Mack Dryden
Encyclopedia
Mack Leon Dryden is an American
comedian
, motivational speaker
, actor
, illustrator
, and writer
.
was born. His parents are Neva and Herbert Dryden. He has two younger brothers, Tim (a youth pastor in Jackson, Mississippi
) and Daryl (an attorney in Ocean Springs, Mississippi
). His dad worked as an accountant at International Paper
in Moss Point, Mississippi
. Dryden himself also worked summers in the mill at the same company, for five years.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree in journalism
and English
in 1971 at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
where he also earned a black belt in taekwondo
. He was very active on the karate tournament circuit while at Ole Miss and won numerous trophies in sparring and kata
(form) competitions. He was the Brown Belt champion of Mississippi when he was 20 years old.
Additionally while a senior at Ole Miss, a short story he wrote won First Place for Fiction in the Mississippi Arts Festival, which led to an offer to study creative writing at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He won a fellowship to the Center for Writers at USM where he earned his Master of Arts
degree in 1972.
in Pascagoula for a while after receiving his Master of Arts degree at USM. He saved money and left for Europe with a backpack and $1,000 in May 1973. He stayed for 15 months, crisscrossing the continent, living in a van, making his living in various ways, including picking grapes in France
and writing for a newspaper in the town of Rota, Spain where a United States Navy
base is located. He then went to Morocco
where he would buy beads, bring them back to Europe and made a good living selling hippie jewelry in campgrounds from Paris, France
to London, England
to Barcelona, Spain
. On one of his three buying trips to Morocco, he got into a ferocious fistfight with a man who was trying to rob him and spent some time in a prison before things got sorted out.
-based North African country of Morocco
, his arrest there and his time in the prison.
When he returned to Mississippi after his time in Europe, he was hired as a general assignment reporter for the South Mississippi Sun, a new daily newspaper serving Biloxi
/Gulfport, Mississippi
, which eventually merged with The Daily Herald to become The Sun Herald
. In his nearly three years there, he won two Mississippi/Louisiana
Associated Press
writing awards, one for Spot News and one for Investigative Reporting about school board members leasing school lands for pennies.
When journalism failed to satisfy his creative urges, he moved to Key West, Florida
and eked out a living as a freelancer, drawing advertising cartoons, writing stories for a local magazine, and contributing most of the art and copy for the first comprehensive guide to the island, a book titled Key West: The Last Resort.
, to form the comedy duo Mack & Jamie, which has been performing together professionally since 1980 and is still one of the most popular American acts for corporate events and cruise ships.
After working comedy clubs for less than three years, Mack & Jamie first appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983. They performed several times on the show when it was hosted by Johnny Carson
but they have also performed several times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno making them the only comedy team to appear on the show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno
.
The two starred in 125 episodes of their own syndicated TV show, Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie that ran from 1985 to 1986, as well as on many other comedy and variety shows.
After their show Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie, Dryden and Alcroft went on to write and star in their live stage show Two For All, which garnered outstanding reviews from Backstage West and the Los Angeles Times
which awarded them their "Critics Choice, Four Star Rating" for the entire run of the live show.
Dryden played "Fred", a bumbling FBI agent in the 1987 film Million Dollar Mystery
, which still airs often on HBO and other cable networks.
Dryden played bartender "Scotty McBride" on the ABC
western series Paradise
, starring Lee Horsley
, which was also broadcast in syndication by The Family Channel
for a couple years following its cancellation in 1991 on CBS.
He has appeared in guest-starring roles on TV series ranging from JAG
to Saved by the Bell
. He had a supporting role in Landers, a feature-film thriller, playing the character "Jim McKenzie". He also appeared in Simpatico
with Nick Nolte
. He played "Judge Franklin" in two episodes of ABC
's The Guardian
television series and "Judge Brassard" in another episode of the same show.
Dryden has written and voiced comedy sketches for Premiere Radio Networks
, which sends his work to more than 500 stations nationwide every week.
Dryden is a former staff writer for Bill Maher
's television show, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
.
, Nortel
, Kodak, Smoothie King
, Air Force Sergeants Association
, National Association of Broadcasters
, and Pitney Bowes
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life
Dryden was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi at Jackson County Hospital, which is also where famous singer Jimmy BuffettJimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
was born. His parents are Neva and Herbert Dryden. He has two younger brothers, Tim (a youth pastor in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
) and Daryl (an attorney in Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, about east of Biloxi. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 census...
). His dad worked as an accountant at International Paper
International Paper
International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 59,500 employees, and it is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
in Moss Point, Mississippi
Moss Point, Mississippi
Moss Point is a city, north of Pascagoula, in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 17,653 at the 2000 census.On August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Moss Point was flooded or destroyed .-Geography:Moss Point is...
. Dryden himself also worked summers in the mill at the same company, for five years.
Education
Dryden graduated from Moss Point High School in 1967.He earned his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
in 1971 at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
where he also earned a black belt in taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. He was very active on the karate tournament circuit while at Ole Miss and won numerous trophies in sparring and kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
(form) competitions. He was the Brown Belt champion of Mississippi when he was 20 years old.
Additionally while a senior at Ole Miss, a short story he wrote won First Place for Fiction in the Mississippi Arts Festival, which led to an offer to study creative writing at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He won a fellowship to the Center for Writers at USM where he earned his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in 1972.
