80s Star Left The Business To Raise Kids, Now He's Chasing HIs Dream Again

80s Star Left The Business To Raise Kids, Now He's Chasing HIs Dream Again

One popular 80s star left the entertainment business to raise his kids, but now he’s chasing his dream again on America’s Got Talent.


Michael Winslow is a 62-year-old from Orlando, Florida. But you may know him from the Police Academy movies that were popular in the 80s.

“I am a voicetramentalist,” says Michael when explaining his talent. “I used to be the man of ten-thousand sound effects, but we’re into the hundreds of thousands now.”

Michael says that making sounds was always part of his life. “I always did this. This was just a part of me,” he shares. “I’ve been making sounds since I was a kid.”

“After high school, I hitchhiked to Los Angeles, and I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew that I wanted to do this. And then I ended up being part of this move called Police Academy, and suddenly my life changed. From there, I ended up being a part of Gremlins and Spaceballs. So, I ended up doing pretty well.”

But after his success in Hollywood, Michael had to stop making movies to take care of his children.

“I had to raise them, because I became a widower. Now, after raising my two kids, I’m in a different phase,” Michael shares. “I think this is my time, and America’s Got Talent is a place for me to show everyone I still have something to offer. I still have some sounds to make, and there’s still room for a little more.”

Before his audition starts, Michael shares with the judges a little about how making sounds became such a big part of his childhood.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t have a lot of friends. I was an Air Force brat. Every 2 or 3 years, we had to move. So that meant I had to make up my own friends. My own movies, my own soundtrack, my own soundscape. I’d just paint my own soundscape.”

During his audition, Michael shares a comedic telling of his story and how he started making so many noises. Then he talks about when he got his first radio and makes all these music sounds like he is flipping through different radio stations. It is quite impressive! No wonder he got a huge round of applause from the judges and the audience!

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