Fred Stoller

There's this stand-up comedian whose career I've been inadvertently following.

I first saw him while watching a VHS tape of a stand-up show in a friend's basement, and I loved him. That was a good 20 years ago, and I still remember a joke about using keys as a self-defence weapon, and how that doesn't work with modern hotel keys that look like credit cards.

Maybe you had to see it.

He would pop up as a guest star in random sitcoms, and every time I saw him (because, yes, I love sitcoms) I was happy to see that he was still around. But I never noted his name. Never looked him up on IMDB, once that became a thing that we did.

And then last week I was listening to my favourite CBC Radio show, Wiretap, and I heard his unmistakable voice, and I found out that his name is Fred Stoller. This, in itself, was a treat, but the story he shares is just so beautiful. I think you should check it out.