Michael Pritchard (comedian)

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Michael Pritchard
Occupation

Michael Pritchard (born 1949 or 1950[1]) is an American stand-up comedian, youth counselor, and advocate of social emotional learning (SEL).[2] He speaks to schools, parent groups, and corporations on the topics of communication skills, diversity, bullying, and conflict resolution.[3] A presentation that he made at Benicia (California) Middle School was featured in the 2011 Roko Belic documentary film Happy.[4]

Early life[]

Pritchard grew up in Missouri and was the youngest of four brothers. His father was a pump salesman, and his mother a teacher. While in Missouri, he received a degree in social science.[5]

Career[]

Pritchard was a U.S. Army medic during the Vietnam War.[1] In the 1970s, he worked as a youth counselor and was named the 1980 California Probation Officer of the Year by the California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association.[1][5] After winning first place at the 1980 San Francisco International Comedy Competition,[6] he briefly worked in show business,[7] appearing in an episode of Taxi and working as a voice actor in some Star Wars films, Disneyland's Captain EO, and Sesame Street.[1] In 1983, he began making presentations in school assemblies.[1] In April 2000, the first anniversary of the Columbine shootings, his television series Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence (SOS) was aired on KQED-TV and distributed to other PBS stations.[8] His television series LifeSteps, filmed in 1992, appeared on PBS stations in the early 1990s, which divided into several subseries, You Can Choose aimed at elementary-school students, Big Changes, Big Choices aimed at middle-school students, and The Power of Choice, aimed at high-school students.[when?][1]

Recent projects[]

Pritchard works with , an organization that uses documentary films to tell the stories of people with special needs and has created an introductory video for the organization's web site.[9] On April 2, 2013, Pritchard attended the Light It Up Blue event in Novato, California, commemorating Autism Awareness Month, and posed for a photo with children who were there.[10]

On November 6, 2013, Pritchard was scheduled to appear, as "Chairman of the 'Joint Chiefs of Laffs'", at a San Jose (California) fund-raising event for , an organization that mentors veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, who have post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, in expression through writing and the visual and performing arts.[11] The Walking Point Foundation web site lists Prichard as one of its mentors.[12]

Personal life[]

Pritchard, who (as of May 2003) lives in San Rafael, California, is married to Mary Jo Pritchard. The couple has three children.[1] He is a practicing Catholic.[13]

Bibliography[]

Books[]

  • Listen to What Your Kids Aren't Telling You (with Dan Spencer) ISBN 978-1411622463

Videos[]

  • Stepping on Up (4-DVD series)
  • LifeSteps (12-DVD series, 2003)
  • Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence (set of 2 videos, 2000)
  • You Can Choose! (10 Part Series for Elementary Schools,1992)
  • Coping With Pressures (VHS tape, 1988)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Horvath, Alex (May 2, 2003). "Humor and humanity / Funny man Michael Pritchard cautions teens about intolerance". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  2. ^ "The Heart of Learning: The Value of Cultivating Emotional Intelligence". Edutopia. May 17, 2005. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  3. ^ Blakely, Scott (February 26, 1991). "Children`s Choices Grade-school Videos Put Kids In Driver`s Seat For Life Decisions". Chicago Tribune/Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  4. ^ Hoop La La. "Michael Pritchard, Comedian And Educator, Explains How To Combat Bullying In Incredible Speech (VIDEO)". July 17, 2013. Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b Trumbull, Mark (March 18, 1988). "Sound effects - and sound advice - for teen-agers. Michael Pritchard teaches kids `the power of choice' with humor". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  6. ^ "San Francisco Comedy Competition: Previous Winners". Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  7. ^ Wilhelm, Maria. "Youth Counselor Mike Pritchard Brings the Comedy of Hard Knocks to White-Bread America". November 9, 1981. People. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence". KQED. 2000. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Special Affects: Home". Archived from the original on 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  10. ^ "Light It Up Blue in Novato". April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  11. ^ Zavoral, Linda (November 5, 2013). "San Jose: Michael Pritchard's comedy show benefits U.S. vets". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  12. ^ "Mentors". Walking Point Foundation. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  13. ^ RAW VIDEO: Michael Pritchard interview: Dan Noyes talks with Bernie Ward's close friend and child advocate, Michael Pritchard. KGO-TV. Retrieved 2014-03-17.

External links[]

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