24 January 2013 GAZETTE 13
FEATURE
The voice artistry of Winslow back in Ireland ROB HEIGH
IMITATION is the sincerest form of flattery, so Michael Winslow must be the sincerest man on the planet. The vocal gymnast who leapt to fame in the Police Academy movies in the 1980s is coming back to embark on a two-week tour of Ireland in the next few weeks, including a date with Dublin at Whelan’s on Sunday, February 2. Currently on the east coast of the US, the Gazette asked Michael how and where he got his start in comedy: “I started by watching every old T V show I could to do with comedy, and the Saturday
morning cartoons on TV. The voice artistry and sound effects were what appealed to me – they were cool, man. I started adding my own sound effects, putting extra noises to the cartoons, and Charlie Chaplin movies.” The youngest of six children in a US Air Force family who travelled from air base to air base as Michael grew up, the travelling lifestyle was something he was used to from an early age. “It was tough, and we travelled a lot, I had to make new friends all the time – or make up new friends, or dogs, or cats, or trucks, any thing that would keep me occupied.“
Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in comedy, where there were some hard lessons to learn before he reached where he wanted to be. On stage
“Well, to begin with, I wouldn’t recommend hitch-hiking to California, not even to Navy Seals! And I wouldn’t recommend being homeless, either, which I was for a while. But I knew what I wanted to do, and so I would try to get on stage at every comedy club there was – the Improv, the Comedy Store. “I was starting at the bottom and working my way up. I was lucky
to get onto [classic US talent show] The Gong Show, with Chuck Barris, and from winning the show, I could afford a car to live in – so I was mobile homeless! That gave me the chance to drive to other clubs and get sets there.” Michael’s career went from strength to strength, eventually being cast as Larvelle Jones in Police Academy. Since then, he has used his skills in classic movies like Gremlins, Back To The Future, as well as numerous TV shows. We asked Michael what he would call his brand of comedy – “My wife calls me a voicetrumentalist, so that’s close enough.”
American actor and comedian Michael Winslow at work (above) and as Larvelle Jones in Police Academy
F i n a l l y, M i c h a e l explained what it is that he most likes about coming to Ireland, a regular slot on his
stand-up tours. “What I like most is that Ireland in terms of comedy is so openminded, and I get the
chance to work with local musicians. For me, my job is to help everyone forget about the rent for an hour.”