Mike DeStefano 1966-2011
A statement from the Cringe Humor family.
On Sunday, March 6, 2011 the world lost one of it’s warmest souls. Mike DeStefano died of complications to his heart at the age of 44. He’s survived by his mother Helen DeStefano-Bracciodieta, stepfather John Bracciodieta, brothers Joe, John and Tommy. Nieces Alissa and Alexsis, nephews Anthony and Michael.
It is a really dark day for us at Cringe Humor Entertainment. Patrick Milligan, David Kimowitz, Cris Italia and Paul Italia and the Cringe Humor family would like to thank fans for an outpouring of support since his passing. Mike was a brother to us. We take pride in knowing that he was able to accomplish a one man show with us called “Drugs, Disease and Death: A Comedy by Mike DeStefano”. Mike was very proud of its short run in Manhattan and was prepared to continue his work both Off Broadway and throughout the country.
Family, Friends and Fans should take solace in knowing that Mike did not suffer. Mike always said he wasn’t afraid of dying, but would have hated to suffer and have his loved ones watch him suffer. In the days leading up to his death Mike expressed he had achieved clarity. He was happy. He was very excited for the future and felt loved by so many.
In association with the DeStefano family, Cringe Humor, producer Ray Ellin and cinematographer Frank Mosca will continue to get Mike’s message out. In weeks to come we’ll be holding a memorial service at the Barrow Street Theatre where we will screen some of the footage that was shot during his one man show. For now the family has asked in lieu of flowers that anyone can make a donation to the American Heart Association in Mike’s name. http://www.heart.org.
The DeStefano family will also like to invite everyone to a mass for Mike on Friday at St. Benedict’s Church 2969 Otis Avenue, Bronx, NY at 9:30am. Further Information can be found at http://mikedestefano.com/
Thank you for your amazing support once again and thank you all for being a part of Mike’s life.
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Comments
I became a huge fan of both Mike Destefano the comic & the man after I heard the episode of the WTF podcast he was on. It brought tears to my eyes to hear the story of his life. I was so very lucky to have met him just 2 weeks ago when he was working here in Minneapolis. He was kind and giving of his time to me and the other comedians who came to watch his show and hang out with him. This man made an important impact on me both a comedian and a human. Thank you so very much Mike!
Joey Vincent
I have never seen any of this shows (my location will tell you why), but I did hear is Moth stories. I didn’t know he was in Last Comic Standing and I didn’t know he was touring. Yet for some reason, I felt like I lost someone who meant so much to me. I hardly ever cry and here I am crying over someone whose stories I’ll carry in my heart. I’m glad I have known of him. Thanks for telling it like it is, Mike. Rest in peace.
I was shocked and saddened to her of Mike’s passing. I got to see him perform on his Last Comic Tour back in September; he was hilarious, he had a foul mouth, but still, he cracked me up.
I have a picture of he and I together, and one of him with some of the other guys, I will cherish them. My heart goes out to his family. I hope they know, he will never be forgotten. R.I.P Mike
r.i.p. mike. i really related well to your material and i feel ive lost someone i could lean on since you left us even though i never knew you. its strange, i was listening to your wtf podcast with marc maron for the 3rd time on sunday night before i went to bed, and i woke up to hear the news of your passing…. strange. each time my mind comes back to this, i realize that your no longer here to comfort us with your comedy. thanks for telling us we all arent alone in dealing with our problem. i miss you man. rest in peace bro
I feel robbed. I saw Mike on LCS last summer; he made an impression on me. Then I heard him on Marc Maron’s podcast. I bookmarked Mike’s website a coupla weeks ago so I could check his tour schedule, liked him on Facebook. In reply to a recent post, I said if he came to SF, I’d come to his show. He replied August. I pencilled in August. Fuck. I was looking forward to his long career. We were all robbed.
RIP to Mike, condolences to his family and friends.
I met franny and mike in the early 90’s. they volunteered at the children’s shelter where i worked. we had a good, close, friendship all the way up and through franny’s passing. mike did her justice in honoring their life together. she did indeed want him to remember her ~ and he did! i don’t know what to say other than i know he made her proud, he shared the stories truthfully. she loved him so much. my tears just keep flowing~ i guess it’s a good thing to be able to feel ... they will both live in my heart forever. i hope there are Harley’s in heaven and that they ride on together for eternity!
I never knew of Mike before he passed. Never heard his name; never watched that season of LCS; never really cared. I was browsing the Wikipedia obituaries when I learned of his death. As a comedian, I pay attention to other comics and their lives. I came across his name, and looked him up. I was floored. There I sat for hours watching his standup and interviews. What an amazing guy. This was all yesterday, the 7th, by the way. In only 24 hours Mike has touched me in ways I cannot fully explain. His style, his delivery, his way of speaking; it’s all influential. That’s what I want to do. He’s who I want to be. It’s guys like him and Louis CK, and Patton Oswalt, and David Cross—guys like them who really shape my art. I wish I knew of this man years before, but I cannot dwell on that now. Mike, I never knew you, but I love you now. RIP
Mikey was in my AA home group in the 90s in West Palm Beach. A bunch of us went out to breakfast every Sunday after the morning meeting. Mikey would diss what some nerd had shared in the meeting but do so in a way that I laughed deeply and crazily. After months of this, someone said at breakfast, Mikey go do stand up and leave us alone you rat bastard. And on he went. In WPB we have a huge sense of loss. We saw Miket take care of Franny, share in meetings about her illness, hold her and then we held him when Franny died. In Mikey, I saw such generosity of spirit, compassion, love, and playfulness, the likes of which are none too common. Mikey went into his pain, dealt with it and brought out for all of us great lessons in life. Love you my brother.
I met Angel once I surely did….No ordinary Angel but an Angel none the less.
He lived in the Bronx had tatoos and smoked cigarettes, rode motorcyles and cursed a whole lot.
He hung out with drug addicts, prostitutes, the homeless and people with Aids
He made everyone laugh
I met an Angel Once ....I surely did
He told me heaven had chocolate milk and to
Let God Out!
I love you Mikee..always
You know!
I am back home in Florida, Mike’s memorial & funeral are now over, but my sorrow is not. My heart feels crushed.
I met Michael before he was a successful comic, back in the days when he was struggling with his wife’s terminal illness and fighting to stay clean for another day.
Through mutual friends Mike got the hair brained idea that I might be a good choice as a recovery sponsor. Clearly, said mutual friends were a lot sicker in the head than I realized, but never the less Mike and I hit it off, stuck close, and got by a day at a time, and continued to build our mutual trust & friendship up until the day he died. For this, I will always be grateful.
Michael and I both shared the belief that the central principles our program were way, way, more than just a means to stay away from using drugs, etc., but that their real beauty and power lay in being a stunningly practical road map for building a full and purposeful life.
I know first hand that Mike pursued his life that way, with the greatest sincerity, even when he masked it behind his dark, brilliant comedy. His prankster heart was tender and his soul bright. I will miss him more than its possible to express.
-Johnny Balls