[1] Born in Metz, France, he was the son of a career Royal Canadian Air Force officer.
[2] MacDonald spent the first 15 years of his life on military bases throughout France, West Germany and Canada.
[1] When his father retired from the military, his family settled in Ottawa, where MacDonald attended Brookfield High School.
MacDonald spent the next few years in various jobs including drive-in restaurant employee, ballroom dance instructor, and teacher's aide for mentally challenged children.
"Happy As I Can Be" in its one-hour format also achieved a number one rating when it aired in prime time in Canada on the CBC.
[5] He starred in feature-length documentary The Mike Stand[6] focusing on his return to comedy post transplant due out in late 2018.
[7] In 2011, MacDonald was diagnosed with hepatitis C,[8] and he moved back to Ottawa from Glendale, California, where his wife Bonnie was hoping to sell their house.
[2] Friends organized a campaign to collect donations to support MacDonald and to help cover his medical expenses.