Larry Wolfe
Now that Jonathan Goldsmith, the bearded, debonair, “most interesting man in the world” who touted Dos Equis beer has retired, a suitable replacement might be our own Kurt Carmichael. Talk about interesting… Kurt’s real-life exploits would fit right into those commercials that featured daring and unusual feats by that other “most interesting man.”
Here are a few examples of Kurt’s interesting life:
He “earned” two speeding tickets in one day;
He was a member of a classic rock band;
He performed standup comedy in night clubs;
He played Bozo the Clown on TV 24 in Milwaukee;
He can ride a unicycle;
He was a radio DJ in the late ‘70s;
He had a hole-in-one in golf;
He is the proud owner of five plates and 27 screws in his face as a result of a rollerblade crash;
He was BMX bicycle racer;
He once drove his motorcycle through his house at a Halloween party because he thought it was a good idea at the time; and
Not surprisingly, he was voted Class Clown of his high school!
And the list could go on, but we need to cover some of his more ordinary life! A native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and graduate of Tremper High, Kurt first worked at family-owned movie theatres while still in school. He did that full-time for a few years before becoming a purchasing agent for a local hospital. He then owned and operated an ice cream business called Sammy Man Ice Cream for several years before deciding to leave the cold Wisconsin winters behind and move to sunny Arizona.
Here, he first owned and operated a hot dog cart business called “Dogs on the Run” in downtown Mesa before entering the karaoke business. Kurt started out as a KJ (Karaoke Jockey) hosting singalong entertainment in clubs and bars throughout the Valley. At its peak, his company was hosting 60 shows a week at clubs, weddings and other special events. He took advantage of the “Karaoke Kraze” in the early ‘90s and opened the first Phoenix-area retail store devoted entirely to selling karaoke machines, microphones, amplifiers and video music discs. He operated that store for nearly 20 years. He now has scaled back but is still in the business of renting karaoke and audio equipment for parties and other special events. Check out www.karaokerentalphoenix.com.
At the urging of his brother Ron, Kurt joined him in our softball league this year and is “lovin’ it!” He hadn’t played for 20 years but is already showing signs of being one of our better players.
Kurt has two sons and two grandchildren. Luckily, one son and both grandkids live in the area, so he gets to spend lots of “grandpa time” with them. He says grandson Ryder, 4, already has an awesome baseball swing!
To paraphrase the Most Interesting Man, Kurt says, “I don’t always do crazy things, but when I do, I do ’em right!” Stay thirsty, my friends.