After college
Dryden worked at Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
in Pascagoula for a while after receiving his Master of Arts degree at USM. He saved money and left for Europe with a backpack and $1,000 in May 1973. He stayed for 15 months, crisscrossing the continent, living in a van, making his living in various ways, including picking grapes in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and writing for a newspaper in the town of Rota, Spain where a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
base is located. He then went to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
where he would buy beads, bring them back to Europe and made a good living selling hippie jewelry in campgrounds from Paris, France
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to London, England
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. On one of his three buying trips to Morocco, he got into a ferocious fistfight with a man who was trying to rob him and spent some time in a prison before things got sorted out.
Writing
Dryden wrote a book, Fluffing The Concrete: Making The Most Of Foreign Prison-or Anything Else, accounting his time in the muslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-based North African country of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, his arrest there and his time in the prison.
When he returned to Mississippi after his time in Europe, he was hired as a general assignment reporter for the South Mississippi Sun, a new daily newspaper serving Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
/Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
, which eventually merged with The Daily Herald to become The Sun Herald
The Sun Herald
The Sun Herald is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is owned by The McClatchy Company, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States....
. In his nearly three years there, he won two Mississippi/Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
writing awards, one for Spot News and one for Investigative Reporting about school board members leasing school lands for pennies.
When journalism failed to satisfy his creative urges, he moved to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
and eked out a living as a freelancer, drawing advertising cartoons, writing stories for a local magazine, and contributing most of the art and copy for the first comprehensive guide to the island, a book titled Key West: The Last Resort.
Show business
In Key West, he met and teamed up with a local comedian and disc jockey, Jamie AlcroftJamie Alcroft
Jamie Alcroft is an American comedian and voice actor. He is half of the comedy duo Mack & Jamie.-Early life and education:Alcroft earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Ohio University in 1971.-Career:...
, to form the comedy duo Mack & Jamie, which has been performing together professionally since 1980 and is still one of the most popular American acts for corporate events and cruise ships.
After working comedy clubs for less than three years, Mack & Jamie first appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983. They performed several times on the show when it was hosted by Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
but they have also performed several times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno making them the only comedy team to appear on the show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
.
The two starred in 125 episodes of their own syndicated TV show, Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie that ran from 1985 to 1986, as well as on many other comedy and variety shows.
After their show Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie, Dryden and Alcroft went on to write and star in their live stage show Two For All, which garnered outstanding reviews from Backstage West and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
which awarded them their "Critics Choice, Four Star Rating" for the entire run of the live show.
Dryden played "Fred", a bumbling FBI agent in the 1987 film Million Dollar Mystery
Million Dollar Mystery
Million Dollar Mystery is a 1987 American film released with a promotional tie-in for Glad-Lock brand bags. While performing a routine stunt for this film, legendary stuntman Dar Robinson lost his life on November 21, 1986...
, which still airs often on HBO and other cable networks.
Dryden played bartender "Scotty McBride" on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
western series Paradise
Paradise (TV series)
Paradise is an American Western family television series, broadcast by CBS from 1988 to 1991. Created by David Jacobs and Robert Porter, the series presents the adventures of fictitious gunfighter Ethan Allen Cord, whose sister left her four children in his custody when she died.-Synopsis:Paradise...
, starring Lee Horsley
Lee Horsley
Lee Arthur Horsley is an American film, television, and theater actor known for starring roles in the television series, Nero Wolfe , Matt Houston , and Paradise . He starred in the 1982 cult film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, and recorded the audiobook edition of Lonesome Dove...
, which was also broadcast in syndication by The Family Channel
Television networks preceding ABC Family
The cable television network ABC Family has gone through several different owners during its history. Stipulations in sales terms for the network require that the network maintain the word "Family" in its name.-CBN Cable :...
for a couple years following its cancellation in 1991 on CBS.
He has appeared in guest-starring roles on TV series ranging from JAG
JAG (TV series)
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
to Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
. He had a supporting role in Landers, a feature-film thriller, playing the character "Jim McKenzie". He also appeared in Simpatico
Simpatico (play)
Simpatico is a 1993 play by American playwright Sam Shepard.In 1999, it was adapted for the screen in the film Simpatico starring Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, and Albert Finney.-Plot:...
with Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
. He played "Judge Franklin" in two episodes of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Guardian
The Guardian (TV series)
The Guardian is an American drama series which aired on CBS from September 25, 2001 to May 4, 2004. It is currently showing in re-runs on the Sleuth Channel in the US. The Guardian has also aired in the United Kingdom on the Hallmark Channel, ABC1 and more recently five USA and as of August...
television series and "Judge Brassard" in another episode of the same show.
Dryden has written and voiced comedy sketches for Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
, which sends his work to more than 500 stations nationwide every week.
Dryden is a former staff writer for Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
's television show, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
.
Motivational speaking
Dryden is a motivational speaker. His clients include companies and organizations such as PfizerPfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
, Nortel
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation, formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, was a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada...
, Kodak, Smoothie King
Smoothie King
Smoothie King Franchises Inc. is a smoothie and health food retailer that caters to a healthy lifestyle through nutritious blended fruit-based drinks. First opening in 1973 as a stand-alone vitamin shop in Kenner, Louisiana; Smoothie King now encompasses over 600 locations and appeals to families...
, Air Force Sergeants Association
Air Force Sergeants Association
The Air Force Sergeants Association is a non-profit organization representing the professional and personal interests of nearly 111,000 active, retired and veteran total enlisted members of the United States Air Force and their families....
, National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
, and Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
.