MichaelBlevins.com

Born on US Air Force Base Orlando, Florida to Dr. Ballard H. Blevins and Bette C. Blevins. Cost of delivery $8.

At 5 years old, makes decision to take advantage of "free" dance lessons from his "Godmother", Wilma "Bill" Pace and begins studying tap, ballet and acrobatics at the Holloway School of Dance owned by "Bill" and her sister Reese Holloway Thooey who had been a partner of Gene Kelly during his early career in New York.

Enters the 1st grade at Henry Johnson Elementary School, Johnson City, Tennessee.

Plays title role in 2nd grade music program, "Peter Rabbit".

Begins producing garage productions forcing siblings, cousins and neighborhood playmates to participate in all aspects of the productions including performing in the shows and helping to drag the family couch and dining table onto the "garage stage" to use as set pieces, hanging sheets as curtains, etc. The height of this phase comes when 13 year old Blevins makes a profit of $55 producing a dinner theatre production of Susan Glaspell's one-act "Suppressed Desires" in the neighbors larger "garage theatre". He sells Pizza Hut pizza by the slice before the show and requires all his actor/playmates to also serve the meal.

Combats teasing from classmates for being a "dancer" by always back-flipping into homeplate during kick-ball and baseball games at recess.

Makes community theatre debut by appearing in "Camelot" as a Page a the Johnson City Community Theatre, the oldest continuing theatre in the state of Tennessee. Blevins continues his association with the JCCT for 7 years and also during this time appears in many productions at East Tennesse State University.

Enters the 7th grade at South Jr. High School and the Liberty Bell Learning Center Complex, Independence Hall, Johnson City, Tennessee

Produces and stars in his own weekly cable TV series "The Mike Blevins Show" on Broadside TV, Johnson City, Tennessee, noted playwright, Jo Carson, is Executive Producer.

Attends PAWASA - Performng Arts Workshop At Saint Andrews. Begins 3 year association with this intense summer performing arts training program under the direction of Kent Cathcart and Ruth Sweet of Nashville, Tennessee.

Aware that his local High School only has an English Department with no real "Drama" program Blevins and his mother convince the School Board to hire a teacher who specializes in Acting, and Drama because that's what he wants to do for a living. Enters Science Hill High School at the Liberty Bell Learning Complex where he studies acting under the direction of newly hired professional television and dinner theatre actor, Bruce Borin.

Earns $50 on first professional job as an actor playing 'Linus' in a local tour of "Your're A Good Man, Charlie Brown".

Hired by Olde West Dinner Theatre to appear in Ensemble of "Fiddler On The Roof" for a 9 week run at a salary of $35 dollars a week.

The Junior League hires 17 year old Blevins to direct and choreograph a production of "Tom Sawyer" at the Johnson City Community Theatre and over 1000 area public school children are bussed in to see the show.

Graduates early from Science Hill High School and moves to Nashville, Tennessee and enrolls in the Nashville Children's Theatre Academy and continues his studies under the direction of Ruth Sweet and Mary Stout.

Takes job backstage as a "dresser" in the Wardrobe Department of Opryland USA, Nashville, Tennessee

Convinced he should be "onstage" and not "backstage" Blevins quits his "Dresser" job at Opryland USA to join The Parkway Playhouse a professional summer stock company in North Carolina and lands several lead roles including 'Motel' in "Fiddler on the Roof" and the 'Emcee' in "Cabaret" with a young pre-Tony Beth Leavel) under the direction of Broadway actor, John Joy.

Attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro majoring in Acting. Begins teaching tap/jazz dance around the campus to other students to help pay for his tuition.

Meets and begins training with dance master Mallory Graham in nearby Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Blevins, teachs gymnastics at the Dorminy Dance Studios to pay for his classes with Graham.

Auditions and lands performing job as principal dancer at Opryland, USA in Nashville. Works with choreographer Jean Whitaker and director Phillip Padgett.

Rehearses and performs on weekends in Nashville, Tennessee at Opryland. He attends classes Monday through Friday at the UNC-Greensboro and commutes via plane every week - spending all but $2 of his weekly Opryland salary on the airfare.

