Mike Polk
Michael G. Polk Jr. is an American comedian, actor, TV commentator, and newspaper columnist, known primarily for his sketch comedy and viral videos.
Mike Polk | |
|---|---|
| Born | Warren, Ohio, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Kent State University |
| Occupation(s) | Actor Comedian Newspaper columnist TV news commentator |
Early life and education edit
Polk was born in Warren, Ohio. After being raised in Newton Falls, Ohio, he attended Kent State University as an undergraduate and earned a degree in communications and psychology in 2002.[1]
Career edit
Polk created the YouTube series Runaway Box / Man in the Box.[2] His work has also appeared on HBO, Cinemax and TNT's Inside the NBA.[3]
He sang his YouTube song "One Semester of Spanish - Love Song"[4] for Kim Kardashian on Spanish television channel Telemundo.[5][6] That video has received over 9.4 million views on YouTube. He thanked his viewers as "Spanish Mike" when the video hit 2 Million views. [7]
Some of his other work includes "Ooh Girl!" - An Honest R&B Song",[8] "The Great Office War",[9] "The Factory of Sadness"[10] and two different versions of a "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video"[11][12] all of which have about 32 million views combined on YouTube. The tourism spoof video actually prompted Cleveland's convention and tourism bureau to solicit other videos in a 'counterattack' to Polk's not-so-flattering work.[13] Segments of the Cleveland tourism videos were also featured in the Michael Moore documentary film Capitalism: A Love Story.[14][15]
In 2010, Polk coordinated a group of local celebrities in order to record "Please Stay, LeBron", a parody of the charity song "We Are the World", in order to persuade NBA player LeBron James not to leave the Cavaliers.[16]
In 2012, Polk became a weekly contributor on The Rizzo Show – a Sunday night sports/comedy program airing WJW channel 8 in Cleveland (the local FOX affiliate) hosted by local sports media personality Tony Rizzo.[17] Polk also contributed to the sports section of the nightly news broadcast with Browns Hangover, a recurring segment providing comedic commentary after Cleveland Browns games.[18]
Polk has also worked for Funny or Die and his current[when?] comedy troupe Last Call Cleveland.
In 2016, Polk became a writer for the Plain Dealer newspaper, doing periodic columns about pop culture and humor.[19]
In 2019, Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC channel 3 hired Polk as a feature reporter and contributor, that same year – with the 2019 MLB All-Star Game occurring in Cleveland – ESPN solicited Polk to make a third "Hastily Made Tourism Video" for Cleveland, which he released on July 9, 2019.[20]
Awards edit
Polk was named as one of Cleveland Magazine's Most Interesting People of 2010.[21]
In 2013 readers of Scene Magazine voted him to be Cleveland's Best Local Comedian and Best Local Author for his book Damn Right I'm From Cleveland.[22]
in 2022, Polk won three Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards in various categories in his role as commentator/host on WKYC.[23]
Bibliography edit
Damn Right I'm From Cleveland (2012 ISBN 978-1-938441-07-3)
References edit
- ^ "Kent State 'down' with entertainment this weekend". KentWired.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09.
- ^ . Symfonee.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
- ^ "Video Mike Polk's tribute to TNT's coverage of the NBA playoffs". Sports.Yahoo.com.
- ^ "One Semester of Spanish - Love Song". YouTube. September 10, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Spanish Mike at Telemundo". YouTube. January 14, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Spanish Mike en Mas Vale Tarde". YouTube. February 12, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Spanish Mike-2 Million Viewers". YouTube. January 28, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Ooh Girl!" - An Honest R&B Song". YouTube. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "The Great Office War". YouTube. June 16, 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "The Factory Of Sadness (A Cleveland Browns Fan's Reaction To Today's Game Against Houston)". YouTube. November 6, 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video". YouTube. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
- ^ . YouTube. April 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11.
- ^ Brett, Regina (May 13, 2009). "A counterattack on Mike Polk's Cleveland 'tourism' videos: Regina Brett". Cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. from the original on January 17, 2021.
- ^ "'Capitalism: A Love Story' is classic Michael Moore, but he should have trimmed his target list". Cleveland.com. October 2009.
- ^ . HASTAC.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01.
- ^ Eakin, Marah (July 13, 2022). "'Just Show Up. Don't Ask Questions': An Oral History of the 'Please Stay, LeBron' Video". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ "The Rizzo Show". 29 August 2012.
- ^ "Mike Polk puts in 'just as much effort' as Browns in this week's 'Browns Hangover'". fox8.com. 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
- ^ Polk's debut column - Cleveland.com
- ^ Haidet, Ryan (July 9, 2019). "Mike Polk Jr. does it again with 'Cleveland tourism' All-Star parody video: 'Still not Detroit'". WKYC. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Most Interesting People 2010 - Mike Polk". ClevelandMagazine.com.
- ^ "Best Local Author 2013 - Mike Polk". CleveScene.com.
- ^ 53rd Annual CGL Emmy Awards Recipients - Great Lakes Emmy Awards
External links edit
- Official website
- https://www.youtube.com/user/mikepolkjunior