Michael Paul – BIOGRAPHY

 

“The Swiss Army knife of entertainment!”

– MODERN LUXURY MAGAZINE

 

THE SHORT STORY

Philly native, Michael Paul began his career in local television at age 16. Sustaining a 25-year comedy career, he honed his craft touring with such names as James Brown, Lisa Lampanelli, Wynonna, Joan Rivers and Don Rickles. An audience with Queen Elizabeth II, voted Atlantic City Magazine’s “Act of the Year,” becoming a headliner in over 40 countries along with television credits on The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, America’s Got Talent & Youtube videos hitting over 17 million. He has also received the Medal of Appreciation from the Airforce Secret Service, Navy and Nasa.

Acting roles in “27 Dresses” opposite Katherine Heigl, “The Ten” co-starring with Winona Ryder &  Paul Rudd,  “The Ventriloquist” with Kevin Spacey and Star Trek: Picard.

Also lending his voice to Pixar, Cartoon Network, Jim Henson Productions and Disney and is well known for creating branded puppet characters including, “Nadia Coma: The World’s Oldest Gymnast” and MTV‘s “CJ and Peanut” as well as training casts of “The Lion King” and “Avenue Q”.

Michael’s published works include comedic editorials for USA Today, Huffington Post, LaughSpin and his all star book “Breaking Out of Show Business: What I Discovered by Not Being Discovered” (by Post Hill Publishing) can be found at numerous book outlets including Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Behind the scenes he provides script coverage/directing for Netflix, ABC Digital, The Disney Channel, CBS Comedy Division, Robert DeNiro, Jennifer Hudson, Tiffany Haddish,  Bill Maher, the Comedy Central Roasts and he has taught at UCLA, NYC, PACE, SAG-AFTRA’s Master Class and at the Eugene O’Neil Conference.

 

 

THE LONG STORY

1986: Michael Paul’s professional career began  at age 16 in local television within the 4th largest market of Philadelphia. He landed himself a job at WPHL-TV working on the local, “Dancin’ On Air” and national sister show “Dance Party USA” on the USA Network after convincing high school officials to excuse him from elective courses.

 

1987:  While a part of a studio audience at KYW-TV3, he snuck away giving himself an unauthorized tour of the station, then becoming the youngest production assistant hired at an NBC o/o station. He was assigned to TV Programming with production formats including magazine, talk, late night, telethon, parade & news with now established producers including Ed Glavin (The Ellen DeGeneres Show), Ray Murray (Trading Spaces) and Glen Davish (The View).

 

1988:  Michael & his teen-crew sneak into the Grammy Awards reporting and interviewing from the red carpet and press room.

 

1989:   His contract ended and Michael needed work or he would have to go back to class full time. By day, he got a job in WCAU CBS – News Talk Radio’s PR/Marketing Department, which he landed after being the only applicant to venture out in the biggest blizzard of the season for the interview.

 

These jobs that began in production, would later open the door to being cast as “talent” including stints as the “Eyewitness Teen Reporter“, and radio host of “A Turn For Teens“. And after a strategic encounter with his childhood hero, Muppet creator Jim Henson, Michael was invited to New York to assist in the workshop and later on Sesame Street after jumping off a Disney studio tour mid-tram ride to meet the puppet patriarch.

 

1990:  He also accepted a night job with Greg Thompson Productions as a local theater stage technician. Over the next several years he toured with the casino revue show producer, mounting shows in every major resort location around the globe as performance coordinator, road manager, technical director, special appearances coordinator or casting and scouting. It is also where he met and was fostered by Patricia Ziegfeld, daughter of the Follies producer, Florenz and took the family name for the next 20 years of his career.

 

1992: Michael was drawn to the comedy acts he befriended slowly experimenting in stand-up comedy and eventually going on tour. After three years and eventually headlining name clubs like Caroline’s, The Comedy Stop and The Funny Bone, he was introduced to name ventriloquist, Ronn Lucas who inspired him to revisit his childhood love of puppetry when another club circuit staple, Dan Horn taught him the basics of the ventriloquism technique.

 

With the over-saturation of stand up comedians in the 90’s, Michael added the ventriloquism into his stage show giving him a marketing edge in bookings. The 20 year comedy career had him sharing the bill with names like James Brown (he was the only white guy in the room), Wynonna Judd (the only Jew in the room), Joan Rivers, Don Rickels, The Mills Brothers, The Beach Boys, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Foxworthy, The Pointer Sisters, Lisa Lampanelli, headlining stage shows in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Tahoe, Biloxi, New York, Hollywood, cruise lines, and corporate clients with an act that included stand-up, improv, audience participation, music and his ventriloquist characters, “The International Bird of Prey“, “The World’s Oldest Gymnast” and a talking plate of food.

 

1994:   Michael had an audience with Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II after sneaking into the receiving line dressed as security.

 

1998: He was voted Atlantic City’s “Act of the Year” by Atlantic City Magazine, TV appearances included The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central Mix, The Grammy Awards, The Jerry Lewis Telethon.

