Hundreds of people came to pay a final tribute to host Paul Houde during a funeral chapel held at the Montreal Planetarium on Friday.
Family members, friends, work colleagues, but above all members of the general public paraded in front of the urn containing the remains of the host placed soberly inside the Théâtre du Chaos, one of the two projection rooms of the Planetarium.
On the ceiling, a projection reproduced the sky that this great astronomy enthusiast was able to observe throughout his life, from his birth on August 25, 1954 until April 8, the date of the total solar eclipse on which he would have loved to attend.
“We knew he was appreciated and loved, but we had never measured the extent. It’s very touching, gratifying and impressive, said Duty his sister Johanne Houde. I think he would have been very proud. He wasn’t the guy to chase honors or brag, but he would have been touched by this wave of love. Paul, like many of us, wondered if he was doing his job the right way. But today we have proof. »
On the urn, we could read simple words, “A radio man”, an epitaph that Paul Houde had chosen himself.
“Today was a great opportunity to illustrate the magic of communication: the communicator and the receiver on the other end. No matter the medium, we never have direct contact with the public. But today, it’s a tangible way to see the love that people have for him,” said his brother Pierre Houde, who also works in the world of media as a describer of Montreal Canadiens matches for the RDS account.
Many admirers braved the cold rain to pay their respects and offer their condolences to the family of the deceased.
“We really liked him, he was funny, he was a wealth of information. I admired him, I envied him, I would have liked him to be my friend! », described Andrée Pellicano with a big smile as she left the Planetarium.
“He found his place in all types of shows, he was omnipresent, like the stars. It was so unique, it was like an exoplanet! »
According to the testimonies collected, it is the humor, the intelligence but also the simplicity of the character which will have left their mark.
“He’s an artist that I really liked, I followed him since the 1980s, on the radio at CFGL, then at The end of the world is at 7 o’clockthen to Good evening. He was so funny, testified Line Farley. It saddened me a lot to learn of his death. »
Love and humor
Paul Houde died on March 2 at the age of 69 following complications arising from brain surgery. He was in turn a host, sports commentator, columnist and even actor, notably in the film series The Boys.
His media career with a unique profile lasted 49 years.
“No one can know by heart the athletics champions at the Olympics, the planets, but also do absurd humor with Marc Labrèche and act in films, but Paul could do it,” underlined the host and former man politician Mario Dumont, who rubbed shoulders with him on the airwaves of 98.5 and on TVA. “It says a lot about the character, the abundance of his interests and his curiosity. »
“Plus, he was an eminently nice guy and pleasant to be around. It was the least we could do to come and give him one last wink. »
Jean Airoldi, who made his first radio columns on Paul Houde’s microphone at the CFGL station in addition to being his stylist during the famous game show Lingoalso praised his good nature and his friendliness.
“It’s sad because he was someone who had content, but who didn’t make you feel any less intelligent. It was easy to work with him, and always happy. »
How would the main person reacted to such a shower of compliments?
Probably with a mixture of modesty, embarrassment and pride, believes his son Karl.
“My father was not very comfortable receiving tributes. […] I think being in the forefront like that today would embarrass him. But he would still be proud, with a nice little embarrassment, to see that everything he did in his career was received with love and humor. Throughout my life, my father taught me a lot, but above all he taught me a sense of humor and a sense of love. »
The funeral of Paul Houde will be celebrated privately on Saturday at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.