Andy Martello

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Andy Martello
Born	May 30, 1970

Andy Martello (born May 30, 1970) is a juggler and interactive (strolling) stand-up comic based in the Chicago area of Illinois. Martello is an alumnus of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and his act, which also includes fire-eating and plate-spinning, has been featured in a variety of fairs and circuses. His most notable performance was for the Washington Press Corp's Salute to the 101st United States Congress in Washington, D.C., which featured an audience including John Glenn, C. Everett Koop, Ted Kennedy, and President George H. W. Bush.

Martello has also performed on WGN-TV's popular program, Bozo's Circus and as a supporting act for Phil Collins and Cheap Trick. He also featured at the World Music Theatre during 2001's Area:One festival, featuring Moby, Incubus, and Outkast.

[edit] Early years

Martello's first acting performance was at the age of ten as Randolph MacAfee in a summer production of Bye Bye Birdie. In love with the sounds of applause and laughter, he soon learned how to perform simple magic tricks, hoping one day to take the stage and become a famous magician, but later abandoned magic and began juggling instead. His first professional gig was as a strolling performer at a church craft fair when he was fifteen. Unprepared for a long performance, Martello only had fifteen minutes of material rehearsed. To fill in his remaining time, he began to interact with the crowd, telling jokes and incorporating the entire audience into his routine. This interactive comedy remains to this day as a staple in Martello's act.