Charles Lafortune, who hosted the show Le Cercle for 6 years alongside Paul Houde, was devastated on Saturday to learn of the death of the man he considered a good friend.
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In an interview with TVA Nouvelles, Mr. Lafortune praised the man with whom he worked for many years.
“Paul was someone who left his mark on radio, sport, Quebec culture… he had this phenomenal memory, and at the same time this sense of humor,” he mentioned, adding that the deceased sports commentator was “multitasking before the word was fashionable.”
Charles initially met Paul while they were living in the same town, in Lorraine.
“We went to the same colleague, at Collège Saint-Sacrement in Terrebonne, where his brother Pierre went; we had the same directors – I liked saying to Paul: “Yes, we had the same director, but you were just starting out, I was on the verge of retirement,” he recounted gently, adding that this joke made Paul “laugh a lot”.
Mr. Lafortune was able to visit Mr. Houde at the Cité-de-la-santé Hospital before his operation for a brain mass, from which he ultimately died.
“The surgery still went well, so we all said it was going to be for the best, and unfortunately, complications related to that… it was his heart that slowly died,” said he detailed.
Charles remembers his friend as a man who was “very personable, easy to like, easy to be around at work.”
“I had this chance [de travailler avec lui]; every time he came to see me and wanted to do something, I always had an attentive ear,” he says.
Mr. Lafortune considers himself happy to have been able to host Le Cercle with him.
“He could tell me to come join him and do an imitation of someone in my ear, terrible things that he would never have been able to say on television, but which obviously made people laugh a lot,” he said. he recounted again, amused by his memories.