Michael Buckley (Internet celebrity)
Encyclopedia
Michael Buckley is an American Internet celebrity
, comedian
and vlog
ger. Noted for his vlog What the Buck?!, Buckley comments on popular culture
events and celebrities. He also maintains one of YouTube
's most popular channels with several million viewers each month. Buckley "broke all records" of YouTube ratings when four of his shows ended up on the week's ten top-rated videos. Buckley has appeared in magazines and newspapers such as The New York Times
discussing Internet entrepreneur
ship and The Advocate
discussing homophobia
on the Internet
. On March 18, 2008, he won a 2007 YouTube Awards
for best commentary with the video "LonelyGirl15
is Dead!"
in Massachusetts
after graduating from Saint Anselm College
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
with a degree in psychology. He began working at a group home
for children with developmental disabilities
. In 2002, he moved back to Connecticut and started a "normal 9–5 office job" at Livenation. After appearing on television with his friend Kristin Tierney for a fund-raising drive for CPTV the two decided to create a public-access television
cable TV chat show called Table for Two at local public-access television studio in July 2005.
and "it snowballed." Buckley started building a following on MySpace
and started his YouTube channel in May 2006, with his main focus centered on celebrities and pop culture, often satirizing and parodying them. On September 11, 2008, he quit his low-paying day job as an administrative assistant for Live Nation, a music promotion company and is now earning more money as an online entertainer. Edge Boston summarized his work as: "Three or four times a week, he uploads his slickly made commentaries on celebrities and pop culture that are amongst the snarkiest to be found on the web." His high-energy and rapid-fire delivery and style has been described as being "irreverent, fast-talking, pop-culture-obsessed"; he has been likened to "a living can of Red Bull
." He is one of the most subscribed vloggers rising to be the second most popular comedian within the first five months of posting. His online success has led to more mainstream media work including DirectTV, Leeza Gibbons
's syndicated radio show, a regular guest spot on Fox News Channel
's weekly gossip show Lips & Ears and Red Eye
. Courtney Friel, host of Lips & Ears, came across What the Buck? and invited Buckley onto the show, "The beauty of YouTube ... is that they have complete creative freedom."
On September 6, 2007, "The Top (& Bottom) Gays of You Tube!", the first all-gay collaboration
video by YouTube's most subscribed video bloggers, was posted by Buckley to create a "YouTube gay village
." Featuring James Majesty, Chris Crocker
, William Sledd
, and "Gay God" (Matthew Lush), the video consisted of each of the four bloggers commenting on the others' vlog
ging, with Buckley acting as host for the various outtakes. As of May 2010 in the rankings of most subscribed channels, in all categories, "What The Buck?" is sixteenth. As of November 2008, the video has been viewed over 1,000,000 times, with over 8,500 comments. On April 23, 2008, Buckley began to broadcast regular live shows on the social broadcasting website, BlogTV
. His live shows have already been viewed by over 200,000 people. He appears live on Thursday and Sunday nights on BlogTV
. Playing the producer Horace Karmez, Buckley has appeared on many talk shows.
He has recently started a new YouTube channel titled BuckNews, a spinoff of What the Buck? in which he includes content that did not make his main show. Additionally, Buckley has recently introduced two spin-off shows: Pass the Buck and Buck Factor which promote the interaction between him and his fans.
In December, Buckley was part of the BBC's Most Annoying People as an interviewee. In March 2010, Buckley was nominated for a Streamy award in the category of "Best Web Series Host". Additionally Michael has created a new show titled "Dear Buck" where he answers questions posted on his website, Twitter, Facebook, and/or previous Dear Buck shows.
In August 2010, he hosted the red carpet section of the 2010 Teen Choice Awards which was streamed live on the internet. During this he interviewed celebrities, television stars and web stars such as James Majesty.
In June 2011, he took part in the "Who is my Youtube Date?" project hosted by Luke Cutforth.
He was a guest judge on Genuine Ken with Whitney Port
.
In late September, 2011, Buckley had a guest appearance
as himself in the comedy
web series
Husbands
.
's content on the Minisode's YouTube page and Crackle
. Michael officially posted his last Minisode Maniac episode in mid-February. To celebrate he ran around his backyard in a speedo in the snow.
and lives with his husband, also named Michael, in Berlin, Connecticut with their five dogs Ellie, George, Colin, Buddy and Lucy.
