Mike Lebovitz

Mike Lebovitz is an American stand-up comedian from Chicago now living in New York. He is a co-founding member of the Comedians You Should Know collective,[2] a nationally known group based in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Sean Ely of the Chicago Tribune wrote that Lebovitz "has helped define the stand-up comedy scene in Chicago."[3]

For the attorney and military-law expert, see Mike Lebowitz.
Mike Lebovitz
Lebovitz in 2010
Born1979 or 1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationStand-up comedian
Years active2002-present
Known forComedians You Should Know
Websitemikelebovitz.net

His 2021 solo comedy album, Two Slob Household, released on Stand Up! Records, reached No. 2 on the iTunes comedy chart.[4] Comedians You Should Know's self-titled 2011 group album reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.[5]

Career

Lebovitz began performing improv sketch comedy in 2002, working with both Improv Olympics and The Second City. He moved into solo stand-up comedy in 2007.[6][7] He is a co-founder, host and producer of Comedians You Should Know, which formed in 2008 in Chicago.[6][8] In 2015, Lebovitz moved to New York,[9] where he started a new offshoot of Comedians You Should Know the following year.[10] (A Los Angeles chapter of CYSK was also formed in 2015.)[11][12]

Lebovitz's comic style is often self-deprecating[13] and was described by the Chicago Tribune as "a giant, lovable ball of energy,"[14] and "focused yet silly" by Cincinnati CityBeat.[8] He tends to avoid politics in favor of observational comedy and stories from his life as a married father of three children.[7][14][15]

Lebovitz was named one of Chicago's best comics in 2014 by Chicago magazine.[1]

In 2015, Lebovitz performed on season 9 of the NBC series Last Comic Standing.[16][7] He also appeared in a 2018 episode of HBO's The Deuce,[17] After After Party,[18] and the 2009 webseries Assisted Living.[19]

Lebovitz won the international competition at the 2013 Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland, an offshoot of the Montreux Jazz Festival.[20] He has performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival,[21] Tig Notaro's Bentzen Ball,[22][23] Montreal's Just For Laughs,[24][25][7] and the Brooklyn Comedy Festival.[26]

Albums

Lebovitz's album Two Slob Household was recorded in 2014 in Chicago[3] and released on Stand Up! Records in 2021. It features album-cover artwork by Tom Bunk of Mad Magazine and Garbage Pail Kids.[15] Reviewing it for the publication ChicagoNow, Teme Ring wrote that "Mike Lebovitz proves that the year is just getting better."[17] Devin Keast of the podcast Small Tea gave a positive review of the album, saying "It feels like a party. It's warm, it's fun."[27]

Podcasts

Lebovitz hosts two podcasts: Mike Lebovitz Top Secret Underground Podcast, a solo comedy podcast,[28] and The Comedian and the Philosopher, a podcast about philosophical issues co-hosted with Duncan Gale.[29]

Personal life

Lebovitz grew up on the south side of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood. His father is a mathematician. He is married with three children and lives in upstate New York.[30] He is half Jewish.[13]

Discography
  • Mike Lebovitz, Two Slob Household (Stand Up! Records, 2021)
  • Comedians You Should Know, Comedians You Should Know (Red Bar Comedy, 2011)

References
  1. Heidemann, Jason (2014-09-23). "16 Chicago Comics You Should Check Out This Fall". Chicago Magazine. Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  2. Gavri, David (2014-10-24). "Interview with Mike Lebovitz!". Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  3. Ely, Sean (2014-10-22). "Mike Lebovitz to film comedy album live at Timothy O'Toole's". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  4. Stand Up! Records [@StandUpRecords] (2021-01-15). ".@mikelebovitz has made the jump to #2 on the @iTunes comedy chart with #TwoSlobHousehold!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2021-04-01 – via Twitter.
  5. "Comedians You Should Know". Cool Cleveland. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  6. Bobbitt, Mike (2011-05-12). "Mike Lebovitz is a Comedian You Should Know". Off the Mike. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  7. Owen, Brent (2017-07-19). "No politics for Mike Lebovitz: 'I'm just there to have fun and be silly'". LEO Weekly. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  8. "Comedy: Mike Lebovitz". Cincinnati CityBeat. Cincinnati, Ohio. 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  9. "Farewell Show for Mike Lebovitz". Comedy of Chicago. August 19, 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  10. Ullian, Adam (July 26, 2016). "Bust a gut-ter: Comedy show rolls into bowling alley". The Brooklyn Paper. Brooklyn, New York City. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  11. "History". Comedians You Should Know. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  12. Matteson, Cory (2016-09-02). "Comedian Kristen Toomey strives to make even the worst stuff funny". Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  13. Kelley, Allison (2014-11-03). "Mike Lebovitz Gets Live, Records Album At 'Comedians You Should Know'". Chicagoist. Chicago, Illinois. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  14. Heidemann, Jason (2014-09-15). "Stand-up Scene: Confessional jokes are therapy for the rest of us". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  15. Joe Kilgallon (2021-01-13). "Episode 130 - Mike Lebovitz Returns". Joe Kilgallon Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  16. McCarthy, Sean L. (2015-07-29). "Last Comic Standing, Season 9: Invitationals, Part One". The Comic's Comic. New York City. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  17. Ring, Teme (January 20, 2021). "Comedians Defying Gravity: January 20, 2021". ChicagoNow. Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  18. Hendricks, Sara (2018-09-01). "After After Party Asks: Is Sex All About Power?". Refinery29. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  19. Vincent Terrace (29 January 2016). Internet Comedy Television Series, 1997-2015. McFarland. pp. 16–. ISBN 978-0-7864-9760-7.
  20. Ring, Teme (December 21, 2015). "Comedians Defying Gravity: December 21, 2015". ChicagoNow. Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  21. Mercer, Pete (March 14, 2017). "Full Lineup for Bridgetown Comedy Festival Announced". Paste. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  22. Greenberg, Rudi (2014-09-25). "Bentzen Ball, the comedy showcase created by Tig Notaro and Brightest Young Things, is back". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  23. Lebovitz, Mike (2015-01-22). "Nightmare Gig: Mike Lebovitz". Brightest Young Things. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  24. McCarthy, Sean L. (2013-07-23). "Meet Montreal's Just For Laughs New Faces, Class of 2013". The Comic's Comic. New York City. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  25. McCarthy, Sean L. (2013-08-02). "First look: Montreal's New Faces, Unrepped 2013". The Comic's Comic. New York City. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  26. "Comedians You Should Know: Brooklyn Comedy Festival Edition". Brooklyn Comedy Festival. August 23, 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  27. Devin Keast (2021-01-17). "Episode 43: Mike Lebovitz". Small Tea (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  28. Lebovitz, Mike. "Mike Lebovitz Top Secret Underground Podcast". Podbean. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  29. Lebovitz, Mike; Gale, Duncan (19 March 2021). "The Comedian and the Philosopher". Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  30. Michael Joyce. "Ever-expanding bedtimes with Mike Lebovitz". Doing My Best with Michael Joyce (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-28.
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