Michael Bruce Davis (born August 23, 1953) is a comedic American

juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

. He came to nationwide attention in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the early 1980s, appearing on NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 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 San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. 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 A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

. 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. On March 15, 1981, he performed in the opening (and also closing) night of the Broadway musical, ''Broadway Follies''. 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 The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

and won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for Best Featured Actor in a musical. 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 ''

'', introduced by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

. On May 7, 1983, he performed as Carlo Zambini in his sixth and final performance on ''Saturday Night Live''. 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. On September 25, 1982, and as part of a TV special called ''A Festival at Ford's'', Davis headlined at

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...

along with

E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (January 4, 1937 – May 7, 2023) was an American opera singer, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, who also ventured to soprano roles. She belonged to a pioneering generation of African-American c ...

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

, the

Gatlin Brothers Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers are an American country music vocal group. The group consists of lead singer Larry Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) and his brothers, Rudy and Steve Gatlin. The group achieved considerable success within the country ...

Natalia Makarova Natalia Romanovna Makarova (, born 21 November 1940) is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. ''The History of Dance'', published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her a ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942), also known as Mr. Las Vegas, is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the United States from the mid-to-late 20th century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

, and

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

. A pair of

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos, which remain highly watched and referenced, show him entertaining President and Mrs.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

sitting between House Speaker

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...

and Senate Majority Leader

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Career, 1983–present

President Reagan visibly enjoyed Davis's performance at Ford's Theatre. On January 20, 1985, he performed at the inaugural ball following the

second inauguration of Ronald Reagan The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States was the 50th inauguration, marking the commencement of his second and final four-year term as president and of George H. W. Bush as vice president. A private swearing-in ...

. In the mid- to late 1980s, he appeared on the BBC's ''

The Bob Monkhouse Show Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ...

'' five times, at least three times on the ''

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'' (30 Mar 1988, 27 Apr 1988, 11 Feb 1989), four times on the '' Tonight Show with Johnny Carson'' (23 February 1984, 24 May 1984, 3 Jan 1985, 22 July 1988), three times on ''

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'' (17 Feb 1983, 2 Nov 1983, 13 Mar 1986), and on ''

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''. On the ''Tonight Show'', he famously quipped, "I started out with nothing. I still have most of it." On March 29, 1986, he performed on the first American telecast of ''

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

''. The show, hosted by

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

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, and

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, raised funds for homeless people. On May 21, 1986, he appeared on NBC's ''

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'', juggling for passengers aboard the SS ''Norway'' cruise ship. On November 24, 1986, he entertained

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

and the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

at the ''

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

'', London Theatre Royal. On January 20, 1989, he returned to the White House to perform at the inaugural gala following President Bush's inauguration. On July 10, 1990, Davis entertained President George Bush and other world leaders at the 16th G7 summit. On October 30, 1993, Davis performed again at Ford's Theatre for a TV special, "A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre", but this time for

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

. Coperformers included

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

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, Brett Butler,

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, and

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. In December 1994, he performed in the Broadway performance ''Comedy Tonight'', a vaudeville-type show with

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Dorothy Loudon Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for T ...

, and

Joy Behar Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar (; née Occhiuto; born October 7, 1942) is an American comedian, television host, and actress. She co-hosts the ABC talk show '' The View'', on which she has appeared since the beginning of the series. For her wor ...

, which lasted only eight shows. On November 5, 1997, he again entertained former President Bush and friends, this time at the opening of the presidential library. In 2008, Davis was featured in the documentary ''Buskers; For Love or Money''. During the early 2000s, he was head writer and performed nightly for seven years at Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco.35th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Michael Living people Jugglers American male comedians 21st-century American comedians 1953 births Comedians from San Francisco