Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for starring in the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

''. 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.

Early life

McDonald was born in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

. He graduated from St. Juliana Catholic Elementary School in Fullerton, and later went to

Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory high school operated by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary on a campus in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area in Anaheim, California, US. It was founded by the Servites in ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, and graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

with a business degree. After college, a friend took McDonald to see an

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

show at The Groundlings Theater. McDonald quit his job at the bank and enrolled in The Groundlings 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 William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

. Later on, McDonald would guest star in such shows as ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' (in two episodes playing two different parts), ''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive pr ...

'', ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...

'', '' Scrubs'' and ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen ...

''. He also made brief cameos in all three ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and '' Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced ...

'' films. McDonald had a starring role with

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

and

Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom '' ...

on the short-lived MTV show ''

Clone High ''Clone High'' (occasionally referred to in the United States as ''Clone High USA'') is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. The show centers on a high school populated by the clo ...

'' as the voice of

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Career

Stand-up comedy

McDonald is currently touring at stand-up comedy clubs across the country. His stand-up comedy special ''Michael McDonald: Model Citizen'' premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

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 was also a writer, director, and producer of the ABC TV series ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. ABC ...

''. He directed a number of

episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...

of the show, including "Letting You Go", "Everything Man", "When a Kid Goes Bad", "Stop Dragging My Heart Around", and "Don't Come Around Here No More". 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 Larkin, Rusty Miller, Marvin Tikvah, Sean Gidcomb, Bible Dude, the Depressed Persian Tow Truck Man, Fightin' Ron, and F. Michael McKrofsky of "Real M*********ing Talk" (replacing

Andrew Daly Andrew J. Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series ''Review'', and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series '' Eastbound & Down'' as Terrence Cutler. ...

's token white commentator on that sketch). Much like Darrell Hammond, Phil Hartman, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Hader on ''Saturday Night Live'', McDonald was the go-to cast member for a litany of impressions, ranging from past and present media stars to world leaders and American political figures. After 10 years on ''MADtv'', McDonald left the cast, but was a contributing writer and director for the show's final season. McDonald was the last member of the cast to be hired in the 1990s, and the last cast member to have been born in the 1960s, and is the only cast member to have a "best of" clip show special dedicated to him.

''Something So Right''

McDonald appeared as the lead Carly's assistant in the 1996 sitcom, first appearing in season one episode four, ''Something About a Family Photo''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stand-up specials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Michael 1964 births Male actors from Fullerton, California American male comedians American male film actors American impressionists (entertainers) American male television actors American television directors American television writers American male television writers American male voice actors Living people Marshall School of Business alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians Comedians from California Servite High School alumni Screenwriters from California 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians