Mike Larsen(I)
- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Mike Larsen has found success in three highly competitive fields - television, politics and stand-up comedy. He received Emmy and Writer's Guild Award nominations for his writing on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, has written speeches for many politicians, and made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
While earning a Political Science degree from San Francisco State University, Mike ran for San Bruno City Council at 19, losing narrowly. After college, he moved to Washington, DC to further his political career. While there, Mike signed up for an open mike at a local comedy club and found a new calling. He returned to California and shortly later, was booked for the first of two appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
After years touring the country as a stand up comic, Mike broke into television writing. In addition to his work on Real Time, Mike's credits include Two Guys & a Girl, Ellen, The Drew Carey Show, Grace Under Fire, Rodney, Reba, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Whoopi. He's sold pilots to ABC, CBS, FOX, The Disney Channel and the BBC and served as Executive Producer and show runner of the acclaimed kids show Crash & Bernstein.
In 2008, Mike took a sabbatical from television to return to politics when he was recruited by newly-elected Congresswoman Jackie Speier to help set up her office. He served as Congresswoman Speier's Communications Director - managing her overall messaging strategy, writing speeches and op-eds, and working on health care legislation, financial reform and consumer protection. Mike's most rewarding experience, though, was working with survivors of military sexual assault to help them tell their stories in their own words.
In his free time, Mike mentors inmate writers at San Quentin State Prison and wrote the foreword to their 2016 Brothers in Pen Anthology. He now lives on a small ranch in rural Union County Ohio with his wife, actress Tina Gasbarra, and their son, Luca.
While earning a Political Science degree from San Francisco State University, Mike ran for San Bruno City Council at 19, losing narrowly. After college, he moved to Washington, DC to further his political career. While there, Mike signed up for an open mike at a local comedy club and found a new calling. He returned to California and shortly later, was booked for the first of two appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
After years touring the country as a stand up comic, Mike broke into television writing. In addition to his work on Real Time, Mike's credits include Two Guys & a Girl, Ellen, The Drew Carey Show, Grace Under Fire, Rodney, Reba, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Whoopi. He's sold pilots to ABC, CBS, FOX, The Disney Channel and the BBC and served as Executive Producer and show runner of the acclaimed kids show Crash & Bernstein.
In 2008, Mike took a sabbatical from television to return to politics when he was recruited by newly-elected Congresswoman Jackie Speier to help set up her office. He served as Congresswoman Speier's Communications Director - managing her overall messaging strategy, writing speeches and op-eds, and working on health care legislation, financial reform and consumer protection. Mike's most rewarding experience, though, was working with survivors of military sexual assault to help them tell their stories in their own words.
In his free time, Mike mentors inmate writers at San Quentin State Prison and wrote the foreword to their 2016 Brothers in Pen Anthology. He now lives on a small ranch in rural Union County Ohio with his wife, actress Tina Gasbarra, and their son, Luca.
