John Mulrooney is a stand-up comedian with more than thirty years of television, stage and radio experience. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., John knew early on that his calling was comedy. Once, while on a family trip to the World’s Fair, young John climbed on stage during a children’s show and told a joke that would have been more appropriate for a bachelor party. Initially, John could not understand why the stunned audience members stared at him as if he were the last letter on an eye chart. John’s parents ushered him offstage and quickly “enlightened” him about his choice of material. Mr. and Mrs. Mulrooney then forced the fledgling showman into an early retirement.
But everyone knows you can’t keep a good delinquent down forever. In 1985, John emerged from his coerced hiatus to try his hand again. This time the reviews were favorable and John never looked back. John spent the next seven years honing his craft in front of fastidious New York audiences. During this time, John got his feet wet in television with a show called Comedy Tonight. The upstart show was the first syndicated T.V. program to feature night club comedy on television. In addition to his on-camera antics, John also wrote and did the studio warm-up’s for more than 165 episodes. John’s abilities caught the eye of a savvy talent agent and he was off Hollywood to compete on Star Search.
Although John lost the show, he won the war. John was offered a talent development deal with ABC and was asked to come back and work in the Star Search studio – writing and doing audience warm-up. Upon moving to Tinsel town, John auditioned at the world famous Improvisation Comedy Club in Hollywood. There he garnered the attention of owner Budd Friedman. Budd started to use John in all of his clubs. This exposure helped John get his first big break in the biz. John was asked to replace Joan Rivers as host of The Late Show on the FOX network. After several rollercoaster months the show was cancelled. Later that year FOX called on the wisecracking New Yorker again to host another show that featured night club comedy on television. The show was called Comic Strip Live. During John’s two year tenure on the show, Comic Strip reigned as one of the top ten programs for its time period. When the show ended, John turned his sights on writing and acting. He wrote and starred in a sitcom called Midtown North which aired on Comedy Central for two seasons. During this time John continued to appear on television doing his stand-up. His credits include; An Evening at the Improv, Caroline’s Comedy Hour, Comedy on the Road, Hollywood Squares, Comedy Central, Showtime and HBO.