Mike DeStefano was an American stand-up comedian died from a heart attack he was , 44.. He used material from his heroin addiction, which began at age 15, and his recovery in brutally honest, profanity-laced routines. He also was a drug counselor to others. He had been clean for 11 years at the time of his death and was HIV positive. He died as a result of a heart attack.(November 29, 1966 – March 6, 2011)
His first ever gig was at a Narcotics Anonymous convention in Atlanta, Georgia, where DeStefano stepped before the microphone after a rained-out pool party and started ranting about drugs.[5]
A regular at clubs in New York and around the country, DeStefano gained popularity after appearing on television on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. He also appeared on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Showtime's Whiteboyz in the Hood and other radio and television shows, and at popular comedy festivals, most notably US Comedy Arts Festival and Montreal's Just for Laughs festival. In 2010, he competed in the seventh season of NBC's Last Comic Standing and finished in fourth place.[5][6]On October 9, 2010 DeStefano appeared with Jim Norton, Rich Vos and Robert Kelly in the Comedy Central stand-up special "Comics Anonymous", all 4 comedians appearing in the special were former addicts who had been clean and sober for 10 years or more. DeStefano was also an executive producer on the special, which was dedicated to their friend, comedian Greg Giraldo, who had died of a drug overdose earlier that year.
DeStefano's death came just days before he was scheduled to perform his one-man show, "A Cherry Tree in the Bronx" in New York. He had just finished a run of shows titled "Drugs, Disease and Death: A Comedy", which was largely based on being HIV positive, his past drug addiction and his wife Fran's death several years ago after her drug addiction and affliction with AIDS.[6][7]
Discography
- 2010: OK Karma - released on Stand Up! Records comedy label
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