Mike Bullard (television)

Michael "Mike" Bullard (born June 12, 1957 in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada) is the former host of the late-night talk shows Open Mike with Mike Bullard on CTV and The Mike Bullard Show on Global and of the midday radio show, Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard on CFRB. He is the brother of Pat Bullard.

A native of Mississauga, Bullard worked briefly as a police officer with Peel Regional Police in his youth but resigned when he was not permitted to moonlight in comedy clubs. He then returned to Bell Canada where he had worked previously, and eventually was promoted to associate director of corporate investigation while also working part-time as a stand-up comic.

His stand-up career led him to becoming the host of Open Mike in 1997. The late-night talk variety show, considered the first successful Canadian attempt at the genre, aired nightly for six seasons on The Comedy Network and the CTV Television Network and won a Gemini Award. In 2003, Bullard was hired away by Global with a multi-year deal to host The Mike Bullard Show in the same timeslot; but the new show was cancelled on March 12, 2004 after 13 weeks due to poor ratings against The Daily Show with Jon Stewart which CTV aired against Bullard's new show. Afer leaving CTV, Bullard accused executives at his old network of not supporting the show and of being "dysfunctional", resulting in countercharges of "bitterness" against Bullard who was described as having "burned his bridges" with CTV and the Comedy Network.

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