Legendary 'Last Word' storyteller Mike McCardell prepares to say goodbye after 62-year career
After 62 years in the news business, Mike McCardell has decided it’s time to call it a day.
“I’m 80 years old,” he says. “I’m tired.”
Since the mid 1970s McCardell has been telling stories to British Columbians on television, becoming well known for his signature style of delivery and penchant for introducing audiences to unusual and often uplifting characters he meets on the street.
He got his start in print, chasing crime stories in the early '60s for the New York Daily News. It was a rough and tumble introduction to local journalism in a dangerous city.
“It was my job to count the bodies and the bullet casings at the shootings."
He had his teeth knocked out one day by a stranger. When his wife Valerie lay on top of their young son and daughter at a playground to protect them during a gun battle between police and a local gang, they knew it was time to leave.
An article about Vancouver in a 1973 edition of National Geographic convinced them to make a new start in Canada.
“I slid the magazine across the kitchen table and I asked Valerie if she wants to go there, and she said yes.”
After a stint covering the crime beat at the Vancouver Sun, he was hired as a television reporter at an up and coming station called BCTV, where he distinguished himself for an ability to find and tell memorable human interest stories. He never looked back, and his slot at the end of the 6 o’clock news became must-see TV for generations of families around the province.
When he jumped over to CTV News Vancouver in 2013, the station christened his segment “The Last Word.”
A 62-year career that includes thousands of stories and the publication of 13 books is impressive enough in its own right, but even more remarkable considering McCardell has trouble reading. “I am totally dyslexic,” he shares. In order to write, he “just started talking to the wall and learned how to type.”
Looking back, he feels grateful and lucky. “It was fun. It was just great. I don’t even think I’m good at it. I just listen to somebody and they tell a story and I just say something positive I’ve learned about them.”
Mike’s last day on the job will be Friday, Aug. 30. His last story – a farewell to British Columbia TV viewers – will run at the end of CTV News at Six. A Final Word from one of B.C.’s most beloved storytellers.
“Every story is my favourite story when I’m doing it. Today’s story is the most important story to me in my life, and tomorrow’s will be the same thing."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7033216.1726021317!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Kamala Harris goes on offence against Donald Trump in combative debate
Democratic U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris put Republican Donald Trump on the defensive at a combative U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday with a stream of attacks on abortion limits, his fitness for office and his myriad legal woes.
Key quotes from the Trump-Harris 2024 U.S. presidential debate
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump took the stage on Tuesday night for their first and only scheduled presidential debate before the Nov. 5 election.
FACT CHECK: A look at the false and misleading claims made during the Trump-Harris debate
In their first and perhaps only debate, former U.S. president Donald Trump and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris described the state of the country in starkly different terms. As the two traded jabs, some old false and misleading claims emerged along with some new ones.
Trump campaign falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets
Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s campaign and his allies are amplifying false rumours that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, another instance of the inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric Trump has promoted throughout his campaigns.
U.S. presidential historian predicts results of November elections. Here's who he says will win
An American presidential historian is predicting a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections in November.
Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for U.S. president after debate ends
Taylor Swift, one of the music industry's biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.
Some restaurants have increased their default tip options. Canadians think you should give this much
Despite what the default options on the payment terminal might read, most Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.
Dave Grohl says he fathered a child outside of his marriage
The Foo Fighters frontman announced that he recently became a father again, writing in a statement on his Instagram page on Tuesday that his new baby girl was born 'outside' of his marriage to his wife Jordyn Blum.
$2M home belonging to children's musician Raffi on the market
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.