Michael Hitchcock is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

, screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

, and television producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

.

In 2011, Hitchcock became a writer and consulting producer for season 3 of the FOX

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 television series Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, where he had guest starred in season 1

Glee (season 1)

The first season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired on Fox in the United States. The pilot episode was broadcast as an advanced preview of the series on May 19, 2009, with the remainder of the season airing between September 9, 2009 and June 8, 2010...

 as rival glee club director Dalton Rumba.

As an actor, he has appeared in several of Christopher Guest

Christopher Guest

Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...

's critically acclaimed movies, including Waiting for Guffman

Waiting for Guffman

Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of...

(1996), Best in Show

Best in Show (film)

Best in Show is a 2000 independent film that follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show. The film focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers as they travel to the show and compete. Much of the dialogue was improvised.Christopher Guest directed; he also...

(2000), A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest...

(2003), and For Your Consideration

For Your Consideration (film)

For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film....

(2006). Best in Show earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Comedy” and won “Funniest Motion Picture” by the American Comedy Awards

American Comedy Awards

The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States from 1987 to 2001 recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films...

 and British Comedy Awards

British Comedy Awards

The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...

. Hitchcock and his co-actors from A Mighty Wind were awarded “Best Ensemble Cast” by Florida Film Critics Circle

Florida Film Critics Circle

The Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of film reviewers from fourteen Florida-based publications and websites. In December, the FFCC meets to vote on their awards for films released during that year.- Categories :* Best Actor...

  and were nominated for “Best Ensemble Acting” by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.

Other film appearances include Super 8

Super 8 (film)

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction action film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters...

, Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids (2011 film)

Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....

(2011), Operation: Endgame (2010), Smiley Face

Smiley Face (film)

Smiley Face is a 2007 American/German comedy film written by Dylan Haggerty and directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki. It stars Anna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating a large number of cupcakes laced with cannabis...

, Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...

(2007), Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

's Serenity

Serenity (film)

Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...

, Pretty Persuasion

Pretty Persuasion

Pretty Persuasion is a 2005 American black comedy/satirical film about a 15-year-old schoolgirl who makes an allegation of sexual harassment against her drama teacher. The film's tagline is: "Revenge knows no mercy." It was written by Skander Halim and directed by Marcos Siega...

(2005), Heartbreakers (2001), and Happy, Texas

Happy, Texas (film)

Happy, Texas is a comedy film released in 1999 directed by Mark Illsley, and starring Steve Zahn, Jeremy Northam and William H. Macy.- Plot :...

(1999).

On television, Hitchcock recurred on seasons 2 and 3 of the Showtime series United States of Tara and seasons 1 and 2 of the TNT

TNT

TNT is the chemical explosive trinitrotoluene.TNT or T.N.T. may also refer to:-Television:* TNT , American cable television channel and its international offshoots* TNT , a television station in Launceston, Australia...

 series Men of a Certain Age

Men of a Certain Age

Men of a Certain Age is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on TNT on December 7, 2009. The hour-long program stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula as three best friends in their late forties dealing with the realities of middle age. The show ran for two years,...

. Other television appearances include Up All Night

Up All Night (TV series)

Up All Night is an American television comedy series created by Emily Spivey that premiered on NBC on September 14, 2011, at 10 p.m. , before assuming its regular time slot on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 8 p.m....

, Entourage

Entourage (TV series)

Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

, Party Down

Party Down

Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...

, Pushing Daisies, Arrested Development, Head Case

Head Case (TV series)

Head Case is a comedy starring Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a therapist who treats Hollywood stars. Celebrities appear on the show as themselves. The show ran for three series, airing on the Starz TV Network, Wednesdays, at 10 p.m., EST....

, Las Vegas

Las Vegas (TV series)

Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...

, MADtv

MADtv

MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...

, Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

, The Suite Life on Deck

The Suite Life on Deck

The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...

, Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe (TV series)

Grosse Pointe is an American television parody series which aired on the WB Network during the 2000-2001 television season. Created by Darren Star, it was a satire depicting the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of a television show, and was inspired in large part by Star's experiences as the...

and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...

.

Early life

Hitchcock received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

. He is a graduate of Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School is a public high school located in La Grange, Illinois. Freshmen and sophomores attend class at South campus, located at 4900 S. Willow Springs Rd. in Western Springs, while juniors and seniors attend class at North campus, located at 100 S. Brainard Ave. in La Grange,...

 in LaGrange, Illinois.

Career

In 1999, Hitchcock became a writer for the FOX

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 late-night comedy series MADtv

MADtv

MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...

, and became one of the series' producers in 2001. He also played the role of Simeon Dyson, an obnoxious, drug-abusing game show announcer on the recurring MADtv sketch, "The Lillian Verner Game Show". During his tenure, the MADtv writing team was nominated for three Writers Guild of America Awards in the Comedy/Variety category (in 2003, 2004, and 2005).

Hitchcock's other writing credits include the comedy films House Arrest

House Arrest (film)

House Arrest is a 1996 comedy film. The film was directed by Harry Winer who has directed other films but is more prolific as a television series director. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Pollak...

(1996), and The Ultimate Christmas Present

The Ultimate Christmas Present

The Ultimate Christmas Present is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Brenda Song and Hallee Hirsh.-Plot:Two teen girls, Samantha Elizabeth "Sam" Kwan and Allison Rachel "Allie" Thompson find a weather machine at a shack in the woods. After learning of its controls, they use it to...

(2000) as well as the critically acclaimed drama Where the Day Takes You

Where the Day Takes You

Where the Day Takes You is a 1992 film directed by Marc Rocco. The film tells the story of teenage runaways trying to survive on the streets of Los Angeles...

(1992), which marked the film acting debut of Will Smith

Will Smith

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...

 and also featured Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney

-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...

, Lara Flynn Boyle

Lara Flynn Boyle

Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...

, Sean Astin

Sean Astin

Sean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...

, Balthazar Getty

Balthazar Getty

Balthazar Getty is an American film actor and member of the band Ringside. He is known for the roles of Thomas Grace on the American action drama Alias and Tommy Walker on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.-Early life:...

, and Christian Slater

Christian Slater

Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...

. Where the Day Takes You was nominated for the "Critics Award" at the Deauville Film Festival, and Mulroney won "Best Actor" at the Seattle International Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...

.

Hitchcock is also an alumnus of The Groundlings

The Groundlings

The Groundlings are an improvisational comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin to produce sketches and improvised scenes...

, a Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

-based improvisational and sketch comedy troupe. Although he retired from the theatre's Main Stage Company in the mid 1990s, Hitchcock still comes back regularly to perform in The Groundlings’ all-improv show Cookin' with Gas.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School is a public high school located in La Grange, Illinois. Freshmen and sophomores attend class at South campus, located at 4900 S. Willow Springs Rd. in Western Springs, while juniors and seniors attend class at North campus, located at 100 S. Brainard Ave. in La Grange,...

 Hall of Fame. Hitchcock currently resides in Los Angeles.

External links