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 (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

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'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 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 CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network ow ...

'', and '' The Kids in the Hall'' 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''. The first "Wayne's World" sketch appeared in the 13th ''Saturday Night Live'' episode of the Saturday Night Live season 14, 1988–1989 seas ...

'' with

Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...

. Bodolai was a founder of

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...

, helping the new channel secure its licence from the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

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 written by a person who 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 depend on ethnic ...

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 Canadian television writers Vietnam War draft evaders American male television writers American television writers Screenwriters from Ohio Suicides by poison Suicides in California Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Canadian Comedy Award winners {{US-film-producer-stub