Joe Bodolai (May 11, 1948 – December 26, 2011) was an American film and television producer and writer. Born and raised in the United States, Bodolai was opposed to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

and moved to Canada in order to avoid being drafted. He moved back to the United States in 1981 to write for twenty episodes of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' before returning to Canada. He is best known for producing such television shows as '' It's Only Rock & Roll'', ''

Comics! ''Comics!'' was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television in the 1990s. A half-hour standup comedy series, the show focused on one Canadian comedian each week. The series was produced by Joe Bodolai and Sandra Faire Sandra ...

'', and ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

'' and helping to launch the careers of the young talent featured on those shows. He also co-wrote the first draft of the film ''

Wayne's World "Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live''. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" (1987) on the CBC Television series '' It's Only Rock & Roll'', as the main characte ...

'' with

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

. Bodolai was a founder of

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octob ...

, helping the new channel secure its licence from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 1996, and expected to be named the new channel's head by its owners. He was disappointed when he was not hired and decided to return permanently to the United States. Bodolai was found dead on December 26, 2011, in a Hollywood hotel room of an apparent suicide; he was 63. No

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...

was found, though on December 23 a long post was added to his blog, entitled "If this were your last day alive what would you do?"

References

External links

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Say It Ain't So, Joe! News, Opinion, and Satire By Joe Bodolai
(blog) 1948 births 2011 suicides 2011 deaths American expatriate writers in Canada American people of Hungarian descent American male screenwriters Canadian television producers Canadian male television writers Vietnam War draft evaders American male television writers Screenwriters from Ohio Suicides by poison Suicides in California Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Canadian Comedy Award winners {{US-film-producer-stub