid reporter who solved crimes. His real-life wife, Martha Gibson, portrayed his character's wife on the show. Seeing Things gained popularity and earned Del Grande four Gemini Awards. In addition, he gained recognition beyond Canada for his role as the ConSec scanner in the memorable "head explosion" scene in the film Scanners, directed by David Cronenberg. Del Grande has also made appearances in various TV movies and series, including Due South, The Outer Limits, and Goosebumps.