Michael Hitchcock is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer. He was born on July 28, 1958 in Defiance, Ohio and raised in a Chicago suburb called Western Springs. Hitchcock graduated from Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Illinois and attended Northwestern University's School of Speech where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from U.C.L.A.'s film school. In Los Angeles Hitchcock studied improv with the renowned sketch comedy troupe "The Groundlings.". He landed a number of high profile roles in movies particularly actor Christopher Guests series of acclaimed movies including 1996's "Waiting for Guffman" and 200's "Best in Show". The bulk of his work has been in television with his longest stint on a show was his four year run on "Mad tv". He worked in front of the camera as a performer and behind the scenes on the production side. Hitchcock continued doing this on other projects such as "Glee" and now "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" where he is credited as a co-executive producer and is also a part of the writing staff. He also appeared onscreen on the show as the recurring character of Bert Buttenweiser.