Michael Somerville to Perform at Bridge Street Live, 10/12
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 04, 2012
Michael Somerville first tried standup on a dare while a student at the University of Notre Dame--his friends laughed and he was hooked. Upon graduation, however, he knew it was time to get serious about life (“well, my dad said so…”) so he moved to New York City for a job in advertising. Never the morning person, it didn’t take.
“They hired me and said ‘you can start Monday at 9am’. I was thinking ‘what time can I start Tuesday?’”. Sleep deprived and tired of shaving, Somerville quickly “retired” from corporate America to pursue a career in entertainment. His first job was dancing in a pink bear suit at Bar Mitvahs and he never looked back.
Twelve years later, Somerville has carved a unique niche in the industry. He’s authored Glamour Magazine’s renowned dating column “Jake: A Man’s Opinion”, hosted the dating reality show Wingman on FLN and has performed more than 2,000 live comedy shows, including appearances on Comedy Central and VH1.
But it was just a few weeks ago that his perseverance led to one of the most revered bookings in comedy-- an appearance of The Late Show with David Letterman.
“Its like our Super Bowl.” Somerville beams, still buzzing from the experience. “I grew up watching Letterman every night and suddenly I’m standing on that stage.”
The best part? “I could hear him laughing behind me. Totally surreal.”
Somerville also got a first hand lesson in the power of TV. Just weeks before the Letterman appearance, he released a comedy CD Handsomely Disheveled.
“I sold like 4 copies— and two of those were to my parents.”
But after Letterman held up the CD on national TV it broke the iTunes top 100 within hours.
Despite his recent success, Somerville still rarely gets up before noon. “I swear I work hard, just at different hours.”
For tickets to the show at Bridge Street Live, click HERE. And for more about Somerville, visit www.michaelsomerville.com.
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