Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 27)

“I think playing an alien on Star trek bumped me up a few notches in the eyes of my fellow engineering friends.” attending comedy clubs, which were becoming increasingly popular in the San Francisco Bay area. It looked like fun, so he took a few improvisation classes. After that first comedy appearance at Captain Cook’s, he was hooked. He continued as an engineer by day and a comedian by night for three years. While the transition into comedy evolved from his early ability to find humor in most situations, the jump from day job to a potentially unstable career seemed anything but logical. In 1991, McMillan won the 16th Annual San Francisco International Stand-up Comedy Competition, which opened the door to the opportunity to go on tour. McMillan was able to take advantage of a unique, five-week sabbatical that VLSI Technology provided. “I told my boss that I didn’t think I’d be coming back after the sabbatical, and the guy stood up, shook my hand and said, ‘That’s great!’” From there, he went on to win the $100,000 grand prize on Star Search in 1993. With some cool cash in hand, McMillan took the leap into comedy. He started appearing in more comedy clubs, movies, television, and currently performs more than 70 corporate shows annually. Perhaps his proudest moment on TV was when he guested as Hirogen Three in a 2000 episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled “Flesh and Blood.” “I think playing an alien on Star Trek bumped me up a few notches in the eyes of my fellow engineering friends,” McMillan says. “It took four hours to put the make-up on and I had to do it three days in a row. Personally, it was a dream of mine to be on Star Trek. It has long been one of my favorite shows. I most liked Star Trek: The Next Generation, and since I was on Star Trek: Voyager, I still have unfulfilled Star Trek dreams. “I think I will only be completely fulfilled if I can play the Chief Engineer and not wear so much make-up that people can’t recognize me.” Since his opening joke at Captain Cook’s in 1987, McMillan has poked fun at himself during his comedy routines, often referring to his gangly 6-foot-6 height and his size-15 shoes. He also brings an unusual engineering perspective to his humorous observations on life. Here’s a sample: “My wife said to me, ‘I feel fat.’ I replied, ‘Reduce your caloric intake, and increase your activity.’ I know that’s the right answer, but the wrong one if you want to stay married.” On his CD, Technically Funny, McMillan makes a point of thanking his wife, Laura, a third grade teacher, “for letting me talk about her.” They’ve been married 12 years and have a son, Garrett, 4. McMillan sees no need to work blue. “He uses his wit in comedy routines, and doesn’t have to resort to foul language to get a laugh,” Bak says. If his old college friends sound proud of McMillan, it’s because they are. “I consider Don one of the best friends I’ve had in my lifetime,” Perry Fooskas ’80 says. “Even though we may not see each other for a few years, we just pick up where we left off when we run into each other again.” Pietruszynski recalls the time when he, McMillan, and a Penn State friend traveled through Europe together and hiked up past the tree line at Jungfrau Mountain in Switzerland. McMillan was the only one without a heavy-duty McMillan and wife Laura sleeping bag, and the one he brought only went to about his waist due to McMillan’s height. Pietruszynski says they offered to switch sleeping bags with McMillan so he wouldn’t be so cold, but McMillan declined because he didn’t want his friends to suffer. “He really cared about people,” Pietruszynski says. “For someone that talented, there was never anything other than humbleness.” And what does the former Bud guy think of his Lehigh buds? Pretty much the same. He describes Lehigh as his “best years as a student. We had a lot of fun. Lehigh was more fun than working!” So it should come as little surprise that, even after performing all over the U.S. and Europe, the one place McMillan would love to perform is in Bethlehem. “I’ve never played at Lehigh,” he says. “It’s my LU dream to play at Packard Hall.” sring 2008 27

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Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Alumni News Cover Story: In Galileo's Wake Technically Funny The Healing Game Looking for America The Last Word

Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008

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