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"Every cop is a criminal" goes the Rolling Stones song, but in Mike Bullard's case, his cop was actually a comedian. But for Mike, being a cop wasn't as fun as he'd hoped - so, he pursued his other childhood dream: Comedy.
As kids, Mike and his brother Pat would stay up and watch Johnny Carson, the late-night master at work. And when Pat started making waves as a writer on shows like 'Roseanne' and 'Grace Under Fire,' Mike got the courage to get up on stage himself. He honed his talent, became known for his 'spritzing' - those off-the-cuff zingers with the audience. Mike was razor-sharp on stage and in 1997, his talk show, 'Open Mike with Mike Bullard,' was born.
It started small, but it became a big deal. See, talk shows had always thrived in the States; just today you've got your Lettermans, your Lenos, your O'Briens, and your Kimmells to name a few. But in Canada we'd never really cracked it until Mike came along.
But Mike wasn't entirely happy with the show, and after a messy breakup with his network, CTV, he moved to Global, where, just a few months into its run, the show was cancelled. We'll see if the whole experience was a bitter one ...
But either way, Mike's back with a new show on the radio. 'Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard' on Toronto's Newstalk 1010 radio has the pioneering comic sounding off on the news of the day - and whatever else strikes him.
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