Mack Leon Dryden
Funniest Motivational Speaker in the US | Funniest Two-Time Cancer Survivor in the US | Killer Corporate Clean Comedian
Topic Categories:
Fee Range: Contact Speaker Exchange Agency
- Mack’s hilarious, inspiring stories of surviving an African prison, two deadly diseases, and “one near-fatal marriage” motivate listeners to reach for higher goals than ever. His Seven-Step Guide to goal achieving is as entertaining as it is effective and practical.
- The Funniest Two-Time Cancer Survivor in the country entertains and inspires at dozens of survival celebrations every year.
- As one of the top corporate comedians in America, Mack thrills clients everywhere with his unique style of clean, rib-busting standup comedy.
*Fee ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact your Speaker Exchange Agency representative.
Comedian/author/actor/speaker Mack Dryden has appeared in several movies and countless TV shows including several performances on The Tonight Show. He has survived a terrifying stay in an African prison, two bouts with different types of cancer, one “near-fatal marriage,” and now travels the world sharing his poignant and hilarious stories with hundreds of rapt audiences every year.
As a young newspaper reporter in his home state of Mississippi, he won an Associated Press writing award after stripping to his shoes to get the inside story on a controversial nudist camp that had just opened in middle of the Bible Belt.
He earned a black belt in tae kwon do and won dozens of trophies competing in tournaments across the Southeast. Fighting as a green belt in Texas, he lost his temper during a match and was chastened by several kicks in the backside by the referee–U.S. Champion and future TV star Chuck Norris.
His martial arts skills got him out of many scrapes, but unfortunately landed him in a Moroccan prison after he inflicted serious injuries on a man trying to steal from him. The ordeal was so traumatic that he couldn’t even talk about it for 20 years, but finally came to terms with it and wrote “Fluffing The Concrete: Making the Most of Foreign Prison–Or Anything Else,” a compelling memoir of the experience.
Back in the States, he embarked on a career as a standup comedian, appearing on dozens of TV shows, and co-hosted 125 episodes of the syndicated “Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie.” He played Scotty the bartender on two seasons of ABC’s western, “Paradise” starring Lee Horsely, and was handpicked for the writing staff of “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” even though he didn’t always agree with his old pal’s positions on the issues.
Having been successfully treated for a malignant melanoma on the back of his eyeball, he now bills himself as “The Funniest Two-Time Cancer Survivor in the U.S.” and performs at dozens of cancer-related events annually. He is one of the top corporate clean comedians working in the country today.
After raising three children, Mack and his artist wife Teri settled in the quaint river city of Louisville, KY, and hope to never leave.
Mack’s practical, effective and hilarious formula for achieving goals is simple but entertaining, so his listeners walk away enthused, saying: “I can do that!” Mack’s philosophy is “when they’re laughing, they’re listening,” and he keeps his audiences fully engaged as he gives them the motivation and inspiration to achieve their cherished goals—and a welcome break from “serious” (read “unfunny”) business.
Mack grew up in tiny Moss Point, Mississippi, worked at the local paper mill to put himself through college, became an award-winning journalist, traveled the world, and used his dogged determination and talent to rise to the top of the shark-infested world of show business, ultimately writing for network television and performing in movies and on dozens of shows including several appearances on The Tonight Show.
As he overcame numerous obstacles, including two bouts with cancer and a terrifying stay in an African prison, Mack created a guide he’s used to persevere in the face of overwhelming odds to attain his many difficult goals, and now travels the country sharing his secrets and practical goal-achieving tools with thousands of people to inspire and motivate them to reach higher than they ever thought possible, and to give them the tools and inspiration they need to reach their maximum potential.
In his speech, Mack will outline the Goal Achieving formula and offer practical tools for how to succeed in each step:
1. Control Your Fears and Stresses
2. Maintain a Positive Mental Attitude
3. Identify a Specific Target
4. Write a Plan for how to get to your goal
5. Take Decisive Action
6. Study the Reaction you get, the Response
7. Learn from the Response and Adjust your approach until you find what works.
Mack’s “Laugh to the Top: A Hilarious Guide to Achieving Your Goals”, will give the attendees who are fortunate enough to hear it the confidence and motivation they need to attack their work-related and personal goals with renewed fire and focus. They’ll listen, they’ll laugh, and they’ll learn that nothing can prevent them from making themselves and their organizations the very best that they can be.
Mack teaches a number of “soft skills” in his presentation simply by modeling the behaviors that make him a master communicator, a compelling raconteur, a sincere presenter who totally believes in his message, and an accomplished humorist who has mastered the extremely difficult skill of making a room full of people laugh for an hour.
With years of experience as a stand-up comedian and appearances on hundreds of TV shows, Mack’s Emcee skills are amazing. He immediately puts people at ease with his smooth stage presence, keeps them laughing, and moves the program along while giving all the participants their deserved moment in the limelight.
