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| Mike and my Mother |
When I first met Michael Ironside, I was known more for my underground ventures than anything else. I used to be in the movie business once upon a time, but by the time Michael entered my life, I was Toronto's leading 'bootlegger.' I owned an after-hours club, primarily a haven for musicians but gradually expanded it to welcome the famous. Back in the '60s, I was notorious for hosting lavish parties, slowly building up an illegal business that was both fun and profitable. Through this, I met everyone and their dog, including Michael.
Michael was attending the Art College of Ontario and had just made a celebrated 8mm film that won an award. He thought he was somebody. Somehow, he gained entry to my place and caused havoc. When he drank, he transformed into a wild man. I remember having to remove the dartboard after Michael hit someone in the leg with a dart. We frequently clashed, but he was part of a good bunch of people, so I let him stay. Surprisingly, it took a couple of years for us to become friends. He kept after me, and finally, when we did become friends, we became good friends.
After my after-hours business chapter, I managed to break back into the movie industry. It took perseverance; I phoned a producer twice a week for two years until I landed a role as an assistant producer on 'Double Negative.' I even got Michael a small role in it. There are countless stories about him, some too wild to share. His ex-wife is a policewoman remarkably named 'Ironside.'
Many people ask how Michael got the scar on his face. He had it long before we met. He told me he got it in a brawl involving a jealous drunk who thought Michael was stealing his girlfriend. In reality, the guy had the wrong house; Michael didn't even know the girl. How much of that story is true, I cannot say. Those were dark days for Michael; he didn't work much and spent a couple of bad years drinking himself into the ground. Often, he would end up passed out at my club, and I'd just put a blanket over him and leave him there.
One night, I woke up to a horrible thumping through the floor. I found Michael downstairs with his face stuck to the bar. In his stupor, he had gotten hold of a pool cue and was banging it on the ceiling. He had crawled up on the bar and fallen asleep on it. His face was stuck to the plastic bar top, which hadn't set properly. It took quite an effort to pry him loose without causing further damage to his face.
Michael began acting in movies in the late 1970s and received recognition for his terrifying role as the deadly psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg's 'Scanners' (1981). Following that, he was equally frightening as the psychopath Colt Hawker in 'Visiting Hours' (1982). After the release of 'Visiting Hours,' I accompanied Michael to Peterborough to visit his father, who had suffered a heart attack. The hospital staff, recognizing him from the movie, gave him quite the looks as he walked by.
For my birthday, Michael gave me a Canon Sureshot 35mm camera prototype he had taken from the set of 'Visiting Hours.' It was a great camera. Another unforgettable memory involves an afternoon when Michael and I tried to seduce two young ladies with a combination of heavy marijuana use and a giant bowl of sangria. It backfired gloriously; we both passed out and woke up to find, weeks later, photos of us naked, taken by the girls. Somewhere in the world, there's a book with one of those pictures tucked inside it.
Our drinking escapades often led us to Club 22 at the Windsor Arms in Toronto. One night, I was having drinks with my friends Johnny Hart and Jack Caprio, the creators of the cartoon BC, and Michael in tow. I got up to meet another old friend, Catherine O'Hara from SCTV, who had her parents with her. She introduced them to me, and as I shook hands with her mother, I gave a bit of a bow. As I did, Michael came up behind me and bit me on the ass and wouldn't let go. It was unbelievable. I jumped, hollered, and leaped around the room, but he wouldn't let go. It took Jack, Johnny, and a couple of waiters to get him off me. I don't know why he did it; he just thought it was funny. When it stopped hurting, I laughed too. Mike was barred for that, but I managed to get him reinstated, and the next afternoon we drank $400 worth of margaritas together.
After that, things got even wilder. I got a grant to write a movie script called 'Runyon's Law' and somehow became a movie producer, with Michael and Winston Rekert set to star. Michael and Winston frequently got crazy; they were banned from several venues, and I saved them from arrest more times than I can count. One day, after Winston finished a movie, we decided to order ribs from Fat Willy’s Rib Shack in Chicago. With plane tickets and taxis, we had those ribs in four hours, costing us about a thousand dollars.
One night, Michael and Winston went to see Willie Dixon at the El Mocambo. Afterward, wanting to continue the party with some young ladies we met, I invited everyone to a friend's apartment nearby. Michael got frustrated when he couldn't reach his girlfriend and threw the phone out the window. In a fit of anger, I bopped him one for it, and it was quite the hassle to get everything repaired.
Then came Michael's big Hollywood call. He settled half of what he owed me, which was alright. He moved to Hollywood and played notable roles in 'Top Gun' (1986), 'Extreme Prejudice' (1987), 'Nowhere to Hide' (1987), 'Watchers' (1988), and 'Highlander II: The Quickening' (1991), among others. He never called or gave me his phone number again.
Michael's sobriety was another significant chapter. He got clean and sober about 12 years ago. While we were once close, our relationship changed. Michael's lawyer and agent accused me of giving a fan his personal information, which I didn't have. It turned out it was Michael's sister who spilled the beans. Although Michael never apologized, I understand why our paths diverged. He needed to move on from that tumultuous period to stay clean. As a friend, my memories of our wild adventures are cherished, and I recognize that our friendship thrived during a chaotic, albeit memorable, time.
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