Originally from
Vancouver,
British Columbia, he had local stage acting roles as a child, most notably as the young
Ptolemy in a 1962 production of
Caesar and Cleopatra. He and Willis formed La Troupe Grotesque in 1968, moving to
Toronto that year but struggling to get established until
Riff Markowitz hired them as writers for his television series
Party Game and
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. They performed as a sketch comedy duo on stage, both in Toronto and regular touring throughout both Canada and the United States. Willis was the primary writer of most of their material, while Boncoeur took on the staging and costuming. They were also invited to join the cast of
The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, but declined to audition out of fear that the show would steal their material; In addition, Boncoeur was noted for being open and unapologetic about being
gay, which was a relative novelty in comedy in their era; The following year, they toured the stage revue
Plain Brown Wrapper. They ceased touring in 1980, but reunited in 1984 to create two CBC Radio comedy specials, a spoof of CBC programming called
This Hour Has 17 Programs in June and the year-end review
The Year of Living Obnoxiously in December. They received
ACTRA Award nominations for Best Writing, Radio Variety for
This Hour Has 17 Programs at the
14th ACTRA Awards in 1985, and for
The Year of Living Obnoxiously at the
15th ACTRA Awards in 1986. In 1985, Willis also created the radio comedy special
If You Love This Government, a political satire in which Boncoeur did not appear on air but served as a producer. He also served as a wardrobe master in theatre, most notably for a national touring production of the musical
Cats in 1988. ==Murder==