For the past three decades, Michael (aka Michael Lacey) has led a dynamic and unconventional life, blending a business career with a deep-rooted passion for comedy and storytelling. Somehow, improbably yet successfully, he has managed to weave these two worlds together, being honored with a number of writer/producer awards along the way.
His comedic journey began in San Francisco with improv (Bay Area Theatresports) in his 20s, followed by stand-up and sketch comedy in Oakland (Toppers) and Los Angeles (LA Connection, Acme Comedy Theater, The Comedy Store, UCB, and the JokePimps) in his 30s. Whether writing or performing, comedy was his guiding force—the more absurd, the better.
At the same time, he was also a senior executive in several Fortune 500 companies (MCI, CF), startups (Lionshare Media), and investment firms (Platinum Equity). A decade flew by before he realized his funny bone had been sidelined. In 2011, he officially retired the suit to focus on writing and producing “fish-out-of-water” stories—an idiom he knows all too well.
In 2020, he founded Love Stinks, LLC, aiming to bring his absurd big band musical Love Is Afoot!—a hilarious and heartfelt story about a man with a foot fetish in the 1940s—to audiences everywhere.
Michael lives in Los Angeles with his partner and beautiful Jindo dog.