Buckley has a twin sister, Debbie. To show his fans his "softer side", Buckley began to vlog
about their home life on his peron75 YouTube
channel, and also appears live on BlogTV
.
In June 2010, Buckley had Lasik
eye surgery
, but continues to wear empty frames in order to keep his appearance the same and to placate fans who see the glasses as part of his image. Buckley posted a video of his surgery on YouTube, in which he repeated his pledge to continue wearing his glasses on "What the Buck" - though he sometimes appears without them during his BlogTV shows.
Internet celebrity
An Internet celebrity, cyberstar or online celebrity is someone who has become famous by means of the Internet. Such fame is based less upon raw numbers, as with traditional media...
, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and vlog
Vlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
ger. Noted for his vlog What the Buck?!, Buckley comments on popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
events and celebrities. He also maintains one of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
's most popular channels with several million viewers each month. Buckley "broke all records" of YouTube ratings when four of his shows ended up on the week's ten top-rated videos. Buckley has appeared in magazines and newspapers such as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
discussing Internet entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
ship and The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
discussing homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. On March 18, 2008, he won a 2007 YouTube Awards
YouTube Awards
The YouTube Awards are awards given out as formalizedic or comedy genres, as voted by the YouTube community. The awards were organized in 2007 to "call out some of the most popular videos and let the users choose which ones deserve some additional recognition"...
for best commentary with the video "LonelyGirl15
Lonelygirl15
lonelygirl15 was an interactive web-based video series which began in June 2006 and ran through to August 1, 2008. Developed under the working title The Children of Anchor Cove, the show gained worldwide media attention when it was outed as fictional in September 2006.-Overview:lonelygirl15...
is Dead!"
Early career
Buckley is one of three children and moved to his parents' summer home on Cape CodCape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
after graduating from Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
with a degree in psychology. He began working at a group home
Group home
A group home is a private residence designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic.-Types of group homes:...
for children with developmental disabilities
Developmental disability
Developmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...
. In 2002, he moved back to Connecticut and started a "normal 9–5 office job" at Livenation. After appearing on television with his friend Kristin Tierney for a fund-raising drive for CPTV the two decided to create a public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV chat show called Table for Two at local public-access television studio in July 2005.
Career
What the Buck? began as a small weekly segment on Table for Two and gave him "a chance to riff and rant on his own." His cousin then posted some on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and "it snowballed." Buckley started building a following on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and started his YouTube channel in May 2006, with his main focus centered on celebrities and pop culture, often satirizing and parodying them. On September 11, 2008, he quit his low-paying day job as an administrative assistant for Live Nation, a music promotion company and is now earning more money as an online entertainer. Edge Boston summarized his work as: "Three or four times a week, he uploads his slickly made commentaries on celebrities and pop culture that are amongst the snarkiest to be found on the web." His high-energy and rapid-fire delivery and style has been described as being "irreverent, fast-talking, pop-culture-obsessed"; he has been likened to "a living can of Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
." He is one of the most subscribed vloggers rising to be the second most popular comedian within the first five months of posting. His online success has led to more mainstream media work including DirectTV, Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Kim Gibbons is an American talk show host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.-Early life:...
's syndicated radio show, a regular guest spot on Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
's weekly gossip show Lips & Ears and Red Eye
Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld is a late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on the Fox News Channel, airing at 3:00 am ET Tuesday through Saturday. The show features panelists and guests discussing the latest news in politics, pop culture, entertainment, business, sports, and religion...
. Courtney Friel, host of Lips & Ears, came across What the Buck? and invited Buckley onto the show, "The beauty of YouTube ... is that they have complete creative freedom."
On September 6, 2007, "The Top (& Bottom) Gays of You Tube!", the first all-gay collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
video by YouTube's most subscribed video bloggers, was posted by Buckley to create a "YouTube gay village
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
." Featuring James Majesty, Chris Crocker
Chris Crocker (Internet celebrity)
Chris Crocker is an American Internet celebrity, songwriter, blogger, and recording artist...
, William Sledd
William Sledd
William L Sledd is a YouTube internet celebrity, made famous by his online videos and blogs, which include the popular "Ask A Gay Man" series...
