Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American comedian and actor formerly starring in the sketch comedy show MADtv. McDonald joined the show during the fourth season (1998) and currently holds the record as the longest serving cast member. While on the show, he developed many memorable characters.
Early life
McDonald graduated from 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 him 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!, 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
MADtv
McDonald joined the cast of MADtv 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, Rusty Miller, Marvin Tikvah, Sean Gidcomb, Bible Dude, and Mofaz the Depressed Persian Tow Truck Driver. McDonald also performs impressions of celebrities and well-known figures, including Al Gore, Bob Barker, John Kerry, Dr. Phil, Bill O'Reilly, Maury Povich, Steve Jobs, Chris Hansen, Ozzy Osbourne, John Ramsey, William Petersen (as Gil Grissom), Hugh Laurie (as Gregory House), Sarah Jessica Parker (as Carrie Bradshaw) Drew Pinsky, Jim Carrey, John Travolta, Dick Cheney, and Simon Cowell. On June 21st, the fan site Planet MADtv reported that he will be leaving MADtv after 10 seasons. [1]
Film/TV roles
Footnotes
External links
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