I met Mike back in the early 90's when he was working through the Yuk Yuk's chain.
I was a sound guy at one of the Yuk Yuk's clubs and Mike was a regular on the circuit.
He was nothing like the character he used for his stage show and he was a lot of fun to hang around with.
Before he got his show he had a summer tour throughout Canada and I got to go with him on some of it as an assistant.
I did not get paid but he paid my way in terms of places to stay and food and it was an amazing time.
The tour was sponsored by a beer company and I got to do most of the Ontario/Quebec leg.
Mike legit had a way with people and was an amazing MC and you'd often see people come up to him after the show when he had roasted them and when he was done, they were not mad, but cheerful and smiling.
He had a dry wit that really nailed things but he was a great guy.
Often when comics came through the Yuk Yuk's chain my boss would have me stick with them and take them around to places they wanted to go.
I remember once Mike haggling with a sales girl for a shirt he really liked at a mall and he just wanted to see how much he could get off the price and eventually he had the sales girl laughing so much she gave him the employee discount and she came to the show that night with about 30 girl friends.
I also remember Mike catching a guy beating a dog on a leash and he made me pull over the car and I chased that guy down for Mike to tell him that he never wanted to see him beat another dog ever and Mike just talked with him, never laid a finger on him but the way he did it, you would have thought he'd been a mob guy all his life.
Afterwards he laughed and said that kind of act only works sometimes.
No matter how long in between seeing him he always remembered me and was happy to see me and I was to see him.
Also, f@ck the CBC.
