Ricky Blue

His LCC columns are archived here

RICKY BLUE

The uncomfortable sanctification of Ernie

MONTREAL | There was a moment at the beginning of the reception following Ernie ButlerÕs funeral that broke the ice. A moment of silence for Ernie was suddenly interrupted by a cell phone ring.

It was a common modern faux pas. The receiver of the incoming call did not know what to do. It rang again. Then the man at the microphone said: ÒTell Ernie we canÕt talk to him now.Ó

And there it was: The tragedy of having this great man snatched away from us in his prime was suddenly eclipsed by the very thing that gave his life so much meaning - comedy. The assembled mourners broke into laughter and applauded. And we knew that the funeral was over and that the Irish wake had begun.

It is very difficult for those of us who knew Ernie to comprehend a world in which he will no longer be calling. He was so important to the entertainment scene here in Montreal. I donÕt mean the Òbig-dealÓ corporate entertainment world; I mean the grassroots real world that we actually live in. Ernie was always a local guy helping local people. He created the local comedy scene. And only out of the opportunities of a scene does local talent grow.

He was a founding father of the comedy movement in Montreal, from which Just for Laughs grew and now Montreal is a world capital of comedy. But unlike JFL he didnÕt do this by importing name acts from the big time. Any of the big name comics who played his club were small names when they did. He is loved by local comics because he provided a place for locals to play. Having a local scene is so important. It gives local performers hope. It lets us know that it is possible to do it from here.

And he did it all without government grants or corporate sponsors.

Culturally, he showed our community that it is possible to live, work, and flourish in English at the same time as the whole apparatus of the Quebec state was being used to marginalize and diminish our community. Ernie Butler was an Anglo hero. He always knew his Irish Catholic roots were just as legitimate as any other claims on his home turf.

I sat in the Comedy Nest section of St. MonicaÕs Church with all the comics, which might have been called the Jewish section. There was another section for his CJAD colleagues, a section for the St. PatrickÕs Day Irishmen in full regalia, and the front section reserved for his family. As I looked around I thought how typical of our community this group was. We are Catholics, Protestants, and Jews all together.

The service was very touching, just a tad too religious. Perhaps I thought that because I am what is known as a lapsed Protestant; which is probably the laziest Christian possible. WeÕre down there with the Unitarians.

I like the Catholics, I married one, but I must admit I am a bit squeamish about the drinking-the-blood-of-Jesus part. But I think they have got one thing right. How else to portray the mystery of life and death other than with their medieval ritual? I mean, how can someone you know suddenly be ÒgoneÓ?

I was uncomfortable with the sanctification of Ernie. I know that one has to say only nice things about the departed, but Ernie was no Saint. That was what made him so interesting. And as all comics know you canÕt be a Saint and be funny.

I am now at the age where I only see all my old friends when someone dies. Later, at the reception ErnieÕs best friend Doug Muncie, one of the great Montreal bartenders of all time, agreed, adding how he considered that this gathering was ErnieÕs parting gift to him: allowing him the chance to see us all together again.