Michael Phelan

Creative humorist/collaborator/actor/writer who has acted sporadically since childhood, with detours along the way, mostly wonderful ones, Michael James O'Flaherty was born on September 26, 1967. In 1977, 10-year-old-Michael O'Flaherty was invited to work for Labine-Mayer Productions as an occasional background player in their daytime drama Ryan's Hope, appearing as background player (uncredited) in six episodes and a speaking role with Malachy McCourt in two episodes, and the privilege of being adjacent to Kate Mulgrew in some family bar scenes. At the time, many members of the O'Flaherty and Mulvey clans, while experienced thespians in the old country, worked behind the scenes as writers and crew members for local NYC network productions since the early-1960's, so Michael found himself in the background of a few of those NYC productions over the summers. Michael grew up in a "fractured" family, often moving around the country after his parents' 1978 divorce, putting acting on hold. At age sixteen, as a high school Junior, Michael Phelan would often do improvised stand-up at the New Jersey bar/nightclub which would later become famous as the site of Bada Bing on HBO's The Sopranos. The very young man had a small following of patrons who would wait for his completely improvised and inadequate act each Tuesday night. While in college, he joined William Paterson University's Comedy Club, despite being enrolled, sporadically, at a neighboring college. There, he would drop in on various ensembles and incarnations of what would evolve into The Devised Theatre Ensemble, and drive into Manhattan after midnight to beg for an occasional 3-4 minutes at The Comedy Cellar or The Bitter End when the respective managers were feeling generous, drunk, or simply not paying attention. His detours into the corporate world and family life have resulted in dribbles of productivity, the most successful of which include two children, and a white picket fence on the Jersey side of the River while taking Gotham Writing courses in between having been present to support his wife during her c-sections, and subsequent bringing home of the infant episodes. In February 2021, the couple began shooting Season Nine. Appreciative of having been in his past roles, and with detours now behind him, Michael still has an interest in writing and voiceover roles. As of 2021, he is also open to a "fattish Irishy dad," or "Irish dad's fat best friend" role. Fortunately, there are 24 hours in a day, and he's still an optimist.