. .... and my new favotrite place to be... CATALYST
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The backstory:
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I was born April 20, 1953 in Whittier, California... early in the morning... putting me right on the cusp of Aries/Tarus. I ended up with four older brothers, and one older and two younger sisters. BIg family. As I was my parents 5th son, my middle name of "Quentin" derived from from the Latin word for five. I was also their sixth child, and might well have had a middle name of "Sextus". The headaches THAT name could have caused while I was growing up make me shudder. I attended the Saint Mary's Catholic School in Whittier's "Uptown" area for 1st through 7th grades, having an interesting but thorough education from rather strict nuns.
In June of '66 my family moved to Orange County, CA, where I attended El Dorado High School. This was a time when that school was first under construction and they offered only 7th through 10th grades... making it a surreal combination of both middle school and high school. Over the next two years the school dropped a lower grade level and added an upper one, until it was a true high school of 8th through 12th grades. An interesting consequence is that have the strange honor to be one of the few dozen people to have graduated from El Dorado twice... once from the 8th grade in June of '67, and again as a high school senior 4 years later in June of 1971. In September of 1971, I entered California State University at Fullerton.
Why an artmodel? Well... in the late 90s, I made and lost a "sure-thing" bet and as a result had to model for a local art class at Fullerton Community College. Well, it seemed that I had natural talent (pun intended), and art instructors were so pleased that they passed my name to their peers. Within some few months I was being asked to pose for art classes all over the Southland... being paid to stand around naked. What a world!
Why film and television? In January of 2000 artist Karl Gnass gave me a call. He was at the time acting as a consultant for a "special" film project at Sony Imageworks Studios and had gotten my number from Pasadena's Art Center College of Design after contacting them in his search for a unique sort of individual: a fellow with some certain physical traits, an outgoing character, and with a good imagination. We spoke. He saw my web site and hired me immediately. I was invited to work with the Sony CGI animators so they could use my body to create the character of the Mountain Troll for the then in-production film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The troll holding Harry by the foot was based on me holding a stuffed toy monkey and swinging at it with a yardstick. The troll shaking Harry off of his shoulders was me giving a "pig-back" ride to that same stuffed toy. Art imitating life. So it cane to pass with my seeing The Mountain Troll on the big screen, that I had the revelation that I could use what God gave me and share of myself to entertain and amuse others. Art modeling had given me the confidence to be just myself, even without a stitch on. Adding film and television to my adventures was as easy as fallen off a log, and I now pride myself on being able to give a director just about anything he might need... being THE "go-to" guy for projects needing a totally unabashed fellow.
The only thing I cannot give a director, is "skinny". - Michael Q. Schmidt
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in memoriam: Jeff Conaway, born October 5, 1950 Died May 27, 2011
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 IMAGE taken by Michael Q. Schmidt, July 31, 2008
my camera on a tripod with timer © Michael Q. Schmidt
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In late 2007, I became the "computer guru" to
actor Jeff Conaway. What started with me ridding
his computer of some nasty viruses, built to a trust
and friendship over the next few months as he had
me in to solve other computer problems or instruct
him on the use of his PC and laptop. I was honored
when he trusted me with some of the the results of his creative spirit, inviting me over sometimes to
proofread one of his manuscripts and asking that I
offer my opinion on its development. It came so I
would always look forward to those times when just
out of the blue he might call me just to say "Hey
Mike, how ya been?" or to invite me to his home
to watch a sports game or to just shoot the breeze.
Being accepted as his friend and buddy, I learned
that no matter what negative buzz the media might
print about the man and his problems, he remained
a truly nice guy, and caring of anyone he called a
friend. - He will be long missed.
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