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Michael McDonald (actor)

 
Michael McDonald (actor)

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Michael McDonald (actor)



 
 
Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American comedian
Comedian

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

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, and television director, best known for starring in the sketch comedy
Sketch comedy

Sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comedic actors, either on stage or through an audio or/and visual medium such as broadcasting....
 show MADtv
MADtv

MADtv is an United States sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad , but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs....
. McDonald joined the show during the fourth season (1998) and currently holds the record as the longest serving cast member. It was announced that he will not be returning for the fourteenth season of MADtv. While on the show, he developed many memorable characters.

Michael is still a contributing writer and director on MADtv as of 2008.






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Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American comedian
Comedian

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

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, and television director, best known for starring in the sketch comedy
Sketch comedy

Sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comedic actors, either on stage or through an audio or/and visual medium such as broadcasting....
 show MADtv
MADtv

MADtv is an United States sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad , but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs....
. McDonald joined the show during the fourth season (1998) and currently holds the record as the longest serving cast member. It was announced that he will not be returning for the fourteenth season of MADtv. While on the show, he developed many memorable characters.

Michael is still a contributing writer and director on MADtv as of 2008. He has also directed several episodes of ABC's Scrubs, on which he has guest-starred 5 times.

Early life

McDonald graduated from St. Juliana Catholic Elementary School in Fullerton, CA and later went to Servite High School
Servite High School

Servite High School is an all-male, Roman Catholic Church college preparatory high school operated by the Servite . Located on a campus in Anaheim, California, California, USA, as of 2008 it had an enrollment of about 935 and about 8,400 alumni....
 in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of January 1, 2008, the city population was about 346,823, making it the 10th most-populated city in California and ranked 54th in the United States....
, and graduated from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
 with a business degree. While at USC, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta

Phi Delta Theta is an international Fraternities and sororities founded in 1848 and headquartered at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad....
 fraternity. He worked as a loan officer at a bank in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
.

After college, a friend took him to see an improv comedy
Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings....
 show at Groundling Theater
The Groundlings

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

Roger William Corman , sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies , is a prolific United States film producer and film director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: his cycle of films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe for example....
.

Later on, McDonald would guest star in such shows as Seinfeld
Seinfeld

Seinfeld is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Television in the United States Situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in Broadcast syndication....
 (in two episodes playing two different parts), Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!

Just Shoot Me! is an United States television Situation comedy that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4 1997 to August 16 2003, with 148 episodes produced....
, Family Matters, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)

Scrubs is an Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning American comedy-drama that premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence and is produced by ABC Studios ....
 and NewsRadio
NewsRadio

NewsRadio is an United States Situation comedy, originally broadcast from 1995 in television to 1999 in television on NBC.The show was created by executive producer Paul Simms and taped in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center....
. He also made brief appearances in all three Austin Powers
Austin Powers

Sir Austin Danger Powers, Order of the British Empire, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and is portrayed by Mike Myers ....
 movies. McDonald had a starring role with Will Forte
Will Forte

Orville Willis Forte is an United States actor, writer, and comedian....
 and Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Sullivan

Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian.Nicole Sullivan is best known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy Television program MADtv and five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens....
 on the short-lived MTV show Clone High
Clone High

| show_name = Clone High | image = The main characters of Clone High: Mr. Lynn Butlertron, JFK , Cleopatra , Abe , Joan , Gandhi , and Cinnamon J. Scudworth ...
 as the voice of Gandhi.

Career


MADtv

McDonald joined the cast of MADtv
MADtv

MADtv is an United States sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad , but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs....
 in 1998, and has since become the cast member with the longest tenure in the history of the show (10 seasons). He has performed several recurring characters, including Stuart Larkin
MADtv recurring characters

This article contains synopses for many of the more noteworthy recurring characters that have appeared on the sketch comedy television series MADtv....
, Rusty Miller
MADtv recurring characters

This article contains synopses for many of the more noteworthy recurring characters that have appeared on the sketch comedy television series MADtv....
, Marvin Tikvah
MADtv recurring characters

This article contains synopses for many of the more noteworthy recurring characters that have appeared on the sketch comedy television series MADtv....
, Sean Gidcomb, Bible Dude, and Mofaz the Depressed Persian Tow Truck Driver
MADtv recurring characters

This article contains synopses for many of the more noteworthy recurring characters that have appeared on the sketch comedy television series MADtv....
. McDonald also performs impressions of celebrities and well-known figures, including Al Gore
Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an United States environmentalism activist who served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President of the United States Bill Clinton....
, Bob Barker
Bob Barker

Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former United States television game show Master of Ceremonies. He is best known for hosting CBS' The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history....
, John Kerry
John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the Junior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.As the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party , he was defeated by 34 electoral votes in the United States presidential election, 2004 by the Republican Party incumbent President of the United States...
, Dr. Phil
Phil McGraw

'Phillip Calvin McGraw' , best known as 'Dr. Phil', is an United States television personality, author, and former psychologist, currently the host of his own television show, Dr....
, Bill O'Reilly, Maury Povich
Maury Povich

Maurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an United States television talk show personality, who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury . He is married to journalist Connie Chung....
, Chris Martin
Chris Martin

Christopher Anthony John Martin is an England singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, best known for his work as lead vocalist of the band Coldplay....
, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs is an United States businessman and co-founder, Chairman, and Chief executive officer of Apple Inc.. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios....
, Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
, Chris Hansen
Chris Hansen

