Mike DeStefano: "It's a Laugh That's Riddled With Shame."

Reflecting now on the work Cringe Humor did with Mike DeStefano, Patrick Milligan writes:

You were the epitome of Cringe Humor. The definiton of this brand of entertainment that I have dedicated myself to.

I will never forget how honest you were.

DeStefano did an interview with Cringe Humor in 2006. He says early in the conversation "One of the things that is important to me is to make comedy out of shit that's not funny already." It's a good mission they shared. And that's one of the best definitions of not being a hack.

The half-hour phone conversation is posted on YouTube.

Mike DeStefano Dies

(mikedestefano.com)

Mike DeStefano died March 6 from a heart attack. His management confirmed the news with a statement sent to Punchline Magazine.

We are indeed incredibly saddened by the loss of this amazing man. He had touched the lives of many with his unique brand of comedy and was looking forward to sharing the same with so many more. Mostly, we will all miss his huge heart and incredibly loving and selfless passion for people.

At Cringe Humor, Chris Italia writes

Mike had become a brother to us, the shock and the sadness that comes from this will be felt forever. Mike was the epitome of what Cringe Humor stands for. Always real. Always True. Always Funny. We’ll be updating the site with any information.

The bulk of DeStefano's fame came just last year after his exposure on Last Comic Standing. His act was dark, blunt, and hilarious. Much of his material came from his experience of dealing drug addiction, losing his wife, and living with HIV. He recently finished a successful run of his show Drugs, Disease and Death: A Comedy.

Video Bit of the Week

Of the final 5 comics on LCS the most constrained was definitely Mike DeStefano. And it was no secret. He talked about murder and sex and violence and drugs and hatred, and we know that network television likes to pretend none of those exist… except murder and violence and drugs and hatred.

Even when the networks allow those topics, they smother them in so much padding and double entendre that it all sounds the same.

So this is what happens to DeStefano's act when he doesn't have to worry about the censors. He does pad it a little by saying "c-word" and "n-word" there a couple times. But let's not rush to call him a family act.