Michael Cornelison began his professional acting career in 1967 at the tender age of fifteen, starring in a series of educational shorts for Coronet Films. This marked the beginning of a long and illustrious career, which would see him co-star with Cliff Robertson and Robert Preston in the ABC-TV movie, My Father's House, in 1975.
After a brief hiatus, Cornelison returned to Los Angeles in 1978, where he completed pilots for three television series: Nightside, Inspector Perez, and Family in Blue. He also made guest appearances on numerous popular shows, including Hill Street Blues, Remington Steele, Dallas, Knots Landing, and The Greatest American Hero, among others.
In 1984, Cornelison ventured into the world of film, starring in and co-producing Stephen King's The Woman in the Room, a collaboration with Frank Darabont, who would go on to direct The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
The following year, Cornelison was lured back to the Midwest by the prospect of becoming the artistic director of his own theatre company, The Two Rivers Acting Company. Over the next two decades, he appeared in a wide range of plays, including classics such as A Man For All Seasons, Inherit The Wind, Of Mice And Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as contemporary works like Camping With Henry And Tom, Sideman, The Guys, and The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged).
In addition to his work on stage, Cornelison has also made a name for himself in radio, serving as the artistic director of Rejection Slip Theatre, a comedy/drama anthology that ran on WHO radio for over ten years.
In partnership with writer/director Max Allan Collins, Cornelison has appeared in no less than five films, including Mommy, Mommy II: Mommy's Day, Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market, Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life, and Three Women. He has also narrated Collins' award-winning documentary, Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane.
Other notable film credits include an appearance in Rain, produced by Martin Scorsese, as well as a series of Mike Hammer audio novels, in which he plays the role of Captain Pat Chambers. Cornelison is married to his wife, Cindi, and son, Nick Cornelison, and makes his home in Iowa.
