Canadian standup comedian and broadcaster Mike Bullard has died, his family confirmed Sunday.
Bullard’s half-brother, musician Chuck Jackson, confirmed to The Canadian Press that Bullard’s family learned of his death on Friday.
Jackson said the coroner is investigating, and the exact cause of death remains unknown for now, but Bullard, 67, did have health problems.
A friend found him at a residence where he was staying, and the body is being held by authorities, Jackson said.
He said a celebration of life will be held later, when family from abroad are able to gather, but for now the family are asking to grieve in private.
A longtime standup comedian, Bullard hosted two late-night talk shows — Open Mike with Mike Bullard, which ran from 1997 to 2003 on CTV, and The Mike Bullard Show, which aired briefly on Global from 2003 to 2004. He won two Gemini awards for the CTV show.
Mark Breslin, the founder and CEO of comedy bar chain Yuk Yuk’s, worked with Bullard and told CBC Toronto on Sunday that he was also a “very good friend” for more than three decades.
Breslin described Bullard as a “fantastic comedian” who particularly excelled at emcee and hosting work. “Crowd work was his specialty, and he was probably the best in the country,” Breslin said.
Bullard also worked on radio as host of Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard between 2010 and 2016 on CFRB in Toronto, but he lost that show after being accused of making harassing calls to an ex-girlfriend.
In 2018, Bullard pleaded guilty to making harassing phone calls to the victim, journalist Cynthia Mulligan, as well as breaching court orders. He was given a conditional discharge.
Breslin said the legal challenges “plunged [Bullard] into a major depression which took years to come out of.”
“He was pretty bitter about the way that a lot of people abandoned him because of this,” Breslin said.
Bullard travelled to Ukraine in November 2022 to do humanitarian work, raising money and delivering supplies, often near the front line. He returned to Canada in February 2023.
Latenight trailblazer Mike Bullard sits in the red chair with George.