Mike Gandolfi
Born
Michael Gandolfi

(1962-01-31) January 31, 1962
Alma materSan Diego State University
Occupation(s)Stand-up comic, actor, producer, screenwriter
Years active1992–present
SpouseStephanie Storey (2004–present)
RelativesVeronica Kinney (great-aunt)

Michael Gandolfi (born January 31, 1962) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for playing Andrew on the WB drama series, Gilmore Girls, and as a writer on the sitcom Roseanne.

Early life and background

Mike Gandolfi was born on January 31, 1962, in San Diego, California. His grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor and years later, he worked on Operation Wigwam and Operation Redwing, which were nuclear tests conducted by the United States military in the Pacific.[1]

His parents were the first couple married at All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla, California. Gandolfi was born a Roman Catholic.[1]

When he was in the 10th grade, his high school put on the musical Guys and Dolls. He played one of the gamblers in Nathan Detroit's clan. Casey Nicholaw, the student who choreographed the show and played Nicely-Nicely Johnson, went on to become a prominent theatre choreographer and stage actor. He was nominated for Tony Awards for choreographing Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, and The Book of Mormon, and won a Tony for co-directing The Book of Mormon.[1]

Mike Gandolfi has a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from San Diego State University. He has taken classes at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He was accepted to a graduate program to receive a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree, but decided to take improv classes instead.[1]

While in college one December, he worked as a "seasonal employee" at Toys 'R Us. A co-worker of his claimed to be the basis for Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.[1]

Career

Mike Gandolfi is an Emmy, Peabody, and Golden Globe Award–winning television writer, who has written for the television series, Roseanne, Veronica's Closet, and Dennis Miller Live. While on staff at Roseanne, Gandolfi co-wrote the 100th episode, "The Dark Ages'", which was nominated for a Writers Guild Award. As of 2016, he has two feature films in development, with producers, directors, and talent attached. In addition, he had a recurring role as Andrew throughout most seasons of the Warner Brothers' television series, Gilmore Girls, with a role he will be reprising in the Netflix revival of the series.[1]

He has trained at many improv, comedy, and acting schools including, Upright Citizens Brigade, Groundlings, IO West, Nerdist, Chris Game, Miles Stroth Workshop, Actors Workout Studio, Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop, Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, and the Magic Castle.[1]

Mike started his career as a stand-up comic, performing in comedy clubs across the country and working with such acclaimed comedians as Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, and Tom Arnold.[1] He has performed stand-up at many places all over the country including improv in Hollywood, San Francisco, and San Diego. He has also performed at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and La Jolla, California, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Zanies in Chicago, The Fillmore in San Francisco, the Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis, and The Comedy Connection in Boston.[2]

He was one of the original writers for the Air America radio network.[1]

While writing for Roseanne, one of the other writers on the series was Amy Sherman-Palladino. She went on to create Gilmore Girls, in which he played a recurring role throughout the series.

He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Writers Guild of America.[2]

Personal life

He is married to Stephanie Storey, an actress, writer, producer, cinematographer, director, and editor. She is now the author of her debut novel, Oil and Marble. She is perhaps best known for producing the television series, The Writers' Room.[1] They were married on Leap Day at Disneyland on February 29, 2004. They were engaged at the Dromoland Castle in County Clare, Ireland.[1] They now reside in Sherman Oaks, California.

In 1993, on the episode, First Cousin, Twice Removed, on the series Roseanne, the cousin, played by Joan Collins, was named Ronnie. When the writers were tossing around names for the character, Gandolfi said, "Veronica – Ronnie," which was the one used in the episode. He co-wrote the episode, "The Kiss Is the Thing", for the animated show, Life with Louie. The character voiced by actress, Laurie Metcalf, was named Miss Kinney. Both of these characters were named after real people that Gandolfi personally knew. His great-aunt was named Veronica Kinney. Veronica was his father's mother's sister. She never had children and lived about five blocks from Gandolfi as a child and became very close to him. She encouraged him to be a writer. The year after she died he was hired as a writer for the television series, Veronica's Closet.[1]

As hobbies he plays taekwondo, ice hockey, and improv comedy.[3] Gandolfi has a Black Belt in taekwondo from Beverly Hills Martial Arts. He has run, and finished, the Los Angeles Marathon twice. He has taken four yoga teacher trainings, but has never actually taught a yoga class.[1]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Writing for Hollywood: The Act of Breaking In Himself Documentary
2008 Extraordinary Proof Michael Bell/Executive Producer Short
2009 Thanksgiving Seconds Uncle Al/Executive Producer Short
2015 The Interrogation Officer 2 Short
2015 The Eating Place Jim Calhoun Short
2015 Suburban Gothic Lead
2015 Stranger Danger Lead Student Short Film
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1992 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Contributing Writer 2 episodes
1992 Free to Laugh: A Comedy and Music Special for Amnesty International Writer TV special
1992–1994 Roseanne Writer/Teleplay Writer/Story Editor 27 episodes
1994 Tom The Chicken He's Heavy, He's My Brother
1995 The Lemur Series Regular/Executive Producer/Co-creator
1995 Apartment C Series Regular/Writer
1995 Can't Hurry Love Consultant
1994–1996 Later Writer 7 episodes, with Greg Kinnear
1996 Dennis Miller Live Writer 9 episodes
1996 Love and Marriage Executive Story Editor 1 episode
1996 State of the Union: Undressed Creative Consultant TV movie
1996 Bunk Bed Brothers Writer TV movie
1997 Over the Top Co-producer/Writer 12 episodes
1997–1998 Veronica's Closet Producer/Writer 3 episodes
1997–1998 Life with Louie Teleplay Writer 2 episodes
2000–2005 Gilmore Girls Andrew 20 episodes
2001 The Test Producer Series
2002 O2Be Consulting Producer Series
2004 Super Secret Movie Rules Guest
2005–2006 Mr. Romance Creative Consultant 6 episodes
We're the Jasons Gary Featured
The Jasons' Writers' Room Frank Supporting
Bravo & Company Police Chief Supporting
Earth Angel Bob Supporting
2009 Don't Make Me Sick Dr. Kevin Carr/Writer/Executive Producer 8 episodes, Web Series
2010 The Arena with Jesse Ventura Guest
2011 Goon Squad Host Pilot
2016 Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Andrew 4 90-minute episodes, Netflix revival

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Series Result
1997 Writers Guild of America Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy/Variety – (Including Talk) Series – Television Dennis Miller Live Nominated
1996 Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program Dennis Miller Live Won
1994 Writers Guild of America Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy Nominated
1992 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series Musical or Comedy Roseanne Won
1992 Peabody Award Peabody Award Won

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Gandolfi, Mike (February 4, 2015). "Mike Gandolfi Bio". WordPress. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Gandolfi, Mike (February 2, 2015). "Mike Gandolfi Resume". WordPress. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. Storey, Stephanie (2015). "Stephanie Storey: About". WordPress. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
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