Michael Buckley (Internet celebrity)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Buckley | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Buckley |
| Born | June 8, 1975 Connecticut, U.S. |
| Internet activity | |
| Web alias(es) | peron75, WHATTHEBUCKSHOW |
| Period active | July 2005 - present[1] |
| Host service(s) | YouTube |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, pop culture commentary |
| Official site | www.YouTube.com/WhatTheBuckShow www.BuckHollywood.com |
Michael Buckley is an American internet celebrity based in Connecticut who satirizes American celebrity culture on his vlog What the Buck. He has one of YouTube's most subscribed channels with several million viewers each month.[2] In October 2007 Buckley "broke all records" of YouTube ratings when four of his shows ended up on the week’s 10 top-rated videos.[2] Buckley has appeared in magazines like The Advocate discussing subjects like homophobia on the internet.[3] On 18 March 2008 Buckley won a 2007 YouTube Awards for best commentary with the video "LonelyGirl15 is Dead!".[4][5][6]
Buckley has a husband and lives in Connecticut with their four dogs Ellie, George, Colin and Buddy.[1][7] To show his fans his "softer side", Buckley has also begun to blog about their home life.[7]
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early career
Buckley, a Connecticut native, is one of three children and moved to his parents' summer home on Cape Cod after graduating from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. He began working at a group home for children with developmental disabilities.[7] In 2002, he moved back to Connecticut and started a "normal 9-5 office job".[7] After appearing on television with his friend Kristin Tierney for a fund-raising drive for CPTV the two decided to create a public-access chat show called Table for Two at local public-access television studio in July 2005.[1][7] Both the "Buck the Hustler" and "What The Buck" names derived from an open casting call incident in Brooklyn, "they called me the next day and asked me to come back. They christened me 'Buck the Hustler'."[1]
[edit] Career
"What the Buck" began as a small segment on Table for Two and gave him "a chance to riff and rant on his own".[7] A cousin of his posted some on YouTube and "it snowballed."[1][7] His high-energy and rapid-fire delivery and style has been described as being "irreverent, fast-talking, pop-culture-obsessed" and likened him to a living can of Red Bull.[7] Buckley started building a following on MySpace and started his YouTube vlogs channel in May 2007 with his main focus centered on celebrities and pop culture often satirizing and parodying them.[1][2] Edge Boston summarized his work as, "Three or four times a week, he uploads his slickly made commentaries on celebrities and pop culture that are amongst the snarkiest to be found on the web."[1] He is one of the most subscribed vloggers rising to be the second most popular comedian within the first five months of posting.[2] His online success has led to more mainstream media work including DirectTV, Leeza Gibbons' syndicated radio show, a regular guest spot on Fox News Channel's weekly gossip show "Lips & Ears" and "RedEye".[7] Courtney Friel, host of Fox's "Lips & Ears", came across "What the Buck" and invited Buckley onto the show, "The beauty of YouTube ... is that they have complete creative freedom".[7]
On 6 September 2007, "The Top (& Bottom) Gays of You Tube!", the first all-gay collaboration video by YouTube's most subscribed video bloggers, was posted by Buckley to create a "YouTube gay village."[1][8] Featuring Chris Crocker, William Sledd,[9] and "Gay God" (Matthew Lush), the video consisted of each of the four bloggers commenting on the others' vlogging, with Buckley acting as host for the various outtakes.[8] As of April 2008 in the rankings of most subscribed channels, in all categories, "What The Buck?!" is 6th, Crocker's channel, "It's Chris Crocker" is 7th, Sledd is 14th and "Gay God" is 29th.[10] As of April 2008, the video has been viewed over 850,000 times, with over 7,000 comments.[8] On 23 April 2008 Buckley began to broadcast regular live shows on the social broadcasting website, BlogTV. His live shows have already been viewed by over 22,000 people. He appears live on Wednesday nights at 10pm and Sunday nights at 7pm.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Nesti, Robert (28 March 2007). What The Buck?!: An Interview with Michael Buckley. Edge Boston. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
- ^ a b c d Kalbag, Sachin (21 October 2007). What the Buck! Comedian holds sway. Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ Doig, Will (February 26, 2008). "Homophobosphere". Advocate.com. Retrieved on March 23, 2008
- ^ Norman, Pete (March 21, 2008). "Chocolate Rain Singer Wins YouTube Award". People.com. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
- ^ Carlson, Erin (March 21, 2008). "Chocolate Rain' claims a YouTube award". Yahoo News via the Associated Press. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
- ^ Powers, Lindsay (March 21, 2008). "YouTube Awards: Chris Crocker Loses for Britney Spears Freak-Out ". US magazine. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Klimkiewicz, Joann (21 October 2007). This Buck Doesn't Stop: How Hyper-Chatty Wallingford Public-Access Host Became YouTube Sensation. The Hartford Courant. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ a b c Buckley, Michael (September 6, 2007). THE TOP (& Bottom) GAYS OF YOU TUBE!. YouTube. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ Fenton, Angie (10 December 2007). Bravo, William, bravo. The Courier-Journal. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
- ^ Most Subscribed : (All Time). YouTube (15 September 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