Contiues performing at Opryland, USA and the Grande Ol' Opry. Also during this time Blevins appears in several national Television Specials that originalte out of Nashville including a TV Pilot "Big Al's Dogs" starring Al Lewis and Cynthia Rhodes. The Pilot is not picked-up.

Continues working at Opryland and does not return to school at University of North Carolina.

Makes move to New York City, where he studies at Joffrey, Jo's Jo's Dance Factory (now Broadway Dance Center). He meets and dances with Lucie Aranz at the Red Blazer, II, in NYC after winning a jitterbug contest with a girlfriend of a friend. Now only a member of AFTRA, Blevins is not able to audition for any union theatre jobs but Blevins talks the Equity monitor into convincing casting people for a union tour of "Camelot" starring Robert Goulet to come out into the hallway to meet him since he's non-union and not allowed into the "audition" studio. He doesn't get the job. Blevins returns home to Nashville, when called to shoot a "Hank Williams Special" for NBC television.

Signs again with Opryland Live Entertainment to perform another year at Opryland while acting as a Choreographer and Assistant to Jean Sloan Whitaker putting together shows for the internationally known theme park in Nashville.

Having auditioned for New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Blevins transfers and enters NYU as an Acting Major and studies with the Actor's and Directors Lab, part of NYU's exclusive studio system, under the direction of Harold Clurman, Jack Garfein and Dancace Derra. [Unfortunately, after only a week of classes Mr. Clurman dies on Sept. 9, 1980.]

Blevins auditions for his first Broadway show and lands a role in Broadway's most expensive musicals to date, "Bring Back Birdie", starring Chita Rivera and Donald O'Connor. "Bridie" is directed and choreographed by Tony winning Director, Joe Layton. "Bring Back Birdie", Broadway's first sequel, is authored by famed "Bye Bye Birdie" team Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams.[Having only arrived in New York one month before, Blevins also understudies the principal role of Albert Jr. - not bad for the first time out.]

Blevins manages to successfully juggles his college classes and "Bridie" rehearsals and completes his first semester at NYU.

Blevins makes his Broadway debut in "Bring Back Birdie" in previews at the Martin Beck Theatre, NYC. ["Birdie" is one of the very first musicals to to "try-out" on Broadway instead of on the "road".]

Blevins officially opens on Broadway in "Bring Back Birdie" after 8 weeks of previews in New York City.

Sadly, "Bring Back Birdie" closes after only 4 performances. [Blevins' mother was in town for the weekend and sees the entire run. But, hey, at least he's bombing with the best: Chita Rivera, Donald O'Connor, Joe Layton, Charles Strouse, Michael Steward, Lee Adams, Maria Karnilova, Maurice Hines and gal-pal, Robin Morse. Plus, he gets his first agent out of the deal, Dale Lally of the famed Mary Ellen White Agency, NYC.]

Blevins joins the unemployment line on Broadway and 90th Street - he referres to it as "Club 90".

Blevins rehearses and appears in his first industrial show for Calvin Klein jeans where he meets and works with Brooke Shields and Dinah Carroll. The show is directed by Broadway director, Joe Layton and musically directed by Daniel Troob.

Blevins returns to NYU and continues studying Acting at the Actor's and Director's lab under direction of Jack Garfein and Candace Derra.

Blevins books the first commercial his new agents sends him out on. It's a regional spot for "Puffs" tissues.

After several months of unemployment Blevins once again begins taking acting class with Jack Garfein and Candace Derra at the Actor's & Director's Lab on 42nd Street. Just weeks into the clas Blevins lands a job in Neil Simon's latest comedy on Broadway the revival of "Little Me" with music by lyrics by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. He is forced to drop-out of class to go into rehearsals with Director, Robert Drivas and choreographer Peter Gennaro. Blevins also works with Bob Fosse on this venture when Little Me producers bring Fosse in to recreate some of the original choreography. The show stars James CoCo and Victor Garber and then unknown-dancer, Bebe Neuwirth appears in the ensemble with Blevins. [Blevins also meets up again with Lucie Arnaz at a party they both attended at Neil Simon's following the closing of the show. Lucie Arnaz told Blevins she would never forget him and the night they danced together at the Red Blazer Too in NYC. Apparently, the night she danced with Blevins - her limo broke down outside the night club and that was the evening she and Lawrence Luckenbill consumated their relationship in the limo.]

