Michael Pritchard (comedian)

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

Prichard 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.[1]

Recent projects

Pritchard works with Special Affects, 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, Prichard 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 Walking Point Foundation, 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. 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. 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.
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