Paddy Morrissey, originally from Louisville, KY, moved to the Bay Area in 1975 after a brief and non-illustrious stint as a drafted soldier in the Army. In Santa Cruz, California, from 1976 to 1982 he co-founded a comedy troupe, the Screaming Memes, that featured comic skits, acapella singing and improvisation. From 1982 to 1985, he was one-half of the standup comedy duo, Marks to Morrissey, together with his Screaming Meme alumnus Mark Taylor. Throughout 1986, he starred as Ronald Reagan in Garry Trudeau’s musical comedy, Rap Master Ronnie in San Francisco. In 1987, he became a solo standup comedian and performed in all of the major comedy clubs and colleges in the Bay Area, also toured across the United States as well as appearing in many television comedy venues. From 1993, he began winding down his standup career and was hired as a copywriter in a series of advertising agencies, slowly teaching himself design and layout as he started his own graphic design business. Paddy has now moved on to his current profession, retirement.
Married for thirty-five years, he and his wife Lisa produced two daughters, Caitlin and Molly Rose. Lisa and Paddy have lived in Berkeley since 1991. A true rumor has surfaced that he and Lisa will become grandparents on December 1 this year.