Christopher Edward "Chris" Hansen is an United States television news journalist. He is well-known for his work on the Dateline NBC television segment To Catch a Predator....
, Roy Horn, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is a Grammy Award winning England singer-songwriter, whose career has now spanned four decades. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of pioneering English heavy metal music band Black Sabbath, and eventually achieved a multi-RIAA certification solo career which revolutionized the heavy metal genre....
, John Ramsey
John Bennett Ramsey

John Bennett Ramsey is the father of homicide victim JonBen?t Ramsey. He was the first to discover JonBen?t's body in the wine cellar of the Ramseys' 15-room home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996, just hours after her murder....
, Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an United States actor. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, including Delgo, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, as well as She's All That, and Scooby-Doo ....
, J. K. Simmons
J. K. Simmons

Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an United States actor. He is known for his role as Neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz , and his role as J....
 (as Mac McGuff, Juno
Juno (film)

Juno is a 2007 in film Cinema of Canada-Cinema of the United States comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her....
's father), William Petersen
William Petersen

William Louis Petersen is a Golden Globe and Emmy nominated American actor and producer, best known for playing Gil Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
 (as Gil Grissom), Jack Coleman
Jack Coleman

John MacDonald "Jack" Coleman is an United States actor and screenwriter, best known for replacing Al Corley in the role of Steven Carrington in the 1980s prime time soap opera, Dynasty , and for portraying Noah Bennet in the science fiction drama series, Heroes ....
 (as Noah Bennet
Noah Bennet

Noah Bennet, also known as the man in Horn-Rimmed Glasses or simply Mr. Bennet, is a fictional character from the NBC drama Heroes played by Jack Coleman....
), Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie

James Hugh Calum Laurie, Order of the British Empire is an English actor, comedian, writer and musician. He first reached fame as one half of the Fry and Laurie double act, along with his friend and comedy partner, Stephen Fry, and then as a cast member of Blackadder....
 (as Gregory House
Gregory House

Gregory House, Doctor of Medicine, is a fictional character and protagonist of the United States medical drama House . Portrayed by Hugh Laurie, the character is a wiktionary:maverick medical genius who heads a team of diagnosis at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital....
), Hugh Beaumont (as Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver

Ward Cleaver is a fictional character in the United States of America television situational comedy Leave It to Beaver. Ward and his wife, June Cleaver, are often invoked as archtype suburbs parents of the babyboomer 1950s....
), Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker , also sometimes referred to by her initials SJP, is an American film, television and theater actress and producer. She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City, for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Emmy Awar...
 (as Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw

Caroline Marie "Carrie" Bradshaw is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, played by actress Sarah Jessica Parker....
), Dr. Drew
Drew Pinsky

David Drew Pinsky , is an American American Board of Medical Specialties internist and addiction medicine medical specialist. He is much more widely known in the U.S....
, Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler

Adam Richard Sandler is an United States comedian, actor, musician, screenwriter and film producer. After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over US$100 million at the box office....
, Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel

Howie Michael Mandel II is a Canada-United States stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is best known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal , as well as the show's Deal or No Deal and Deal or No Deal Canada counterparts....
, Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the George W....
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer. He is known for his tough guy, anti-hero acting roles in Action films and western films, particularly in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s....
, Gray Davis
Gray Davis

Joseph Graham ?Gray? Davis, Jr. is an United States politician who served as California's 37th Governor of California from 1999 to 2003. Davis is a Democratic Party who was often known as a moderate....
, Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell

Simon Phillip Cowell is an England A&R music executive, television personality/Television producer and entrepreneur, best known as a judge on such TV shows as Pop Idol, American Idol, The X Factor , and Britain's Got Talent....
, JC Chasez, Bruce Jenner
Bruce Jenner

William Bruce Jenner is a former United States of America track & field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite, and television personality known principally for winning the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics....
, Michael Richards
Michael Richards

Michael Anthony Richards is an Emmy Award-winning United States actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld....
, Chris Burke
Chris Burke (actor)

Chris Burke is an United States actor with Down syndrome, best known for his character Charles "Corky" Thatcher on the television series Life Goes On ....
, Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen

Carlos Irwin Est?vez , better known as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. His character roles in films have included Chris Taylor in the 1986 Vietnam War drama Platoon and Bud Fox in 1987 film Wall Street ....
 (as Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men)
Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men)

Charles Francis "Charlie" Harper is a fictional character from the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. Played by actor Charlie Sheen, the character has garnered three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series....
), David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer

David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of Television director and Film director. Born in New York, he moved to Los Angeles at the age of two....
 (as Ross Geller
Ross Geller

Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular United States television sitcom Friends , played by David Schwimmer....
), Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst

Jeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an United States game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known for his role as the host of the U.S....
, Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn

Timothy M. Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was chair of fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design from August 2000 to March 2007, until he joined Liz Claiborne as its creative director....
 (Project Runway
Project Runway

Project Runway is a Peabody Award-winning American reality television series on the Bravo which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum....
), Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee

Tommy Lee is an United States musician, and founding member of heavy metal music band M?tley Cr?e. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects....
, Bob Goen
Bob Goen

Robert "Bob" Kuehl Goen is an United States game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on Entertainment Tonight between 1993 and 2004....
, Criss Angel
Criss Angel

Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by his stage name Criss Angel is an United States of Greek people descent. He is a magician, illusionist, musician, escapology, and stunt performer....
, Jeff Foxworthy
Jeff Foxworthy

Jeff Foxworthy is an American stand-up comedian and actor. As a comedian, he is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White....
, and Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power....
.

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

After 10 Years on MADtv
MADtv

MADtv is an United States sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad , but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs....
, Michael left the show, but is still a contributing writer/director.

Television & Film Appearances


External links