Michael Bruce Davis (born August 23, 1953) is a comedic American juggler. He came to nationwide attention in the United States in the early 1980s, appearing on NBC's Saturday Night Live six times, the only professional juggler to perform on the show.
Early life
Davis was born on August 23, 1953 to James Davis, an English teacher, and Donna Davis, a homemaker. He spent his early childhood in San Francisco, California. After moving to Susanville, they moved again a few years later to Danville, just outside San Francisco. Davis attended Monte Vista High School, graduating in 1971.
Clown College
On October 1, 1973, Davis started a six-week course at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Over 3,500 applicants were whittled down to a group of 38 men and 7 women ranging in age from 17 to 35. Upon completion, successful candidates were offered a contract with the circus. Davis was chosen to be a Ringling clown based on his distinctive deadpan style. He travelled with the red unit for a year. The following year, he signed on with the Gatti Charles Circus.
TV to Ford's Theatre
In 1979, Davis performed on HBO's The Young Comedian's Show, his first major television appearance.[1] On March 15, 1981, he performed in the opening (and also closing) night of the Broadway musical, Broadway Follies.[2] Although that musical was a flop, he was hired and immediately performed in the Broadway musical, Sugar Babies, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and won a Theatre World Award for Best Featured Actor in a musical.[3][4][5] He returned to San Francisco, established himself as a street performer, and performed at charity events, corporate events, schools and night clubs.
On October 3, 1981, Davis made his debut performance on Saturday Night Live, introduced by Eddie Murphy.[6] On May 7, 1983, he performed as Carlo Zambini in his sixth and final performance on Saturday Night Live.[7] He was one of the "newscasters" on the NBC summer series The News Is the News in which the members satirized actual news. It premiered on June 15, 1983; only four episodes aired due to poor ratings.[8]
In 2008, Davis was featured in the documentary Buskers; For Love or Money.[25] During the early 2000s, he was head writer and performed nightly for seven years at Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco.[26][27][28]
References
^"On Location: Young Comedian's Show"(jpg). Roswell Daily Record. Roswell, NM. 17 Dec 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 11 Nov 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Victor Borge hosts up-and-coming comics in a show taped at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. Performing are: Mike Binder, Mike Davis, Darrel Igus, Robert Wuhl, Rick and Ruby.
^Gussow, Mel (16 Mar 1981). "Stage: 'Broadway Follies' Opens at the Nederlander". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 Nov 2015. Whether he is juggling nine balls (there is a trick to that one) or juggling water (anyone can do it), Mr. Davis is an inspired deadpan comedian. I was as close as I have ever been to rolling in an aisle with laughter.
^"Back on Broadway", New York, vol. 14, no. 17, p. 32, 27 Apr 1981, retrieved 11 Nov 2015, Michael Davis (below), juggler extraordinaire, was the hit of Broadway Follies, which lasted one night. Upon its demise, he was snatched up by the producers of Sugar Babies, and he is now a regular adornment of that funny and rowdy burlesque musical.
^McLellan, Joseph; Radcliffe, Donnie (20 Jan 1985). "Reagan Honored At Inaugural Gala". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 Nov 2015. Michael Davis juggled such odd combinations as a bowling ball, an egg and an apple (which he also ate), but won over the audience mostly with his verbal comedy. Comparing his job to the president's, he said, 'I have to worry about controlling my arms. He has to worry about arms control.'
^Bush, Barbara (1995). Barbara Bush: A Memoir. Macmillan. p. 370. ISBN9780312956646. A favorite of George's, Michael Davis, a juggler―now don't stick up your nose―was hilariously funny and François sitting next to me really roared. George was dying to get him to do his juggling act with chain saws, but nobody (except GB) liked the idea of buzzing chain saws flying all over a room with seven world leaders in it.
^Anders, Gigi (1 Nov 1993). "WHOOPI-ING IT UP AT THE FORD'S GALA". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 Nov 2015. Michael Davis is a real man. He can juggle three black bowling balls just like that. And during Saturday night's gala for President Clinton and some 700 other guests in black tie and lacy evening gowns at Ford's Theatre, the laconic Davis flawlessly flexed his special talents – including oral juggling of little rubber balls as well as what he referred to as "anti-juggling" of helium-filled balloons – and completely won over the seen-it-all crowd. *** Back onstage, the juggling fool Davis admitted that "I have a hard time finding the words to express how articulate I really am." The audience went crazy. "You should get out more," he advised them. He also popped little balls into both cheeks and did an uncanny Nixon imitation.
^Harrell, Ashley (15 May 2009). "Last Night: 'Sultry Summer Magic' at SF's Teatro Zinzanni". SF Weekly. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved 11 Nov 2015. And the apparent chef, played by local actor and comedian Michael Davis, often finds his way out of the kitchen to occasionally crack jokes and torment audience members. He's fantastic at this.
