Michael Ian Black

Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American actor, writer, and comedian.

He has starred in several TV comedy series, including The State, Viva Variety, Stella, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Michael & Michael Have Issues, and Another Period. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, he was the puppeteer and voice actor for the Pets.com sock puppet dog, and played a supporting character on the TV series Ed.

From 1998 to 2000, he was the puppeteer and voice actor for the Pets.com sock puppet, was featured in commercials for Sierra Mist, hosted the first season of NBC's hidden-camera show Spy TV (Miss USA 1996, Ali Landry, replaced him for the second season), made several appearances in the film Big Helium Dog, and had a supporting role on the NBC dramedy Ed, later becoming the mascot for BarNone.

He would later describe his experience as the sock puppet as "painful but fun".

His dry, sarcastically irreverent commentary on pop culture artifacts on VH1's I Love the '70s/'80s/'90s/New Millennium series added to his and the shows' popularity.

Black stated several times on the show that he felt as if he was "doomed to an eternity" of doing the I Love the... series.

He also made fun of himself for being a Jewish-American and sarcastically enforcing Jewish stereotypes.

Black is a poker enthusiast and appeared in five episodes of Celebrity Poker Showdown beginning in 2003, playing for the Endeavor House charity.

In 2004 and 2006 he played for the charity MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

In the latter part of 2004, he acted as guest host of CBS's The Late Late Show while auditioning for the permanent hosting role.

He was a finalist for the position, but the job eventually went to Craig Ferguson.

He is also an occasional contributor to the online edition of McSweeney's, where he writes a column titled "Michael Ian Black Is a Very Famous Celebrity".

Black, along with fellow State members Michael Showalter and David Wain, co-starred in and cowrote the Comedy Central series Stella, a television adaptation of their popular stage show.

The ten-episode first season debuted in June 2005 and was not renewed for a second season.

In 2006, he came in third (receiving $100,000 for his charity).

Black was praised for his humor and his skilled poker play by Dave Foley, host of Celebrity Poker Showdown, and by poker experts Phil Gordon and Phil Hellmuth.

Black wrote the screenplays for two feature film comedies —Wedding Daze (2006) and Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007, co-written with leading actor Simon Pegg).

Black also directed Wedding Daze which stars Jason Biggs, Joe Pantoliano, and Isla Fisher.

Black also has some minor screen credits.

He appeared twice on the Adult Swim show Tom Goes to the Mayor, was a guest voice on Seth Green's stop-motion show Robot Chicken, and later did a bit for Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

He appeared on the Comedy Central shows Crank Yankers and Reno 911!.

He had a cameo in David Wain's 2007 film The Ten as a prison guard.

In September 2007, he released his first stand-up comedy album, I Am a Wonderful Man.

In addition, he starred on the TV series Reaper as a gay demon trying to destroy the devil through acts of kindness.

Since 2008 he has written a number of books, including several for children.

Black was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Jill and Robert Schwartz, a store owner and an executive, respectively.

His family is Jewish.

He grew up in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, where he attended Hillsborough High School.

His parents divorced when he was three years old; his mother, Jill, later came out as a lesbian.

Black's father died at age 39 due to a head injury apparently suffered in an assault and allergic reaction during subsequent surgery.

His birth name, Schwartz, is derived from the German word schwarz, which means black.

He changed his name to Michael Ian Black to avoid confusion with the actor Mike Schwartz.

Black briefly attended New York University, but dropped out to portray Raphael in the promotional campaign for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles concert tour.

Black began his career as a member of the comedy group The State and was featured on the television show of the same name on MTV.

He continued working with members of that group on the show Viva Variety in the role of "Johnny Bluejeans", and in the film Wet Hot American Summer, directed by frequent collaborator David Wain.

Black also appeared on VH1's I Love the... series, his comedy troupe Stella, and in various TV series and films.

In 2008, Black published a book titled My Custom Van ... And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face.

Also in 2008, he hosted Reality Bites Back, a scripted reality show on Comedy Central.

Black then developed another show for Comedy Central, Michael Ian Black Doesn't Understand.

The concept was later retooled as Michael & Michael Have Issues; a pilot episode, featuring Michael Showalter, was shot in August 2008.