Michael Mittermeier

Michael Mittermeier fused traditional stand-up routines with cabaret flourishes to become the leading German comedian of his era. Born April 3, 1966, in Dorfen, Upper Bavaria, he initially envisioned a future as a rock musician. After picking up guitar during childhood, he was pulled from the audience in 1987 to join U2 onstage in Munich for a performance with his idol band. Comedy nevertheless pulled him in, leading him to complete a Universität München thesis on stand-up in 1994. Around that period he partnered with Berliner Kabarett to create the musical comedy program Killer Montag. Early 1996 brought his headline appearance in the cult show Star Trek Special: Der Zorn des Kirk, and he captured the Prix Pantheon that year at Bonn’s German Spaß-und-Satire-Open.

The resulting visibility paved the way for his breakthrough solo outing Zapped!, which mixed observations on topics such as health insurance with references to the American series MacGyver. Following sold-out runs across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, he released the show as a CD in early 1997 and received the Golden Europa award in the comedy category. Mittermeier claimed the first of consecutive Deutscher Comedypreis trophies for Best Comedian in 1999; his second victory arrived alongside the sophomore album Back to Life. A novelty single, “Kumba Yo!,” recorded with the rock outfit Guano Apes, reached listeners in 2001. His third LP, Paranoid, appeared in 2004 and was supported by English-language dates on the New York City comedy circuit. Global notice followed on July 2, 2005, when he took the Berlin stage at the worldwide Live 8 concert.