Mickey Joseph

Mickey Joseph was born to an Italian immigrant jazz musician and a Croatian seamstress. Raised in San Francisco, he developed his comedy by attending Catholic School to incorporate bobbing, weaving, and pleading for mercy.

He attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, and waited on tables at an Italian Restaurant. His boss, observing Mickey doing impressions and juggling dinner rolls, quickly suggested he dive into show business, or any business other than his restaurant.

Mickey moved to Hollywood, joined an improv group, and began writing and performing. He then got married, fathered two children, and divorced, all in one sentence.

Upon returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, he quickly became a favorite in some of the most well known comedy clubs in the country. He continues to perform standp-up and act, with recent credits including the Plaza in Las Vegas and playing Joey Bishop in The Rat Pack Is Back.

MB: When you first started performing stand-up, what were the circumstances?

MJ: When I was in acting school, I was doing impressions for friends. We’d go out to the beer gardens, have a few beers, and, I would do Sydney Portier ordering breakfast, and Brando, and stuff like that. I’d really be getting laughs from them with that.

When I got to L.A., I wrote a little act, doing Ricky Ricardo as president and a few other impressions. And I went down to the Laugh Factory, which was a teeny little brick oven at the time—with maybe ten people in the audience— and I got on stage, and that was the start of it. But I did write before I got on stage. I did plan my first set.

MB: Were you nervous when you started doing stand-up?

MJ: I had some gigs early in my career that were too big for me. Some big crowds, big events. It was KSJO’s twenty-fifth anniversary, and I felt nervous. It was a rowdy crowd; there was no reason, really, to have a comedian there. People weren’t seated; they were standing. They’d been watching bands, and it was rough.

MB: So what were you telling yourself?

MJ: Just, “I hope it goes well.” But also, “I really don’t have the experience to be stepping out on this stage and doing my act.” I’d only been doing comedy for less than a year.

MB: Were there any other thoughts in your mind?

MJ: Absolutely. Just that it might not go so well. Or I might not have everybody’s attention in the room. I might get heckled. I might get embarrassed. I might embarrass myself. And a friend of mine was there to film it, so that’s always an added pressure.