One of Mack’s clients described his skills this way:
“I can’t thank you enough for recommending Mack Dryden to Emcee our annual awards presentation. He was everything you promised and more —professional, a joy to work with and hilarious. His suggestion that he open the ceremony with a short comedy set was perfect, as he got howls of laughter from our international audience and set the tone for an entertaining evening. He improvised with the award recipients, making it fun for everyone. His remarks on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation were right on the mark, and his story of his own battles with cancer was poignant, inspiring, and–amazingly-hilarious!
“Mack is going to be a very hard act to follow. ” -Francis X. Gallagher, Publisher, Global Traveler Magazine.
As a two-time cancer survivor and a professional comedian for several decades, Mack is the ideal presenter for healthcare professionals and particularly for Cancer Survival Celebrations. His mix of inspiration, motivation, poignancy and belly-laughs by the ton is exactly what patients and caretakers need to raise their spirits and energize them to move forward in their journey.
Mack’s clients are best at describing what he can do:
“Mack Dryden’s keynote address brought the house down! His tales of his experience with cancer diagnosis and treatment—not once, but twice—really resonated with the 500 patients and caregivers in attendance, and not only had them laughing and smiling, but also left them inspired—we have received countless compliments on his performance from attendees, staff, and partners. Thank you again for providing us with a speaker who could so perfectly meet the special needs of our audience.”
–Charles H. Srodes, M.S., West Penn Allegheny Oncology Network, Pittsburgh.
“In a word, Mack was FABULOUS! He was hilarious, thought provoking, inspirational, totally “real” and connected with the audience. The next day I received the most thank-you telephone calls I have ever received in the 20 years I’ve been doing this. THANK YOU!”
—Paula Bauer, Cancer Program Manager, Torrance (CA) Memorial Medical Center.
“About 250 survivors and caregivers attended our “Celebrate Life” event and the highlight was keynote speaker Mack Dryden! As a two-time survivor himself, Mack was relatable, inspiring, and hilarious! Mack was superb, and gave us a bonus: it’s scientific fact that laughing releases cancer killing agents into the system, and he kept everyone laughing so hard that we must have killed thousands! “I would strongly recommend him to any cancer center looking for an inspiring speaker.”
Dr. Andrew Salner, Medical Director, Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital.
“Mack spoke to…500 cancer survivors and their caregivers…and was an excellent fit for our audience…entertaining, knowledgeable, (with) an important message, using laughter as an inspiration. I would highly recommend Mack!”
—Pamela J. Foley, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
As proof that Mack has universal appeal, he’s performed in all 50 US states and five continents, and–thanks to a team of interpreters who translated his act into nine languages–he recently got a standing ovation in Macau, China. He’s also appeared on hundreds of TV shows, several movies, and co-hosted 125 episodes of his syndicated sketch show, Comedy Break with Mack and Jamie, so he knows where the Good Taste line is and never crosses it. Here’s how one pastor described him:
“He is a man of great character and if you are having a special event or need an entertainer for your conference or social event, I highly recommend Mack Dryden. You will not be disappointed.”
Elijah Mitchell, Pastor of Administrations and Mission, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Ocean Springs, MS.
The most objective descriptions of Mack’s stand-up comedy come from his clients:
“His show brought the house down and the comments of approval from our employees kept coming for days afterward. He was an excellent communicator well ahead of the event and made our team feel very comfortable knowing that he was on top of every detail. It was one of the best corporate events we’ve ever had. He truly delivered everything we were hoping for and more! Thank you again!
Wes Simpson, LEED AP BD + C, Executive Director of Operations, Green Mechanical Construction, Inc. Louisville, KY
“Mack was absolutely great. He had my directors and their spouses in stitches the entire program. He asked me to provide him with some background info on my board, and the custom material he created was a huge success to say the least. I couldn’t have asked for a better show and would highly recommend Mack Dryden to anyone looking for a clean and classy comedian.”
Ronnie Darden, President and CEO, Homeland Federal Savings Bank, Columbia, Louisiana
“Your unique style of comedy was very refreshing and judging from the feedback from the group (not to mention the napkins that were wet from wiping tears) they loved it!! Your spic-and-span clean comedy performance was a perfect end to the evening, working with you was terrific and you made laughing easy!”
Rachel Reaid, Senior Meeting Planner, Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia
Just wanted to let you know that Mack was great – he delivered the laughs as promised. The young agents (under 30) were laughing as hard as the senior staff (over 60) so Mack as a seasoned pro knew how to work the room. Thank you for your help in making this happen.
De Anne Wulf, Program & Project Coordinator, James G. Parker Insurance Associates, Visalia, CA.
Want to bring Mack Leon Dryden to your next event? Please tell us a little about your event, and we will get back to you shortly!