N.L. man who started Stuart McLean Twitter parody pays tribute

A Newfoundland man who started a loving parody Twitter account of journalist, writer and broadcaster Stuart McLean is now using the account to pay tribute to McLean following his death Wednesday.

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Patrick Boyle, a Mount Pearl native and professor at the University of Victoria, says McLean's death is "a huge loss." He started the "Hulk Stuart McLean" Twitter account and has been tweeting parodies of McLean for about three years. 

He offered condolences using the account on Wednesday.

Boyle said the idea capitalized on a trend of Hulk tweets, using short sentences written all in capital letters.

"Hulk Stuart McLean, it's kind of bizarre, really. There was a time when Hulk parody accounts were very popular on Twitter, and I am a Stuart McLean uber fan, so I made one," said Boyle.

"And people seemed to like the weird amalgam of what Stuart McLean sound like through the body of The Incredible Hulk."

The howl of laughter was deafening, it was amazing. He was really happy to meet me.- Patrick Boyle

Although Boyle tweeted in secret and only unveiled himself to the public Wednesday, he said he met McLean through Bill Brennan, a fellow Newfoundlander and former musical director of The Vinyl Cafe. Boyle said McLean himself was a fan of the tweets.

"The howl of laughter was deafening, it was amazing. He was really happy to meet me." 

Boyle said he is "doubtful" he'll continue tweeting from the Hulk Stuart McLean account and would deactivate the account if asked.