Michael McDonald (comedian)

Michael McDonald
McDonald in 2010
Born	Michael James McDonald (1964-12-31) December 31, 1964 Fullerton, California, U.S.
Other names	Mike McDonald
Occupation	Stand-up comedian, actor, director, writer, comedian
Years active	1987–present
Website
http://michaelmcdonald.biz/

Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American actor, director, writer, and comedian. He is best known for starring in the sketch comedy show MADtv. McDonald joined the show during the fourth season (1998) and remained in the cast until the end of the thirteenth and penultimate season, having become the longest-tenured cast member. While on the show, he developed many memorable characters. He was a contributing writer and director on MADtv.

McDonald has also directed several episodes of the comedy-drama series Scrubs, on which he has guest-starred 6 times.

McDonald currently divides his time between writing, directing, and acting on various film and television projects, as well as performing live on stage across the country.

Early life

McDonald was born in Fullerton, California. He graduated from St. Juliana Catholic Elementary School in Fullerton, and later went to Servite High School in Anaheim, California, and graduated from the University of Southern California with a business degree. While at USC, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He worked as a loan officer at a bank in Los Angeles.

After college, a friend took McDonald to see an improv comedy show at Groundling Theater. McDonald quit his job at the bank and enrolled in Groundling's improv program. He was a member of the troupe from 1992 to 1997. During that time, he was also involved in writing and directing films for Roger Corman.

Later on, McDonald would guest star in such shows as Seinfeld (in two episodes playing two different parts), Just Shoot Me!, Family Matters, Scrubs and NewsRadio. He also made brief appearances in all three Austin Powers movies. McDonald had a starring role with Will Forte and Nicole Sullivan on the short-lived MTV show Clone High as the voice of Gandhi.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Michael is currently touring at stand up comedy clubs across the country. His stand-up comedy special Michael McDonald: Model Citizen premiered on Showtime on October 9, 2010. Filmed in Orange County at the OC Pavilion, it has been described as "Part stand-up comedy, part one man show, this special is for anyone who – like Michael – finds humor in the strange world all around us."

Cougar Town

McDonald is also a writer, director, and producer of the ABC TV series Cougar Town.

He's directed a number of episodes of the show, among which:

• Letting You Go, 2010
• Everything Man, 2010
• When a Kid Goes Bad, 2010
• Stop Dragging My Heart Around, 2010
• Don't Come Around Here No More, 2009

McDonald also wrote the episode "Wake Up Time."

MADtv

McDonald joined the cast of MADtv in 1998, eventually becoming the longest-standing cast member in the show's history (10 seasons). He performed several recurring characters, including Stuart, Rusty Miller, Marvin Tikvah, Sean Gidcomb, Bible Dude, the Depressed Persian Tow Truck Driver, and F. Michael McKrofsky of "Real M*********ing Talk." His repertoire also included impressions of celebrities and well-known figures, including Al Gore, Bob Barker, John Kerry, Dr. Phil, Bill O'Reilly, Maury Povich, Chris Martin, Steve Jobs, Mel Gibson, Chris Hansen, Roy Horn, Ozzy Osbourne, John Ramsey, Freddie Prinze, Jr., J. K. Simmons (as Mac McGuff, Juno's father), William Petersen (as Gil Grissom), Jack Coleman (as Noah Bennet), Hugh Laurie (as Gregory House), Hugh Beaumont (as Ward Cleaver), Sarah Jessica Parker (as Carrie Bradshaw), Dr. Drew, Adam Sandler, Howie Mandel, Dick Cheney, Clint Eastwood, Gray Davis, Simon Cowell, JC Chasez, Bruce Jenner, Michael Richards, Chris Burke, Charlie Sheen (as Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men)), David Schwimmer (as Ross Geller), Jeff Probst, Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Howard K. Stern, Tommy Lee, Bob Goen, Criss Angel, Jeff Foxworthy, Saddam Hussein, Matthew Good, Daniel Powter, Larry David, Barry Gibb, Eddie Vedder, and Brad Garrett.

McDonald was the last member of the cast to have appeared on the show during the 1990s, and the last cast member to have been born in the 1960s.

After 10 years on MADtv, McDonald left the show, but was still a contributing director and writer.

McDonald is the only cast member to have a BEST OF Compilation Episode on MADtv.

Film and television appearances

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael McDonald.

• Michael McDonald on Twitter
• Michael McDonald at the Internet Movie Database