Biography

Throughout his 35-year career, Michael has directed many landmark moments in television. His shows have attracted over 2.3 billion views in combined audiences across all broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

After starting his career at ABC News and Sports, Michael transitioned to VH1 where he produced and directed countless music performances, talk format, VJ segments and documentaries. Standouts among those were the cutting-edge, award-winning shows, "New Visions", "Storytellers", and the iconic variety specials "Divas". His directorial resume at VH1 reads like a Who's Who of musical giants: Miles Davis, Prince, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston ... the list is long.

After his time at MTV Networks, Michael helmed numerous specials and series as a freelance director including "Soul Train", 25 live "Survivor" finales, 23 years of the Emmy-winning "A Home For The Holidays", the memorable Priceline commercial series featuring William Shatner, "Rockstar", "The Sing-Off", The Bee Gees "One Night Only" HBO concert special, and "Jimmy Kimmel Live". His inventive use of cameras on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" redefined the way dance is presented on TV today.

With 39 seasons (and counting) of the worldwide sensation "Ridiculousness", as well as numerous comedy specials, he has also established himself as a premier director of comedy.

Michael is developing many projects in the scripted and non-scripted space through his company Give & Go, Inc. His content company, F Street Productions, recently launched Rob Squad and The Creators, a groundbreaking twist to the popular reaction channel format. F Street is taking it to the next level by adding a roster of renowned artists-creators who will interact with hosts Jay and Amber Robinson, sharing their own personal reactions and opinions.

Michael likes to think of himself as the love child of punk rock and quantum mechanics. He is a proud member of the Directors Guild of America.
- IMDb mini biography by: Michael A. Simon