Mike Damus

A New York native with a penchant for playing irreverent and assured smart aleck types, dark-haired and lanky actor Mike Damus made his professional debut on Broadway in 1991 as understudy to Danny Gerard in the role of Arty, the younger of two brothers sent to live with their austere grandmother, in Neil Simon's award-winning "Lost in Yonkers." The following year the young performer landed the role of Arty in the film adaptation, receiving good notices for his engaging portrayal of the laid-back younger brother of the narrator. Damus followed up in 1994 with a featured role in the summer camp-set children's comedy "A Pig's Tale" (a 1996 direct-to-video US release). In 1996, he debuted as a series regular on the failed CBS sitcom "My Guys."
Damus went to star on the ABC sitcom "Teen Angel" as Marty, a deceased high schooler who gives divine guidance to awkward best friend Steve (Corbin Allred). Mischievous Marty proved a troublemaking guardian angel and often made more problems for Steve than he solved. Created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, writers and producers who worked on series like "It's Garry Shandling Show" (Showtime and Fox), "The Critic" (ABC) and "The Simpsons" (Fox), "Teen Angel" was perhaps too absurdist for ABC's teen-oriented "TGIF" lineup (one of several bizarre plot points included Damus' character dying after eating a six-month old hamburger) and it was cancelled after 17 aired episodes. The series did win Damus countless young fans, no doubt impressed with his cheeky demeanor and spot on comic timing, as well as his unflappable attitude and dark good looks. 2000 saw his return to series television, starring as Robert 'Pooh' Cutler on The WB's midseason replacement series "Brutally Normal." A marked change from the cocky characters he played in the past, Pooh was an awkward and socially inept character opposite fellow Professional Children's School alumnus Eddie Kaye Thomas' assured and confident Russell. Damus proved his versatility, and was especially charming in "Brutally Normal," his self-deprecating humor proving a highlight of the series.