Michael Laurie(I)

Michael Laurie was born in Leigh Park, a large suburb of Havant, in Hampshire, on the south coast of England. Laurie's father Charles was a fifth generation dockworker (an iron caulker and riveter). As a young child, Laurie enjoyed tremendous freedom living on Southern England's South Downs, awestruck by its dramatic coastline and footpaths. As a child, Laurie frolicked in ocean waters alive with marine animals found on the rocks and in tide pools. It was on the South Coast beaches where Laurie first learned to swim; to this day he is a daily swimmer. Through junior and secondary school, Laurie particularly excelled in Drama. After leaving school and fueled with his father's advice "If you want to make it in life, get a trade!" Laurie trained as a construction plant and machinery fitter, auto mechanic and eventually worked on historic racing cars and as part of a pit team. After seeing a performance of "Cats" (Original Cast) at the Drury Lane Theatre, London beckoned him and he moved there to pursue what had occupied his heart all along. Laurie trained classically with Viviane Guignard, a faculty member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for over 50 years, in her London home. He would perform scenes, monologues and do elocution exercises to exorcise his regional accent in her drawing room, accompanied by a handful of pigeons (her friends) that would - even in sub-zero temperatures - hop in through the constantly open French doors. A short period of study at Harlequin Studios, a drama school in London's Bayswater, was followed by a two-year scholarship at the London School of Singing, after which Laurie burst onto the club circuit singing in pubs and clubs. A chance meeting with impressionist John Scott, a former schoolmate, led them to form "Scott Free." Performing a mix of comedy, impressions and singing the comedy duo toured the variety club circuit and holiday camps up and down the country. After the duo disbanded, Laurie returned to singing, often finding himself working as a host in strip clubs around London. During this time Michael also pursued acting, enjoying recurring television roles and writing and hosting "Tattoo," a docudrama on the Tattoo industry on the South Coast of England. Laurie's transition to stand-up comedy was natural. He simply started including more banter between songs. The laughter and extra cash was all the incentive he needed. Feeling stagnant in a small town, he hopped a flight to Los Angeles in the late 1980s with the intention of "checking it out" for a couple of weeks. Almost immediately Laurie began booking stand-up gigs around Los Angeles. After being told, "If you want to be a comic, New York is the only place to learn," he moved to New York and started working all of the showcase comedy clubs there. Laurie continued his acting studies in New York, and is a graduate of the Actors Institute and Susan Slavin Actors and Singers Academy. After five years in New York, Michael made his way back to Los Angeles. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Laurie enrolled in and graduated from the Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica, CA., following a two-year course in the Meisner Technique. He was fortunate to be included in classes taught by Sir Anthony Hopkins and Anthony Fransciosa. Laurie went on to become a founding member of the Ruskin Group Theatre, a producer of their LA Café Plays series and the director of "Collected Stories." Laurie enjoyed three seasons with The Globe of America in their productions of "Androcles and the Lion," "The Fir Tree" and the "Unsinkable Titanic" when they took up residence in The Royal Theatre aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. He was also a member of the resident improv group "Improv-Xing." Laurie's Los Angeles theatre credits are extensive, and include appearances at The Hermosa Beach Playhouse, San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, and Fullerton Playhouse.