Born in
New Westminster,
British Columbia, Mulligan worked as a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer in
Olds, Alberta, and
Red Deer, Alberta, from 1960 through 1964. After leaving the Mounties, Mulligan worked as a radio disc jockey for 20 years, he hosted a TV show on
Global TV called
The New Quiz Kids, and then joined
CBC Television as host of the
music video series ''
Good Rockin' Tonite'' (simultaneously, he was also a regular on the children's TV series
Zig Zag, produced by
BCTV). He left the CBC in 1985 to become a VJ and producer for
MuchMusic West – a show he created, covering primarily the West Coast music scene as host of the long-running
Much West series. At the same time he also hosted
MovieTelevision for
Citytv. His stories and
MT provided years of support for the Canadian TV and film industry. He was a program host and producer for the Canadian entertainment channel
Star!. He also hosts two weekly radio programs on
Alberta public radio station
CKUA:
Mulligan Stew, a long-running two-hour music program, and
Tasting Room Radio, a one-hour weekly food and wine radio program about food, wine and winemakers, and with a rock and roll attitude.
Tasting Room Radio was also broadcast on
CKFR AM 1150 in
Kelowna, British Columbia, and CKST AM 1040 in Vancouver. Mulligan is a prolific character actor who has been featured in supporting and small roles in many movies and television series including, notably,
The Accused,
The X-Files,
Millennium,
Robson Arms,
Hard Core Logo, and the 2005
Fantastic Four movie. Most films and TV shows in which he appears are filmed in the Vancouver area. For his work in arts and entertainment broadcasting Mulligan has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the West Coast Awards show The Leos. He's also been inducted into the
BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. Mulligan was named "Broadcaster of the Year" for 2011 by the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters. He has four children, Mindy, Sean, Fynn, and Kate; and three grandchildren, Kyle, Taleigha, and Avelyn. He has been married since 1977 to Meg Mulligan. Their children sometimes appear on
Mulligan Stew. In an August 2007 radio interview on
Sounds like Canada, Kate and her father discussed an article by Kate, published in
The Tyee, called "Growing up Mulligan", a humorous account of life with Mulligan. Mulligan also co-hosts a show about wine called
Hollywood & Vines with fellow actor
Jason Priestley which is filmed at wine vineyards around the world. The show is seen in 180 countries via Travel Channel UK (London) and Super Channel in Canada. The third year of the series is now in production. Mulligan has published his autobiography (co-written by Vancouverite Glen Schaefer) called ''Mulligan's Stew''. The book covers his life from growing up in North Vancouver to the present day. ==Filmography==