Alyson Court Recalls Playing Loonette While Six Months Pregnant in Final Season of "The Big Comfy Couch" (Exclusive)

11/06/2024 01:46 PM

Alyson Court talks about how she handled being a mom and Loonette the Clown toward the end of her time on "The Big Comfy Couch"

• Alyson Court played Loonette the Clown on The Big Comfy Couch from 1992 until 2002.
• At 16, she helped with the demo, unaware she was embarking on a decades-long journey as Loonette the Clown
• Alyson looks back at filming her final season of The Big Comfy Couch while six months pregnant with her son

Alyson Court was just a teenager when she began playing Loonette the Clown on The 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, Alyson 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 Alyson 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."

"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 laughs.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Shari Lewis' Daughter Brings Beloved Lamb Chop Character to TikTok 21 Years After Mom's Death (Exclusive)

Alyson 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."

She continues, "When we came back to do season 6 in 2002, by that point, I had done the live stage tour and I was pregnant. Doing that season six months pregnant, that was incredible as well because I can watch those episodes and I'm like, 'There's my son, he's there. He was in this season.'"

It meant a lot to Alyson 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.

Alyson's son, Blaede, was just two 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 called Dreams Take Flight

"The charity works with Air Canada to take kids to Disney World for 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 watch Comfy Couch episodes because he knew it was Mummy."

Alyson 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 like Dreams Take Flight and Make 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."

Alyson 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."

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 the best wingman ever. 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, Alyson scored cool points with her part in the animated Scott Pilgrim.

"I handled a bit of a Canadian casting, which was cool. He loves Scott Pilgrim so much, so I was excited I finally got to be part of something my son would think is cool."

"It's funny because he's very stubborn. He's very opinionated. He's also incredibly brilliant and creative. I can kind of see him wanting — he does his own thing, and I can give him comments or critiques and he'll act like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. But afterwards, he'll sometimes end up doing the thing I'd suggested or whatever the case," she says.

"I know that he values my opinion, certainly from the breadth of work that I've done, and I think he's starting to respect it more."