Michael Goudeau

Michael Carey Goudeau (born May 11, 1959) is a juggler and an ex-circus clown who graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

He is a writer and was an executive producer for the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.

Goudeau juggled for the Lance Burton Show at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Goudeau graduated from Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College in 1979 where he was voted class clown, then toured with the circus from 1979 to 1981.

In 1982 he traveled with a circus in Mexico, for only one season due to certain undisclosed problems.

As a clown he also appeared on Romper Room and the Chicago version of Bozo the Clown.

Goudeau then moved to Houston, Texas, and took a job as a writer/performer in a sketch comedy group.

Unable to make a financial go, Goudeau found himself in Canada doing more juggling and riding a 6 ft unicycle on what Goudeau describes as "fake ice that was sprayed with vegetable oil".

Goudeau and his partner Frank were booked to work a cruise ship but Frank was injured in a paragliding accident, leaving Frank unable to perform.

Goudeau quickly wrote a one-man show that evolved into the current act at the Lance Burton Show.

From there, Goudeau began his solo career, and landed a gig at the Folies Bergere in Las Vegas, Nevada where he met both his wife Theresa Goudeau and Lance Burton.

(Burton himself was also only a short variety act at the time.) From there Goudeau worked with Melinda, The First Lady Of Magic until he was fired (on Christmas Day).

On July 3, 1991, Goudeau began a juggling act for the Lance Burton show at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas.

Goudeau took a short time off in 1995/1996 during summer months to become a Gag Instructor at the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College.

At the Lance Burton Show, Goudeau does 12 minutes of comedy/stunt juggling.

Atop yet another unicycle he tells jokes and juggles a wide variety of items both dangerous (chainsaws, fire, knives) and seemingly un-juggleable (bean bag chairs).

Goudeau first encountered Penn Jillette when he was a street performer in San Francisco.

Goudeau introduced himself as a working juggler to Penn after a Penn & Teller performance.

Penn seemed impressed by the entirely normal street attire Goudeau wore when he wasn't performing.

Penn and Goudeau hooked up again when the Penn & Teller show moved out to Vegas.

Both being part of Vegas's small variety arts community, they began to do lunch.

Eventually Penn offered Goudeau a job doing warm-up juggling for his act as well as doing some comedy consulting for the TV show "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular".

Goudeau was slated to work with Penn on a Sci-Fi Channel television show called "Penn Jillette's Fi-Sci."

Sci-Fi did not pick up the show, however.

While working with Penn as a writer for Penn & Teller's "Bullshit!" show, the two kicked around an idea for a daily talk radio show, based largely around their shared skepticism, atheism, and libertarian beliefs.

On January 3, 2006, Penn Radio began broadcasting from Penn's personal studio, Vintage Nudes Studio, in his home "The Slammer".

It was while cycling with Penn that Goudeau conceived an idea for novelty barbecue covers.

During July 2006, Goudeau was experimenting with a Tour de France exercise program.

Penn referred to Goudeau as a "Secret Tour de France rider".

Goudeau served as co-host of Penn Radio with Penn Jillette which aired weekdays on Free FM until March 2, 2007.

He currently serves as co-host of Jillette's weekly podcast, Penn's Sunday School, with Matt Donnelly.

Goudeau is married to Theresa Goudeau and is the father of two adopted children, Joe and Emily.

Goudeau divorced and remarried his wife.

Their second wedding ceremony was performed in a Vegas drive-thru church.

Goudeau says "I got married in a drive thru. My mother-in-law and my mom were in the backseat of my Suburban. We had classical music on the radio. My wife had a Subway napkin taped to her head as a veil. As crazy as all that was, we turned around to our mothers and they were still crying."

Goudeau also designs and sells decorative barbecue covers.

He has a patent application related to his novelty barbecue covers filed with the US Patent office.

Goudeau was born in Louisiana, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He took up the craft of juggling at the age of 15, after his father bought him a book for Christmas on how to juggle.

He started performing for sidewalk crowds and at Renaissance Fairs with a group of friends, who later became known as Fly By Night Comedy Review.