 

1999-2006: Produced his first comedy DVD, “Jewicidal Tendencies” from the famed Stand Up New York comedy club, and branched out into acting with a voice over career lending voice to Saturday Night Live’s irreverant, TV Funhouse, Ritz Crackers, The Moodsters, The American Music Awards, Coca-Cola, Mc Donald’s, Crank Yankers and a puppeteering career creating characters for The Jim Henson Company, Pixar, MTV, Disney and Comedy Central.

 

2007:   He co-starred with Winona Ryder& Paul Rudd in David Wain’s The Ten playing duel roles of “Harlan Swallow” and “Gary” a disturbed assistant to a superstar agent (Ron Silver). He also premiered his critically acclaimed, off-Broadway show “Ziegfeld’s Folly: My Rise to the Middle of Show Business” later running in Los Angeles.

 

2008:   Michael played opposite Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses. After the audition, the character was given a threaded role in the film and renamed “Ziggy”, Michael’s actual nick name.

 

2012:   He wore multiple hats on the indie film, The Ventriloquist as Kevin Spacey’s performance coach, consultant on production, and special effects performer.

 

Michael is bi-coastal, living in Hollywood, California while his main office of The Ziegfeld Company Incorporated & Michael Paul: Behind the Scenes, is based in New York City. He built the company to include Emmy© nominated choreographer, Brian Thomas, TV production services director, Nick Buzzell ( www.NBTVInc.com ) and others as the go-to creative team   specializing in the creating and branding of television & live productions for clients like David Gest, NBC, Siegfried & Roy, Club Med, Global Industries, Texas Instruments, Health South, The Miss America Association, Mystic Lake Hotel & Casino, Dick Clark Productions, Anheiser-Busch International, Big Brothers, Caesars Palace, Celebrity Cruises,  house director at the prestigious Beverly Hilton Hotel’s International Ballroom, home of The Golden Globes, and  pilots like “The Pasek & Paul Show” and “College Cooking”.

 

2014: Writing, directing and developing branded television & digital media content,  plucked to direct the long awaited tribute to songstress, Phyllis Hyman live from the ApolloTheater, the magazine / fashion TV show Heel Me,  The Legends of Aviation and the 43rd Academy of Magical Arts Awards. Writing for The Friar’s Roasts, Real Time with Bill Maher, Disney Television Productions, The Late Show,  The Huffington Post, USA Today.

 

2015:Michael authored his first book to great reviews. “Breaking Out of Show Business: What I Discovered by Not Being Discovered”by Post Hill Publishing is now in stores and Amazon.com.

 

2016: Consulted, coached, re-worked or re-cast productions for CBS Comedy Development, TNT, Oscar winner, Kevin Spacey, Wayne Brady (Who’s Line), Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye/Mailbu Country), Bobby Cassell (Spring Awakenings), Jeri Sager (Cats/Sunset Blvd), Branden James (America’s Got Talent) and Deepak Sethi (Family Guy/Dumb & Dumber).

 

2017: Teaching at UCLA, NYU, PACE, Eugene O’Neil Conference

 

2018: Appearing in the show “Wondertown”, coverage writing or directing America’s Got Talent stars, The Legacy Awards at the Hollywood Dolby Theater, Robert DeNiro and the cast of The Greatest Showman, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freedman, John Travolta. Writing/co-directing “Hotline” with Alex Griffin (Jim Henson Puppet Dreams),  and more production work at www.MichaelPaulBTS.com

 

2019:  Appears on America’s Got Talent getting 4 “yeses” and the video hitting the 12 million mark online (between YouTube & Talent Recap).  The “Breaking Out” book goes into reprint with new Epilogue pages and critic’s reviews. He also creates and performs puppet look-a-like board members to star in informational, comedic video and social media content for the Thermo Fisher Scientific national conference.

 

2020: In the midst of COVID19, re-imagines global, live, digital and virtual events and broadcasts to rave reviews for Oaktree Financial, Major League Baseball, Al Roker & Friends and his own LATE NIGHT MAGIC TOUCH with MICHAEL PAUL produced by Ryan Joyce (Penn & Teller’s Fool Us). Now his www.ACMproShows.com is producing critically acclaimed programming including  “45 Minutes of Inspiration” starring Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Ben Platt & more! 

 

2021: Produces, writes and directs The 34th American Cinematheque Awards Honoring Spike Lee, hosted by Jodie Foster. Wins 4 Telly Awards for directing/writing & program content producing, as well as winning the Academy of Visual Arts’s Communicator Award for branded editorial experience. Cast in Las Vegas’s Harris Law Office commercial series and as “Glob,” in Cartoon Network‘s “Cartoonito.”

 

2022: Cast as “Shriv” in the Paramount+ launch of “Star Trek: Picard” Season 2. Returns as “Glob” in the Warner Media Upfronts opposite T-Pain, Ashely Nicole Black & Ben Mankiewicz and a cameo on Gordon Ramsey’s “Hell’s Kitchen” along with a feature in Modern Luxury’s Philadelphia Style Magazine.