It’s the late 19070s and Howard Wagman is running a comedy club in Toronto. Comedians come and comedians go but one in particular caught his eye, a new face behind the microphone that would constantly drive down from Ottawa to follow his dream of making people laugh. The young man was an original, something Wagman could see long before Mike MacDonald was dubbed the King of Canadian Comedy.
Back then, he was the only comic Wagman says actually lived in Ottawa.
The son of a Royal Canadian Air Force officer, MacDonald grew up on military bases across France and West Germany before his family settled in the Capital. Though he’d learn early on that being funny would heighten his popularity amongst his peers, MacDonald’s first foray into show business was part of the band MapleRidge. He was 23 when he began his influential comedy career, first walking into Howard’s Toronto club in 1978.
Though Wagman had heard hundreds of bits, there was something about the new guy that made him stop and take notice.
“He was a ground breaking dynamic performer and a powerful presence on and off stage,” remembers Wagman, now owner of the Yuk Yuks Ottawa. “Mike's the king!”
MacDonald’s death in March left a hole in not just the city’s but Canada’s comedy community. Over his 40 year career there were lots of laughs but, also, many lives touched by a man who showed you could rise above anything with a good joke. Wagman was one of the numerous people who came forward to relay how the comic profoundly affected and inspired.
“Everyone, I mean everyone, admired him watched and learned from him,” Wagman says. Over the decades, he personally saw the impact MacDonald had on other comics, many of them just starting out. Attaching the late comics name to Yuk Yuks Ottawa’s annual comedy competition seemed a fitting way to continue that legacy.
“After Mike's passing we decided to make this annual event his,” Wagman explains. “His family –wife Bonnie and brother JP– and I wanted Mike's name to stay where it belonged: in the heart and soul of Ottawa's comedy community!”
Now in its sixth year, the newly dubbed Mike MacDonald Summer Comedy Competition pits top local stand-ups against one another. 108 comics are randomly drawn from nearly 200 submissions and over July and August sling their best bits and barbs, battling it out for a $1,000 prize and a week of paid work inside the club. Most importantly, they win the right to call themselves the 2018 Ottawa comedy champion!
Yuk Yuks is also working with Be A Donor, an organization that encourages all Ontarians to become registered organ and tissue donors. After receiving a liver transplant in 2013, MacDonald became a strong supporter of organ donation and educated whenever he could.
“He opened every show thanking our health care system and encouraging everyone to sign their donor card,” says Wagman, adding that there will be an information table set up during the completion where people can contribute financially or sign up to become donor themselves.
When asked what advice he’d give new comedians entering the completion Wagman offers words MacDonald would have certainly agreed with:
“Be true to yourself and write about what you feel. If you try to be someone you are not it cannot work long term. Successful comedy comes from truth, personal growth and often pain.”
The Mike MacDonald Summer Comedy Completion continues tonight at Yuk Yuks Ottawa. Tickets are available online and at the door.