Personal Info
Known For
Writing
Birthdate
1964-10-11 (Age: 62)
Place of Birth
St. Charles, Illinois
Michael J. Nelson
Biography
Michael J. Nelson is the former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since that time, he has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, penned a regular column for TV Guide, and authored best-selling books for both HarperCollins and Abrams. His first book, Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, thrilled critics, including Richard Schickel of Time Magazine, who said of Mike, "He's more fun than a barrel of Val Kilmers... Smarter than a roomful of Patrick Swayzes... and almost as hilarious as Keanu Reeves." Mike's laugh-out-loud follow-up, Mind Over Matters, prompted Kirkus Reviews to enthuse, "From someplace called Minnesota comes a Nelson funnier than Ozzie, Ricky, Lord or Half," and even dared to compare him to another legendary writer, saying of his Serious Speech to Business People, "[It] could easily precede [Robert] Benchley's immortal Treasurer's Report." And Kirkus Reviews loved his novel, Death Rat!, saying, "Fast-paced, outrageous and funny, first-novelist Nelson's mockery of media mendacity is as biting as La Dolce Vita or Network--only funnier!" Nelson speaks all over the country, is a frequent guest on radio and television, and along with fellow former MST3K writers/performers Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy operate a podcast called RiffTrax, which, in a similar vein to MST3K, targets more mainstream films.
Filmography (60)
Hunks of Junk
2026
GrimTrax Returns
2026
RiffTrax Live: Timecop
2025
RiffTrax: Super Zeroes
2025
RiffTrax Live: Point Break
2024
GrimTrax
2024
RiffTrax Live: RAD
2023
RiffTrax Live: The Return of Swamp Thing
2022
RiffTrax Live: Amityville - The Evil Escapes
2022
RiffTrax Live: Hobgoblins
2021
RiffTrax Live: Giant Spider Invasion
2019
RiffTrax Live: Star Raiders
2019
RiffTrax Live: Octaman
2019
The Rifftrax Yule Log
2018
