Mike Gandolfi

Last updated

Mike Gandolfi
Born
Michael Gandolfi

(1962-01-31) January 31, 1962 (age 62)
Alma mater San Diego State University
Occupation(s)Stand-up comic, actor, producer, screenwriter
Years active1992–present
Spouse Stephanie Storey (2004–present)
RelativesVeronica Kinney (great-aunt)

Michael Gandolfi (born January 31, 1962) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for playing Andrew on the WB drama series, Gilmore Girls , and as a writer on the sitcom Roseanne.

Contents

Early life and background

Mike Gandolfi was born on January 31, 1962, in San Diego, California. His grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor and years later, he worked on Operation Wigwam and Operation Redwing, which were nuclear tests conducted by the United States military in the Pacific. [1]

His parents were the first couple married at All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla, California. Gandolfi was born a Roman Catholic. [1]

When he was in the 10th grade, his high school put on the musical Guys and Dolls . He played one of the gamblers in Nathan Detroit's clan. Casey Nicholaw, the student who choreographed the show and played Nicely-Nicely Johnson, went on to become a prominent theatre choreographer and stage actor. He was nominated for Tony Awards for choreographing Spamalot , The Drowsy Chaperone , and The Book of Mormon , and won a Tony for co-directing The Book of Mormon. [1]

Mike Gandolfi has a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from San Diego State University. He has taken classes at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He was accepted to a graduate program to receive a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree, but decided to take improv classes instead. [1]

While in college one December, he worked as a "seasonal employee" at Toys 'R Us. A co-worker of his claimed to be the basis for Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High . [1]

Career

Mike Gandolfi is an Emmy, Peabody, and Golden Globe Award–winning television writer, who has written for the television series, Roseanne , Veronica's Closet, and Dennis Miller Live . While on staff at Roseanne, Gandolfi co-wrote the 100th episode, "The Dark Ages'", which was nominated for a Writers Guild Award. As of 2016, he has two feature films in development, with producers, directors, and talent attached. In addition, he had a recurring role as Andrew throughout most seasons of the Warner Brothers' television series, Gilmore Girls , with a role he will be reprising in the Netflix revival of the series. [1]

He has trained at many improv, comedy, and acting schools including, Upright Citizens Brigade, Groundlings, IO West, Nerdist, Chris Game, Miles Stroth Workshop, Actors Workout Studio, Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop, Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, and the Magic Castle. [1]

Mike started his career as a stand-up comic, performing in comedy clubs across the country and working with such acclaimed comedians as Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, and Tom Arnold. [1] He has performed stand-up at many places all over the country including improv in Hollywood, San Francisco, and San Diego. He has also performed at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and La Jolla, California, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Zanies in Chicago, The Fillmore in San Francisco, the Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis, and The Comedy Connection in Boston. [2]

He was one of the original writers for the Air America radio network. [1]

While writing for Roseanne, one of the other writers on the series was Amy Sherman-Palladino. She went on to create Gilmore Girls, in which he played a recurring role throughout the series.

He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Writers Guild of America. [2]

Personal life

He is married to Stephanie Storey, an actress, writer, producer, cinematographer, director, and editor. She is now the author of her debut novel, Oil and Marble. She is perhaps best known for producing the television series, The Writers' Room . [1] They were married on Leap Day at Disneyland on February 29, 2004. They were engaged at the Dromoland Castle in County Clare, Ireland. [1] They now reside in Sherman Oaks, California.

In 1993, on the episode, First Cousin, Twice Removed, on the series Roseanne, the cousin, played by Joan Collins, was named Ronnie. When the writers were tossing around names for the character, Gandolfi said, "Veronica – Ronnie," which was the one used in the episode. He co-wrote the episode, "The Kiss Is the Thing", for the animated show, Life with Louie . The character voiced by actress, Laurie Metcalf, was named Miss Kinney. Both of these characters were named after real people that Gandolfi personally knew. His great-aunt was named Veronica Kinney. Veronica was his father's mother's sister. She never had children and lived about five blocks from Gandolfi as a child and became very close to him. She encouraged him to be a writer. The year after she died he was hired as a writer for the television series, Veronica's Closet . [1]

As hobbies he plays taekwondo, ice hockey, and improv comedy. [3] Gandolfi has a Black Belt in taekwondo from Beverly Hills Martial Arts. He has run, and finished, the Los Angeles Marathon twice. He has taken four yoga teacher trainings, but has never actually taught a yoga class. [1]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Writing for Hollywood: The Act of Breaking InHimselfDocumentary
2008Extraordinary ProofMichael Bell/Executive ProducerShort
2009Thanksgiving SecondsUncle Al/Executive ProducerShort
2015The InterrogationOfficer 2Short
2015The Eating PlaceJim CalhounShort
2015Suburban GothicLead
2015Stranger DangerLeadStudent Short Film
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Contributing Writer2 episodes
1992Free to Laugh: A Comedy and Music Special for Amnesty InternationalWriterTV special
1992–1994 Roseanne Writer/Teleplay Writer/Story Editor27 episodes
1994 Tom The ChickenHe's Heavy, He's My Brother
1995The LemurSeries Regular/Executive Producer/Co-creator
1995Apartment CSeries Regular/Writer
1995 Can't Hurry Love Consultant
1994–1996 Later Writer7 episodes, with Greg Kinnear
1996 Dennis Miller Live Writer9 episodes
1996 Love and Marriage Executive Story Editor1 episode
1996State of the Union: UndressedCreative ConsultantTV movie
1996Bunk Bed BrothersWriterTV movie
1997 Over the Top Co-producer/Writer12 episodes
1997–1998 Veronica's Closet Producer/Writer3 episodes
1997–1998 Life with Louie Teleplay Writer2 episodes
2000–2005 Gilmore Girls Andrew20 episodes
2001The TestProducerSeries
2002 O2Be Consulting ProducerSeries
2004Super Secret Movie RulesGuest
2005–2006 Mr. Romance Creative Consultant6 episodes
We're the JasonsGaryFeatured
The Jasons' Writers' RoomFrankSupporting
Bravo & CompanyPolice ChiefSupporting
Earth AngelBobSupporting
2009Don't Make Me SickDr. Kevin Carr/Writer/Executive Producer8 episodes, Web Series
2010The Arena with Jesse VenturaGuest
2011Goon SquadHostPilot
2016 Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Andrew4 90-minute episodes, Netflix revival

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyCategorySeriesResult
1997 Writers Guild of America Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy/Variety – (Including Talk) Series – Television Dennis Miller Live Nominated
1996 Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music ProgramDennis Miller LiveWon
1994 Writers Guild of America Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic ComedyNominated
1992 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series Musical or ComedyRoseanneWon
1992 Peabody Award Peabody AwardWon

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Gandolfi, Mike (February 4, 2015). "Mike Gandolfi Bio". WordPress. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Gandolfi, Mike (February 2, 2015). "Mike Gandolfi Resume". WordPress. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. Storey, Stephanie (2015). "Stephanie Storey: About". WordPress . Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.