Michael Ian Black (né Schwartz; August 12, 1971)[1] is an American comedian, actor, and writer.

Black was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Jill and Robert Schwartz, a store owner and an executive, respectively.

[5] Black's father died at age 39 due to a head injury apparently suffered in an assault and allergic reaction during subsequent surgery.

He changed his name to Michael Ian Black to avoid confusion with the actor Mike Schwartz.

Black briefly attended New York University, but dropped out to portray Raphael in the promotional campaign for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles concert tour.

[7] Black began his career as a member of the comedy group The State and was featured on the television show of the same name on MTV.

He continued working with members of that group on the show Viva Variety in the role of "Johnny Bluejeans", and in the film Wet Hot American Summer, directed by frequent collaborator David Wain.

From 1998 to 2000, he was the puppeteer and voice actor for the Pets.com sock puppet, was featured in commercials for Sierra Mist, hosted the first season of NBC's hidden-camera show Spy TV (Miss USA 1996, Ali Landry, replaced him for the second season), made several appearances in the film Big Helium Dog, and had a supporting role on the NBC dramedy Ed, later becoming the mascot for BarNone.

[8] His dry, sarcastically irreverent commentary on pop culture artifacts on VH1's I Love the '70s/'80s/'90s/New Millennium series added to his and the shows' popularity.

He is also an occasional contributor to the online edition of McSweeney's, where he writes a column titled "Michael Ian Black Is a Very Famous Celebrity".

[11] Black, along with fellow State members Michael Showalter and David Wain, co-starred in and cowrote the Comedy Central series Stella, a television adaptation of their popular stage show.

[12] Black also directed Wedding Daze which stars Jason Biggs, Joe Pantoliano, and Isla Fisher.

In addition, he starred on the TV series Reaper as a gay demon trying to destroy the devil through acts of kindness.

[13] In 2008, Black published a book titled My Custom Van ... And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face.

[24] Black and Meghan McCain cowrote the book America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom in June 2012.

[29] He was also a co-host on Duck Quacks Don't Echo,[30] and one of the guest stars on the short-lived Steve Carell 2014 improv sketch show Riot.

Schwartz is the commander of a heavily militarized parody of Hatzalah, the Jewish volunteer medical emergency service.