Paul Houde was a man with a thousand interests, for which he was happy to share his deep knowledge. He was particularly driven by an immense passion for sport. The good communicator, died on Saturday at the age of 69was a veritable sports encyclopedia, highlighted with admiration by his long-time friends and also the athletes who worked with him throughout his long career.
Michel Bergeron worked with him during the broadcast of the Olympic Games and the former Nordiques coach stood out not only for his knowledge of athletics but also for his meticulousness in preparation, which allowed him to stand out behind a microphone.
“He was a genius! praised his friend Bergie in an interview with LCN. For me, apart from ice hockey, it's zero. When I saw Paul talking about athletics and artistic competitions, I was stunned. I said to myself that it couldn’t be possible for a man to be as knowledgeable about different areas of sports as he was.”
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“Like Maurice and Henri Richard”
Rodger Brulotte knew Paul Houde, but also his brother Pierre, for more than four decades. A strong friendship developed between the three men at the time they were all working in radio.
The Journal's columnist believes the brother duo are “the greatest Quebec has seen as sports commentators,” especially because they helped introduce the general public to sports that were little known at a time (athletics for Paul, Car racing for Pierre).
“They will have been like Maurice and Henri Richard,” he explained.
But Rodger also remembers the great kindness of his friend, who quickly put on the pads to play hockey on the street with children from his neighborhood.
One of the “funniest” guys
And Paul Houde in leggings, it's an image that will have an impact on a generation of Quebecers.
Because he was not only a memorable radio host – he started at CKAC 730 in 1975 – and took part in numerous television projects, but Paul Houde was of course “Fern”, Boys.
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“He is one of the Proud Boys, one of the funniest,” argued Marc Messier, who played the role of Bob Chicoine. We had a lot of fun. He’s a guy who knows the sport well, a statistician.”
“Actually, he was a bit like his character. He was a good guy.”
Like a 500-page book
The film series' producer, Richard Goudreau, was also Paul Houde's neighbor for many years.
He was distinguished by his friend's knowledge and extraordinary memory.
In fact, Mr. Goudreau holds the ultimate proof that Paul Houde was a veritable encyclopedia of sports.
“On Saturday nights we often had dinner with Marc Messier,” he said. One game we played with him was that I would open the encyclopedia of Olympic records and have him randomly guess performances.”
“It was incredible. It gave the athlete's correct name, in which Olympics and in which year! We laughed so much. The book was about 500 pages!”
A “too good” imitator
And another aspect of the host that will have shaped the imagination is his qualities as a copycat.
Réjean Houle, the Canadian's former striker and general manager, can attest to this, he was one of Paul Houde's most memorable “characters”.
“I thought he was excellent. Even too good! laughed Mr. Houle. But he always did it carefully, even though he liked to pass on his messages. I never held any grudge against him, on the contrary.”
“Paul was a complete man,” he also praised him. He was an extraordinary being in every way. He had incredible intelligence.”
Former RDS journalist Chantal Machabée, who now serves as the Canadian's vice-president of communications, was one of Paul Houde's neighbors. She also praises the man's intelligence, his kindness, and his great ability to make people laugh, especially through his impersonations.
“I gave a presentation with him and Max Pacioretty at the Gemini Gala, and I remember laughing backstage because he was doing an impersonation of us,” she recalls. I walked up to the podium and said to myself: “You can’t laugh! You can’t laugh!”
“He was really a fascinating person. Out of [samedi]I see the testimonies passing by and they are very indicative of his greatness. They are very, very deserving,” she added.
– With Olivier Faucher, Laurent Lavoie and TVA Nouvelles
