Thérèse Parisien had the pleasure of working with Paul Houde for several years; But before she became a colleague, the hostess was first and foremost a great friend to her.
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“He was like a brother; “He may be the brother I never had,” she immediately mentions in an interview on LCN.
“He was someone who was very important in my life. We worked together a lot and traveled together; He was a friend, a friend that you can hardly imagine is no longer there,” she admits.
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Sports presenter and commentator Paul Houde died on Saturday following complications from surgery earlier this week. He was 69 years old.
Ms. Parisien collaborated particularly on radio with Mr. Houde; Their joint segments were always eagerly awaited and appreciated by the listeners.
“I remember his rigor, his way of working, his way of entertaining and informing at the same time. It was important to him, he was strict. He worked very hard before his shows, but when he arrived he also said that you need to have a break in a show,” explains his great friend and colleague.
“He was a radio man – but absolutely a radio man – and he had a way of presenting that I thought was unique,” she adds, pointing in particular to the serendipitous encounter at his home with the same desire for rigor and entertainment .
“We trusted each other”
The duo did not hesitate to exchange jokes and jokes on television.
“It is true that it was a rare complicity, I admit that. As soon as we met, something clicked. We loved each other very much and trusted each other; We were on air together and trusted each other. There was something calming about being on the air with him,” she says, recalling broadcasts that could last up to nine hours during breaking news and saying she was glad to have gone through them with him.
Paul wasn't afraid to joke at his colleague's expense, as she herself says with amusement.
“Obviously there were days when I was his lawyer… he was having fun at my expense. “If you’re not worth laughing, you’re not worth much,” my grandfather said, so we laughed; If I made a little mistake, he would make a little money from it,” she recalls.
A free man
Thérèse Parisien knew Mr. Houde well; In this context, she asserts that part of him corresponded to the image that the listeners might have of the host, namely that of an energetic, passionate, concerned man.
“I traveled with a free man; He was eight years old when he went on a trip, he loved it. He wanted to see a show, he was completely crazy, he was playing air guitar at the Bell Center. It was delirium. “He took advantage of every moment, he had a lot of fun,” she explains.
However, like everyone else, Paul didn't always laugh. He had his personal worries, says Ms. Parisien. However, the host never allowed these problems to affect his work.
“One moment you go on air, then you leave your problems outside. He taught me that,” she admits.
Even if Paul was preoccupied or disturbed for some reason, the host knew how to put all that aside as soon as the “red light came on”: “He lit it too, he shined.”
“The studio was his home. He was home, he was comfortable and radio was really his job, his first job,” she says bluntly.
Wave of love
The numerous reactions and tributes that have been expressed since yesterday in memory of Paul Houde deeply touch Ms. Parisien.
“It is extremely touching to see and read everything that is said,” she said movedly and expressed her condolences to the family, but also to the listeners, for whom Mr Houde's death was also a shock.
“I think we all had a very, very bad day yesterday,” says Thérèse Parisien sadly.
Listen to the full interview with Paul Houde's great friend and colleague Thérèse Parisien in the video at the beginning of the article.