Mike Bocchetti (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian,

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

from

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. He is most notable for his role as the announcer on '' The Artie Lange Show'' from 2012 to 2014, and has acted frequently on film and television. Bocchetti released a comedy album, ''Thank You'', on Stand Up! Records in 2019.

Early life

Bocchetti was born on April 3, 1961, in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

to a Catholic Italian family of what he once called "a very humble blue-collar background". He is the oldest of five children. He graduated from Tottenville High School in 1979. Often bullied as a child for being overweight, he was inspired to become a comedian after hearing Redd Foxx and realizing that the audience was laughing with, and not at, Foxx. He joined the Marines in 1980 but washed out after a few weeks; he wrote about the experience for his 2019 stage show ''Space Cookie''.

Career

Stand-up comedy/stage

Bocchetti started performing comedy in 1992 and has performed on New York-area stages for decades, including the Staten Island Comedy Festival and New Jersey music festival The Bamboozle.

Television

Bocchetti was the announcer on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

's '' The Artie Lange Show'' (originally titled ''The Nick & Artie Show'') from 2012 to 2014. He had been friends with Lange since the 1990s as a fellow stand-up comic; before they were famous, Lange once told Bocchetti, "If I'm ever on TV as a talk show host, you are my Ed McMahon." He has worked with Lange often after the show's cancellation. Bocchetti's television work includes appearances on two seasons of NBC's ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as ...

'' in 2003 and 2006. He played a homeless man in the 2004 ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' episode "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan". He appeared on the Louis C.K. series '' Louie'' in 2015. He was a guest on 25 episodes of Mary Dimino's New York-area cable-TV series ''Nights With Mary'' between 2003 and 2012. He formed a production company with comedian Ken Burmeister, Blasted Films, which made ''Tubby Man: Hero of the Bullied'', a semi-autobiographical comedy web series with an anti-bullying message, for Blip TV in 2013. In May 2024, Bocchetti starred as the

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, Jimble, in a season 2 episode of

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's comedy cartoon '' Smiling Friends''.

Radio and podcasts

Bocchetti has been a frequent guest on talk-radio shows and podcasts including ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' and '' Opie and Anthony'', as well as ''The Jim Breuer Show'', ''The Chip Chipperson Podcast'', ''The Dump with Steve Conti'', '' The Anthony Cumia Show'', '' The Miserable Men Show'' and '' The Slant''. In 2014, Bocchetti started his own podcast, ''The Mike Bocchetti Show'', which ran for 13 episodes. In December 2019, he began co-hosting a new podcast with Lange, ''Artie Lange's Halfway House''. Lange suspended the podcast in February 2020. At the end of 2022, Mike, with co host Jenny, relaunched his podcast '' The Mike Bocchetti Show '' on YouTube. The interview format has Mike and Jenny interviewing multiple guests on each episode.

Film

In 2002, Bocchetti played one of the Grand Masters of the Illuminati in avant-garde artist Matthew Barney's film '' Cremaster 3''. Other film work includes the 2003 indie comedy ''Chooch'' and 2020 Christina Ricci drama ''Faraway Eyes''. In 2009, Bocchetti starred in a short documentary directed by Lee Schloss, ''Who Is Mike Bocchetti?'', covering his career and work with Lange, and including interviews with comedians including Colin Quinn.

Albums

Bocchetti's debut album, ''Thank You'', was released in 2019 on Stand Up! Records. Comedy website ''Laughspin'' compared ''Thank You'' favorably with Rodney Dangerfield's darkly self-deprecating persona, as did Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site, who also felt that Bocchetti "is not for the casual comedy fan and requires some patience to really appreciate."

Books and writing

In 2018, Bocchetti published an autobiography, ''Still Standing'', covering his life from childhood through his 2017 heart attack. In 2015, he wrote an ongoing interview column, ''The Bocchetti Files'', for website The Interrobang.

Discography

*Mike Bocchetti, ''Thank You'' ( Stand Up! Records, 2019)

Personal life

Bocchetti was diagnosed with

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts (an ''obsession'') and feels the need to perform certain routines (''Compulsive behavior, compulsions'') repeatedly to relieve the dis ...

at age 26 and is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober since 1997. He had a heart attack in 2017.

References

External links

Official Mike Bocchetti websiteMike Bocchetti at Stand Up! Records website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bocchetti, Mike Living people American stand-up comedians American male television actors Stand Up! Records artists American male comedians 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 1961 births American male film actors American radio personalities Television personalities from New York City American people of Italian descent American comedy podcasters Comedians from Staten Island Tottenville High School alumni People with obsessive–compulsive disorder