Mike Cannon
A physically imposing comic who treats daily life as an unwinnable fight.
1 special · 2024
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Mike Cannon occupies the stage like a reluctant participant in a confrontation he didn’t start. He is a big guy who speaks with the defeated cadence of someone trying to sneak out the back door. He paces slowly, holding the microphone close to his chest, and lets his voice drop to a mumble when he admits a mistake. A typical setup places him in a stressful public scenario, but instead of getting angry, the punchline is almost always his immediate, complete surrender. He doesn’t push back; he figures out how quickly he can apologize and go home.
Specials
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Millennial fatherhood meets generational trauma at a Connecticut comedy club.
YouTube
On stage
He sits comfortably in the middle of the New York club scene, collaborating frequently with high-energy locals like Chris Distefano. In a circuit full of aggressive East Coast joke writers, he provides a necessary counterweight. He gets laughs by deflating rather than attacking.
He builds his material around his exhaustion as a father and his heavy use of edibles, framing his own brain as a faulty appliance he hopes his kids do not inherit. He gets the most mileage out of his profound lack of ambition to argue. He even turned crowd work—usually a combative, quick-twitch format—into a sluggish, deeply anxious conversation by recording an entire hour while dosed on marijuana. Sometimes his premises about sleep deprivation and chaotic holidays tread familiar ground, but he approaches the domestic material by reacting to his children the same way he reacts to a stranger starting a fight: as a tired man desperate to avoid making a scene.
Turning points
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Independent Release of Life Begins
Cannon released his debut special independently on YouTube with mockumentary wraparound segments featuring comedy icons, earning a spot on Laugh Button's Top 35 Comedy Specials of 2020.
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Filling In at the Comedy Cellar
Cannon earned one of his major early career breaks when Colin Quinn suffered a heart attack and Cannon was called to fill the vacant spot at the Comedy Cellar in New York City.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Chris DistefanoFans will appreciate their shared energetic New York sensibility and close creative partnership, which includes co-hosting Chrissy Chaos and Distefano producing Cannon's special Traumatized Animal.
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Brendan Sagalow
Cannon's closest longtime collaborator and best friend, sharing a nearly identical audience across co-hosting Fart Carnival and Here's the Scenario.
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Mike Feeney
Co-hosted the podcast Here's the Scenario with Cannon and operates in the same NYC club circles.
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Andy Haynes
Co-hosts the parenting and career podcast Beautiful Boys with Cannon, sharing material focused on adult milestones and fatherhood.
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Robert Kelly
Cannon cites Kelly as one of his formative comedy heroes and has appeared as a regular panelist and guest host on his podcast You Know What Dude!.
Podcasts
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Beautiful Boys · co-host
A parenting and career podcast co-hosted by Mike Cannon and Andy Haynes.
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Fart Carnival · co-host
A podcast hosted alongside comedian and frequent collaborator Brendan Sagalow.
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Chrissy Chaos · co-host
A comedy podcast co-hosted with comedian Chris Distefano.
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Here's the Scenario · co-host
A collaborative comedy podcast previously hosted with Mike Feeney and Brendan Sagalow.
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Irish Goodbye Podcast · host
A long-running comedy podcast formerly hosted by Cannon on the GaS Digital Network.
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Deep Inside the Rabbit Hole · host
A podcast hosted by Mike Cannon.
Also on screen
- Super Maximum Retro Show
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- Timing
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- Double Cross with Blake Griffin
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- The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
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- Street Court
A clip to start with
Fist Fighting My Sister | Mike Cannon | Stand Up Comedy