'Everybody loved him': Winnipeg comedian who died in house fire always wanted to make people happy, aunt says
CBC
A beloved Winnipeg comedian who was killed in a house fire was a "gentle giant" who had wanted to be a showman since he was a boy, his aunt says.
Clayton Stewart was found dead in a Nassau Street home after a fire Monday afternoon. The 45-year-old was a seasoned veteran of Winnipeg's standup comedy scene, having toured across the country and in the U.S.
Linda Wilks, Stewart's aunt, said he always took time to visit her when he was doing shows in British Columbia, where she now lives. The two talked often, she said.
She couldn't believe it when she heard the news, she said.
"I broke down. I couldn't talk to anybody. I just, I couldn't talk without crying," Wilks said. "He was a wonderful, caring, just an awesome person. Everybody loved him. He had so many friends."
In addition to performing as a standup, Stewart was an actor and a magician.
Wilks said while she never saw her nephew act on stage, she would often see comedy videos he put on social media, and saw him perform magic tricks for her daughter and granddaughter.
"He did really good at the magic tricks," she said. "They just loved it. They were in awe."
Stewart is the third person to die in a fire in the city this year, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt said at a news conference Wednesday.
The first fire crew arrived at the house about five minutes after the 911 call came in on Monday afternoon, Schmidt said. The caller told officials that a person may have been trapped inside, he said.
The fire was "so significant" that firefighters couldn't safely enter the building until after an exterior fire attack quelled some of the flames, he said.
"The issue with this call was the significant development of fire, both on the exterior and interior of the building," Schmidt said.
"Our crews are trained to save lives and property, and this kind of incident will stick with them for some time."
A man and a woman in their 60s and a woman in her 30s escaped the fire, Winnipeg police said in a news release Tuesday. The three were taken to hospital and have since been released, police said.
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