Mike Bocchetti

Mike Bocchetti was born on April 3, 1961, in Staten Island, New York, to a Catholic Italian family from a blue-collar background. He is the oldest of five children and graduated from Tottenville High School in 1979. Overcoming early experiences of being bullied for his weight, Bocchetti found inspiration in comedians like Redd Foxx, which fueled his desire to pursue a career in comedy. He briefly joined the Marines in 1980 but left after a few weeks, an experience he later integrated into his artistic work.

Bocchetti began his stand-up comedy career in 1992, performing across New York-area stages, including the Staten Island Comedy Festival and The Bamboozle music festival. His television career includes appearances on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in both 2003 and 2006. A significant milestone was his role as the announcer on DirecTV’s “The Artie Lange Show” from 2012 to 2014, a position he held due to a long-standing friendship and promise with Artie Lange. He has also played various acting roles, such as a homeless man in the “Monk” episode “Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan” in 2004 and an appearance on Louis C.K.’s series “Louie” in 2015. Notably, in May 2024, he starred as the fictional President Jimble in an episode of Adult Swim’s “Smiling Friends.”

Beyond performing, Bocchetti co-founded Blasted Films with comedian Ken Burmeister, a production company that created “Tubby Man: Hero of the Bullied,” an anti-bullying web series for Blip TV in 2013. He has been a frequent guest on various talk-radio shows and podcasts, including “The Howard Stern Show” and “Opie and Anthony.” In 2014, he launched his own podcast, “The Mike Bocchetti Show,” which he later relaunched on YouTube at the end of 2022. His film credits include “Cremaster 3” in 2002 and the 2020 drama “Faraway Eyes.” In 2019, Bocchetti released his debut comedy album, “Thank You,” on Stand Up! Records, and in 2018, he authored his autobiography, “Still Standing,” which covered his life up to his 2017 heart attack.