Where is drew and mike

The cause of death was not noted in a post published Tuesday afternoon on Clark's official account. He is now flying high like he always wanted," read the post. Clark held a pilot's license and was a certified flying instructor. Clark reunited with Drew Lane in for a daily podcast, though he appeared infrequently in recent years and was stymied by a paralyzed vocal cord. What we knew is that he was getting stronger. During the "Drew and Mike" run, Clark was the on-air everyman, his raspy voice, raucous laugh and man-of-the-street Michigan accent playing off Lane's polished radio chops.

Clark piloted the show on his own from to as Lane took a sabbatical and then sought a spot on afternoon radio. The duo's potty humor and topical segments helped reap massive listenership, particularly during their first decade at WRIF. Clark and Lane reigned for years atop the local Arbitron ratings in the key demographic beloved by advertisers.

Howard Stern's syndicated morning show was among those that struggled to make a dent against the "Drew and Mike" juggernaut in the late '90s.

Clark, a former emergency medical technician, was working with Michigan Consolidated Gas when he made his first inroads on Detroit radio, enlisted by a friend at WRIF for spots with then-morning jock Ken Calvert.

Clark was never formally trained in radio — which redounded to his benefit, Fellhauer said. He started radio full-time at 37 — a pretty ballsy move. When Lane took over the morning shift in , Clark was tapped as a surly traffic reporter known as "Mr. Stress," and quickly moved into a co-hosting role. Ratings took off. Where Lane was the more polished half of the duo, Clark was the regular guy who connected with listeners and kept the laughs going through tough economic times for the city and the region.

Mike Clark absolutely understood the mindset here and made people laugh at a time when things weren't so good," said Fred Jacobs, president of the Bingham Farms-based Jacobs Media consulting firm. Also on hand are the morale officers, Lane's 9-year-old Papillons. Maggs is a portly male who has to be carried to and from the basement because he weighs 30 pounds. His sister, Layla, weighs a proper 13 pounds and has to be carried because the narrow staircase is steep.

McLain, 75, could also use a lift. It was a character trait as well as a punchline. Lane never resets his clocks for daylight savings time: "I just remember it's an hour behind. Lane says Clark, 63, was starting to take better care of himself, but he still liked cigarettes more than doctors. Health issues, including a paralyzed vocal cord, limited him to two appearances a week on the uncensored five-day podcast that still carries his name and his imprint.

The podcast started in as the broadcasters' equivalent of a hobby farm. No ads, no income, "just a fun way for Mike and I to reconnect with the audience. Trudi Daniels, their old newscaster, had been laid off, so she sat in. He also joined the team, along with Daniels' son, Joey Zuver. Longtime local sportscaster Tom Mazawey popped in once a week. The audience kept growing, but Daniels and Fellhauer couldn't work for the smiles. He started selling merchandise at drewandmikepodcast. Started selling ads.

And started chipping away at the industry that launched him. When he started, Specs Howard focused on radio and television. Now, says Kernen, 81, "you can't just look at radio anymore. There are so many options for somebody like Drew to get into people's lives.

It's really changing the face of the business. Many of the , are inactive. Many are idle pastimes. Many have audiences that could be counted by a first-grader. Many are awful. On the other hand, there were The most popular podcasts reach millions of people and earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. Podcasts can be paused. They are adaptable to the listener's schedule.

On Lane's unusually lengthy two-hour, minute show, all commercials are read live, and there are no more than three in succession. Radio's Nielsen ratings are based on a small sampling, but there's science behind them, and they measure listenership by the quarter-hour. With downloads, there's no way to tell how long someone tunes in, or whether that person listens at all. Ads can be skipped.

According to the streaming site Spotify, Lane's show is the most distinctively popular podcast in Michigan, meaning it's the most downloaded in Michigan that's not also the most downloaded somewhere else. According to general manager Stephen Gabarra of Szott Ford in Holly, the show moves 14 to 16 vehicles per month. Gabbara, 48, had been a faithful listener on WRIF.

Once he found the podcast, he began emailing, asking to advertise. Lane wasn't interested. Finally, he sent an email referencing Fellhauer: "Let's pay Marc's salary. The Szott group of dealerships sponsors the Red Shovel studio, which is expressed during the shows as "Proud sponsors of Drew Lane's basement.

The first month, he says, "Drew and I communicated five times a day, literally. He was so nervous about taking someone's money.