Spring Break
Comedian Michael Ian Black Is a Wonderful Man
Carlos Cabrera
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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It's safe to say Michael Ian Black is a household name - or at least a household face. The mainstream crowd has come to know him as one of the talking heads on the various I Love the… programs on VH-11.
You might also know him from all the work he's done over the span of a decade. As a member of The State, Black set a standard of inspired humor that, even today, is used as an example of quality sketch comedy.
Black, along with his State colleagues went on to make more of their absurd brand of comedy, both on the big and small screens (Wet Hot American Summer, Stella, The Ten, The Baxter, Reno 911!).
Currently, he's awaiting the release of his newest screenplay creation, Run, Fat Boy, Run! starring Simon Pegg and Hank Azaria, and his new stand-up album, I Am a Wonderful Man. "It's a great time to do comedy," Black said during a conference call. "With the advent of Youtube and new digital video technology, anyone with a camera and a computer can do it. There's a lot more arenas and venues for sketch than ever before, too."
Black specifically referred to the recent boom in sketch comedy, as well as sketch making a new comeback on basic cable. The success of groups like Whitest Kids U Know and Human Giant is owed, in no small part, to people such as Black, Michael Showalter, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, other sketch comedy performers.
The original cable sketch boom of the 1990s truly began with the work Black and his The State colleagues did. The State beat one program after the next until the end of the sketch wave in the late 1990s. Black, unlike his colleagues who have kept busy with blogs and vlogs, has taken things back to the stage, really delving into his stand-up roots.
"I'm a big fan of all that other stuff, but I find keeping up with a blog or vlog's a real challenge. With stand-up, it's just you and the stage up there, and I really like that," Black said.
During the call, which consists of college students, Black gave a few pearls of wisdom: "Be sure to take advantage of your meal plan," he quipped. "You don't need a degree to act, so I didn't really feel a need to stay [at NYU] but it did allow me to meet the people who'd I'd go on to work with for years afterward."
Black's album, I Am a Wonderful Man has such priceless tracks as "A Series of Letters to Girls I Have Fingered," and coincides with material from his blog, Micheal Ian Black is A Celebrity. With all that Black has accomplished, as well as what's over the horizon (a book release is coming June of next year), Black certainly has earned the label on his MySpace comedy page: Female/Legend. Wait, What?
You might also know him from all the work he's done over the span of a decade. As a member of The State, Black set a standard of inspired humor that, even today, is used as an example of quality sketch comedy.
Black, along with his State colleagues went on to make more of their absurd brand of comedy, both on the big and small screens (Wet Hot American Summer, Stella, The Ten, The Baxter, Reno 911!).
Currently, he's awaiting the release of his newest screenplay creation, Run, Fat Boy, Run! starring Simon Pegg and Hank Azaria, and his new stand-up album, I Am a Wonderful Man. "It's a great time to do comedy," Black said during a conference call. "With the advent of Youtube and new digital video technology, anyone with a camera and a computer can do it. There's a lot more arenas and venues for sketch than ever before, too."
Black specifically referred to the recent boom in sketch comedy, as well as sketch making a new comeback on basic cable. The success of groups like Whitest Kids U Know and Human Giant is owed, in no small part, to people such as Black, Michael Showalter, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, other sketch comedy performers.
The original cable sketch boom of the 1990s truly began with the work Black and his The State colleagues did. The State beat one program after the next until the end of the sketch wave in the late 1990s. Black, unlike his colleagues who have kept busy with blogs and vlogs, has taken things back to the stage, really delving into his stand-up roots.
"I'm a big fan of all that other stuff, but I find keeping up with a blog or vlog's a real challenge. With stand-up, it's just you and the stage up there, and I really like that," Black said.
During the call, which consists of college students, Black gave a few pearls of wisdom: "Be sure to take advantage of your meal plan," he quipped. "You don't need a degree to act, so I didn't really feel a need to stay [at NYU] but it did allow me to meet the people who'd I'd go on to work with for years afterward."
Black's album, I Am a Wonderful Man has such priceless tracks as "A Series of Letters to Girls I Have Fingered," and coincides with material from his blog, Micheal Ian Black is A Celebrity. With all that Black has accomplished, as well as what's over the horizon (a book release is coming June of next year), Black certainly has earned the label on his MySpace comedy page: Female/Legend. Wait, What?
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