, and "Gay God" (Matthew Lush), the video consisted of each of the four bloggers commenting on the others' vlog
Vlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
ging, with Buckley acting as host for the various outtakes. As of May 2010 in the rankings of most subscribed channels, in all categories, "What The Buck?" is sixteenth. As of November 2008, the video has been viewed over 1,000,000 times, with over 8,500 comments. On April 23, 2008, Buckley began to broadcast regular live shows on the social broadcasting website, BlogTV
BlogTV
blogTV is an online video service. blogTV began in June 2004, in Israel, and was a pioneer in the webcasting industry. Its goals were to supply anyone and everyone, with internet access, a way to express their talents & ideas to the world and to socially network with people face to face. In 2006...
. His live shows have already been viewed by over 200,000 people. He appears live on Thursday and Sunday nights on BlogTV
BlogTV
blogTV is an online video service. blogTV began in June 2004, in Israel, and was a pioneer in the webcasting industry. Its goals were to supply anyone and everyone, with internet access, a way to express their talents & ideas to the world and to socially network with people face to face. In 2006...
. Playing the producer Horace Karmez, Buckley has appeared on many talk shows.
He has recently started a new YouTube channel titled BuckNews, a spinoff of What the Buck? in which he includes content that did not make his main show. Additionally, Buckley has recently introduced two spin-off shows: Pass the Buck and Buck Factor which promote the interaction between him and his fans.
In December, Buckley was part of the BBC's Most Annoying People as an interviewee. In March 2010, Buckley was nominated for a Streamy award in the category of "Best Web Series Host". Additionally Michael has created a new show titled "Dear Buck" where he answers questions posted on his website, Twitter, Facebook, and/or previous Dear Buck shows.
In August 2010, he hosted the red carpet section of the 2010 Teen Choice Awards which was streamed live on the internet. During this he interviewed celebrities, television stars and web stars such as James Majesty.
In June 2011, he took part in the "Who is my Youtube Date?" project hosted by Luke Cutforth.
He was a guest judge on Genuine Ken with Whitney Port
Whitney Port
Whitney Eve Port is an American television personality, clothing designer, and author. She is known for being one of the main cast members on the former MTV reality series The Hills...
.
In late September, 2011, Buckley had a guest appearance
Guest appearance
In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
as himself in the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
Husbands
Husbands (web series)
Husbands is an American comedy web series starring Brad Bell, aka "Cheeks", Sean Hemeon and Alessandra Torresani. It is written by Jane Espenson, co-written by Brad Bell and directed by Jeff Greenstein. It is an 11-part web series, based on the classic premise of newlywed comedy.-Plot:The series...
.
Minisode Maniac! with What the Buck?
In January 2009, Buckley became 'The Minisode Maniac' by discussing and promoting The Minisode NetworkThe Minisode Network
The Minisode Network is a Sony Pictures Television internet television network launched in June 2007. The term minisode is a portmanteau of "mini" and "episode." Unlike webisodes, which are initially broadcast on the internet, minisodes are condensed versions of previously broadcast, full length,...
's content on the Minisode's YouTube page and Crackle
Crackle
Crackle is a digital network and studio, featuring commercially supported streaming video content in Flash Video format. It is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its content consists primarily of Sony's library of films and television shows...
. Michael officially posted his last Minisode Maniac episode in mid-February. To celebrate he ran around his backyard in a speedo in the snow.
Personal life
Buckley is openly gayHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and lives with his husband, also named Michael, in Berlin, Connecticut with their five dogs Ellie, George, Colin, Buddy and Lucy.
Buckley has a twin sister, Debbie. To show his fans his "softer side", Buckley began to vlog
Vlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
about their home life on his peron75 YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel, and also appears live on BlogTV
BlogTV
blogTV is an online video service. blogTV began in June 2004, in Israel, and was a pioneer in the webcasting industry. Its goals were to supply anyone and everyone, with internet access, a way to express their talents & ideas to the world and to socially network with people face to face. In 2006...
.
In June 2010, Buckley had Lasik
LASIK
LASIK or Lasik , commonly referred to simply as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism...
eye surgery
Eye surgery
Eye surgery, also known as orogolomistician surgery or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa, typically by an ophthalmologist.-Preparation and precautions:...
, but continues to wear empty frames in order to keep his appearance the same and to placate fans who see the glasses as part of his image. Buckley posted a video of his surgery on YouTube, in which he repeated his pledge to continue wearing his glasses on "What the Buck" - though he sometimes appears without them during his BlogTV shows.