Comedian Mike DeStefano Passed Away March 6, 2011, Touched Our Hearts Forever

People make mistakes, are abused, have addictions, get sick, and are judged. People are hurting. Mike DeStefano’s comedy didn’t cure those things, but it made them better. He was wonderful. He was the type of wonderful you’d call a friend. He was the type of comedian that made you laugh from somewhere deep inside – from somewhere you maybe felt you weren’t allowed to before. His comedy made love out of pain. It was beautiful.


Mike wrote, “I might die tomorrow and you won't get a chance to see my show Drugs, Disease and Death: A Comedy by Mike DeStefano then you'll feel bad. Let's avoid all that and buy tickets,” on February 9, 2011. Damn…I do feel bad. I was lucky enough to see him perform soon after he was a finalist for Last Comic Standing – which by the way he should have won. No matter what words I choose…I don’t feel like I can say enough about him. He just made you feel good. He was nice. He was a tough New Yorker, and he was so nice.


"I've said everything I've ever wanted to say," said Mike DeStefano after the last night of his one man show Drugs, Disease and Death: A Comedy. Wow.


When I first heard Mike passed, I felt confused and a little angry. I had homework and I had to go to a class and I didn’t want to, I wanted to save him in some way. It just didn’t make any sense.


I remember pointing out one of his tattoos I liked as my friend and I chatted with him while he was next up on stage at the Cellar. I remember chatting with him on Facebook. I remember how he performed at a comedy show fundraiser Cringe Humor, my friend, and I put on to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Even though I can’t say I knew him how one of his buddies might, I still felt like I did know him…because he let me. He was real. He put himself out there in his shows as much as he did as a person.


After thinking for a while, all I could think was that God has got to have a crazy sense of humor with these fucked up lessons. People can laugh. Mike’s life taught us that you can survive a lot of bad shit…and you can still love and be loved…and you can still laugh.


Mike DeStefano shared on stage, "I am a stand up comic.  Before that, I was a drug counselor.  Before that, I was a drug addict.  Before that, I was 12!"  He touched a lot of people while making them laugh; that’s powerful. And we love him.


Thank you Mike D for keeping it real and keeping us laughing.