"Little Me" opens in previews on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neil Theatre [at the time it was the Neil Simon Theater owned by Mr. Simon].

"Little Me" officially opens to great reviews at the Eugene O'Neil Theatre in New York City and will receive 3 Tony nomination nods: Peter Gennaro for Best Choreography; Mary Gordon Murray, for Best Actress in a musical; Victor Garber, for Best Actor in a musical but wins none.

"Little Me" closes and Blevins is back on the audition circuit.

Blevins auditions for a Broadway production of "Drumwirght" directed by and starring Two-Time Tony winner John Cullum. The new musical is to be choreographed by Lynn Taylor Corbet and will have an out-of-town run at the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Cullum likes Blevins so much he has the Nashville authors of the show write a part especially for Blevins. [Once Blevins is signed to do the show (his first "white" contract] and is in rehearsal he discovers that one of the composers of the show is Nan Gurley - with whom he had worked with several years before at Opryland, USA.]

Michael injures his leg during a "backers" showing for postential investors in the Broadway production of "Drumwirght". On crutches an unable to dance Blevins is concerned about losing his job. Always looking to turn a negative into a positive Blevins makes good use of a "period crutch" prop given to him by one of the Stage Managers as a "joke". Blevins makes the injury work for his character "Johnny Burton". Once his leg had recovered - a "faith healing" number was incorporated into the finale of act one where Blevins would throw down the crutches and begin dancing. Unfortunately a few weeks later the show closed on the road before making it back to New York.

Blevins heads back to New York in search of work - and begins teaching at the Manhattan Theatre Workshop, New York City.

Blevins autitions for the "Tap Dance Kid" and despite the fact that he has no tap shows to audition in (he tells choreographer Danny Daniels he'll get some if he gives him the part) he lands another speaking role, "Winslow", in this predominately black musical. The show will begin rehearsals in early 1983 - what a great Christmas present for Blevins.

Before rehearsal begin for Tap Dance Kid Blevins gets a call that one of the producers has pulled out of the production and will be going into a "Workshop" situation before it moves to Broadway - one benefit of the "workshop" contract is that Blevins received royalties for several years from the tour and Broadway run becaus of Equity's League of Nations contract. The Backers/Workshop production at the Michael Bennet/890 Studios seemed a success and it was just a matter of time and theatre availability.

The ever loyal Danny Daniels is working on the re-shoot of Woody Allen's latest project "Zelig" and arranges an audition for Blevins. He gets the part and works on the Woody Allen film for 3 days. He's excited about his first film experience and enjoyed it all except getting his hair cut for the circa '20s film. Unfortunately most of his part winds up CRF [on the cutting room floor] except his dancing lizard dance.

Blevins works at the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts a connection he made through his work with the Manhattan Theatre Workshop. In the summer of '83 Blevins directs and choreographes several shows for French Woods including A Chorus Line and The Boyfriend.

Blevins begins rehearsal for the Broadway production of the "Tap Dance Kid". There are several replacement actors that were not in the workshop production but Michael retains his role of "Winslow".

Teh Tap Dance Kid opens to mixed reviews but looks to be a healthy long run. The show is received well because it features an up-scale, wealthy, highly educated African American family - that lives on Roosevelt Island. Despite the fact that Blevins is 23, he plays "Winslow" a 17 year old punk that bullies Alfonso Ribeiro, the Tap Dance Kid.

Tap Dance Kid is a hit and running strong. It receives 8 Tony nominations including Best Musical. Hinton Battle wins for Best Supporting Actor and Danny Daniels wins for Best Choreography. Blevins also appears on the Tony Awards show in the "Fabulous Feet" number featuring Hinton Battle and Daniels' Tony winning choreography.

Blevins receives a call from Cy Feurer to come disucuss the possibility of him appearing in the film, A Chorus Line. Blevins was surprised as he had spent months trying to get an audition for the film - even his agent turned up nothing stating that the producers were seeing only those who had appeared in the Broadway or National Tour productions of the show. In between shows on a Wednesday afternoon Blevins hopped over to meet Mr. Feurer - it was the beginning of what would become 6 months of autitions before Blevins would land the role of "Mark" in A Chorus Line, the movie.