Stewart Michael Silver
Stand-up comedian, writer, comic-book expert, advocate for good customer service, animal lover. Born Aug. 2, 1967, in Montreal, died Nov. 16, 2011, in Toronto of a heart attack, aged 44.
The eldest of two sons born to Sandy and Peter Silver, Stewart had a commanding presence at an early age as the jokester in a crowd or in the classroom.
He attended Herzliah, a Jewish High School in Montreal, and would later boast that he "got kicked out of class in three languages."
After earning a degree in microbiology and immunology at McGill University, he was expected to enter medical school, but Stewart seemed bent on performing the unexpected.
He persuaded his father to listen to an audio tape of an audience laughing, and announced that this was his first of many comedy shows. Making people laugh was what he wanted to do.
So he moved to Toronto, continued performing and began headlining at Yuk-Yuk's, which made both Stewart and his audiences happy for the next 20 years. One of the highlights of his comedy career was writing for the animated Fox TV show Committed.
Comic books enticed Stewart as early as grade school. He quickly learned which items were valuable. While at university, he borrowed $2,000 from his father to buy a book he thought might be valuable. Today, that book is locked safely away as it is now worth $40,000! Stewart became recognized as one of the top comic-book experts in the world by others in the trade.
In 2005, on an online dating site, Stewart met the love of his life, Justine. She had been attracted to his answer to the question of what his ideal date would be.
He'd replied that they would go to a good restaurant, enjoy a super meal and great conversation, "and then, when leaving the restaurant, walking hand in hand, we would trip over a large bag of money."
They were married within a year, and he proclaimed her the only girl who had ever made him laugh.
Stewart's lust for life carried him in many directions, one of which was crusader for good customer service. One day, he went into a doughnut shop to get the featured "doughnut of the month," and was informed they had run out. He scolded them, then went home and called up the franchise headquarters. The next day, cherry doughnuts were back – and they never ran out of the flavour of the month again with Stewart in the neighbourhood.
Stewart loved all animals, from frogs to his beloved dog Shmooley. He even rescued an injured pigeon from his neighbour's balcony and brought it to a wildlife centre for rehabilitation.
Even though his life was unexpectedly cut short, those who knew him know he set the bar high, for he lived life to the fullest and achieved many of his dreams, not the least of which was to make people laugh.
Eileen Jadd and Elaana Fields are Stewart's sisters-in-law and Judy Fields is his mother-in-law.