Michael J. Nelson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Michael J. Nelson
Nelson at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1964-10-11) October 11, 1964 (age 59)
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • writer
Notable workMystery Science Theater 3000
RiffTrax
SpouseBridget Jones (m. 1989)
Children2

Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964) is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the

Mike Nelson. In addition to writing books, Nelson is currently part of the online movie riffing site RiffTrax, and was previously part of the straight-to-DVD Film Crew with fellow MST3K alumni, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy
.

Early life

Michael John Nelson was born in the

Danish, German, and Irish.[1][2] He lived in Geneva, Illinois, until the age of twelve, when his family moved to north-western Wisconsin.[3][4] He studied theatre and music at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, but he left before graduating and moved to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.[3]

Career

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Nelson was working as a waiter at

Manos - The Hands of Fate
.

When series creator and host Joel Hodgson decided to leave the show halfway through the fifth season, he chose Nelson as his replacement, reportedly because he thought Nelson was a natural leader, a gifted comedian, and a gifted muse, and also because Nelson simply looked good standing next to the show's puppets.[citation needed] Nelson remained in the host role for another five and a half seasons (surviving the show's switching networks from Comedy Central to the Sci-Fi Channel) until the original show's final Sci-Fi Channel episode aired in 1999.

Post-MST3K

Writing

Since the series ended, Nelson has worked steadily as a writer, publishing several books (as of March 2006):

Hollywood After Dark
, was released July 10, 2007, and three more followed in the months after.

Nelson (left) and Mystery Science Theater 3000 co-star Kevin Murphy at a convention panel in Metairie, Louisiana, November 1998.

Legend Films | RiffTrax

In 2006, Nelson was appointed Chief Content Producer for Legend Films. He is responsible for building and leading the company's creative content, providing continuous commentaries, and developing other premium web-based programming. "I'm very excited. Legend Films is such a great fit for me—talented people who consistently put out a great product. Plus, there are Flaming Hot Cheetos in the lunch room vending machine. That made it an easy choice to join the team," enthused Nelson.[5]

One of the projects put together by Nelson and Legend Films was RiffTrax, a website offering the purchase of downloadable audio commentaries once again costarring two former MST3K cast members Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. The first commentary made available through the service was for Road House. In a September 2006 interview, Nelson said he felt that Rifftrax may be the closest thing to a reunion of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 team.[6] In 2016, additional MST3K alumni, Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, and Frank Conniff, all appeared for a live reunion at the State Theatre in Minneapolis with Nelson, Murphy and Corbett. They were also joined by the newest host, Jonah Ray.[7]

Voice work

In 2013, Nelson agreed to do voiceover work for Armikrog.[8] Nelson voices the lead character, Tommynaut.[9]

Podcasts

In 2016, Nelson and David Berge started the podcast Like Trees Walking. They look at life and faith from a Christian perspective, with a lightly humorous, offbeat approach.

Since 2017, he has created, with Conor Lastowka, the podcast 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back, which analyses books of contested quality.[10]

Personal life

Nelson has described the role of

C.S. Lewis as influences.[11]

Nelson has suffered from chronic debilitating headaches for most of his adult life; he wrote a short piece about his experience for the

See also

References

  1. ^ "10 Quick Questions With ... MST3K and Rifftrax's Mike Nelson". Science Channel. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  2. Ocala Star-Banner
    .
  3. ^ a b "Michael J. Nelson biography". Michaeljnelson.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2002. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  4. ^ Johnson, Brett (August 14, 2009). "Plan 9' on the roasting spit". Ventura County Star.
  5. ^ Legend Films, Inc. (July 10, 2006). "Michael J. Nelson Named Producer at Legend Films". PR Newswire. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  6. ^ The Flux.tv (September 28, 2006). "Mike Nelson of MST3K Fame Stops In". TheFlux.tv. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  7. ^ "RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion". June 27, 2016.
  8. ^ Kickstarter (June 20, 2013). "Q & A with Michael J. Nelson". Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  9. ^ ScrewAttack (June 19, 2013). "Bryan the intern speaks with Doug TenNapel about his upcoming game, Armikrog". Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  10. ^ "Home". 372pages.com.
  11. ^ Mayerson, Ginger; Sutton, Laurel (2005). "Interview with Lincoln Heights Literary Society". Liheliso.com. Lincoln Heights Literary Society.
  12. ^ Nelson, Michael J. (June 10, 2007). "A Head Case". The New York Times.

External links