- Mike L. Fry
-
Mike Fry 
Born 1961
Watseka, IllinoisOccupation Entrepreneur, Trainer, Entertainer, Marketing expert Website mikefrylive.com Mike Fry is an American serial entrepreneur, entertainer, trainer and marketing expert. He was the original Happy the Hobo on the children's television series Happy's Place, and the creative mind behind and owner of Fancy Fortune Cookies.
Contents
Entertainer
Mike Fry was born in Illinois but grew up in the Huntington, Indiana area. He began juggling at the age of fourteen, after finding out that his grandfather used to juggle dirt clods on the farm in rural Illinois. By the age of 17 he was juggling for audiences in the local area.[1]
Mike was accepted to the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College, in Venice, California at the age of 19, graduating in 1981. He then toured with the circus for the 1981 and 1982 season. He had the honor of being trained by three of the world's top four Master Clowns; Lou Jacobs, Frosty Little, and Bobby Kay.[2]
He left Ringling Brothers in 1982 and made the transition to television, where he wrote and co-produced Happy's Place one of America's highest-rated children's television shows from 1982 to 1990. Happy's Place aired on Fox affiliate Channel 55 in 207 cities for eight years. At the height of the show's popularity there was a two year wait for tickets to the show. He hosted guests from The Harlem Globetrotters to Jerry Mathers and Tiny Tim.[3]
After leaving Happy's Place Mike trained at The Second City sketch comedy group in Chicago. While in Chicago he also auditioned to play the role of Bozo the Clown, and did some writing for the show as a result. He was also an instructor at the Illinois Juggling Institute for one year while he lived in Chicago.[4]
Inventor
During his role as Happy the Hobo Mike became interested in inventing. In 1988 he started marketing his first viable invention, America's first gourmet-flavored fortune cookies. Since 1988 the company has greatly expanded on his original concept of gourmet-flavored fortune cookies, specializing in flavored, chocolate dipped, giant, and decorated fortune cookies.[5]
In 1990 Mike started developing and marketing another of his inventions, the "Always There Bear". He spent twelve years developing, marketing and refining the idea, culminating in his invention being purchased by Hasbro toys in 2002. His story is featured in the book The One Minute Millionaire, by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen. Mike worked with both Mark and Robert on the deal with Hasbro.[6]
Trainer
In 2004 Mike joined up with his long-time friend and mentor Linda Chandler as a part of her Core Value Training Program. He used his experiences as a marketer, entrepreneur and entertainer to teach internet marketing strategies to thousands of international business owners.[7]
Current projects
Mike is currently working on publishing his own children's joke book, using jokes from his live kid's show. He has collected kids joke books for many years, and he has a huge collection of them. Mike is using his eight years of experience as a children's entertainer to write and publish a joke book for children and fun-loving adults.
He is also working on a book pertaining to goal-setting based around hours of interviews with adventurer and author John Goddard, who greatly influenced Mike to start his own life-list at age 23.
Media appearances
Books
- Purple Cow (on-line edition) - Seth Godin: Seth Godin chose Mike Fry's Fancy Fortune Cookies as one of the most unique niche food companies.
- The One Minute Millionaire - Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen: Used Mike Fry's invention and story as the basis for a fictional storyline.
- Wake up and Live the Life You Love - Steven E. and Lee Beard: Featured Mike Fry's inspirational story along with that of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Mark Victor Hansen, and John Assaraf.
- Be Unreasonable - Paul Lemburg: Used Mike's Fancy Fortune Cookies idea as an example of an "unreasonable" breakthrough and innovative business idea.
- Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Featured Fancy Fortune Cookies, and Mike's invention of the gourmet fortune cookie as part of the history of the fortune cookie.
Magazines
- Indiana Business Magazine: "It's No Secret: Four important business trends revealed in Indiana's Growth 100 companies"
Newspapers
- 1988 Herald Press "Seeking a cookie fortune."
- 1993 New York Newsday "Clowning Around With Cookies."
- 2002 Denver Daily News "Some people can't give up the fortunes."
- 2007 Fort Wayne Journal Gazette "Wise Crackers: Hoosier inventor adds flavor buffet to fortune cookies."
- 2007 Indianapolis Business Journal "Finding his fortune"
Television
- QVC: Mike appeared along with his Fancy Fortune Cookies on the show, sold out in less than three minutes.
Trivia
- For eight years, Mike was the writer, host and co-producer of America's only live 90-minute daily children's television show, Happy's Place, which aired in 207 cities.
- He invented America's first gourmet flavored & colored fortune cookies and launched the first fortune cookie website in 1995.
- His products have been used by Donald Trump, Ozzy Osbourne, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Steven Spielberg and many other noted celebrities.[8]
- His Fancy Fortune Cookies were featured on QVC, where they sold out in record time.
- His company was listed in the Indiana Growth 100 companies two years in a row.
- He is inventor of the Always There Bear, which is still in the vaults at Hasbro.
- He teaches marketing, creativity, humor & fun, throughout China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Borneo, and the US.
- He is a former professional clown with the world-famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
- In 1981, he became a Guinness Book of World Records record holder as part of a group that juggled the most objects at one time.
- He trained in heavy object balancing, which included, six-foot tables, small canoes, a twenty-five foot ladder, a running chainsaw, other people, sofas, and a television set.
- Mike was a member of the Second City improv theater from 1990 to 1992
- He was State Tae Kwon Do Champion [9]
References
- ^ Indianapolis News "Triple Time" August 7, 1995
- ^ Indianapolis News: "Hoosier Creates A New Idea In Fortune Cookies!" 1993
- ^ Huntington Herald Press "Seeking Cookie Fortune". December 15, 1988
- ^ Fort Wayne News Sentinel "Clown moves to happier place". October 17, 1990
- ^ Excelerations: Indiana's Growth 100. November 5, 1998
- ^ One Minute Millionaire - The Toy Story: An Inventor’s Dream Come True
- ^ CoreValue Training - CoreValue Team & Instructors
- ^ Fort Wayne Journal Gazette "Wise Crackers: Hoosier inventor adds flavor buffet to fortune cookies". August 5, 2007
- ^ Huntington Herald Press "Five Are Awarded Tae Kwon Do Honors". October 1979
External links
Categories:- 1961 births
- Living people
- American business theorists
- Business speakers
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