Gary Portnoy Napoli and Judy Quay). He also recorded and released a self-titled album in 1980 for Columbia Records. Portnoy also wrote several songs for the NBC television series, "Fame", including the Emmy-nominated track for Best Original Song, "I Still Believe In Me" (co-written by Susan Sheridan) as well as "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" (co-written by Estelle Levitt). Both songs were featured on the 1982 album, "The Kids from "Fame"". Portnoy also received an Emmy nomination for the "Cheers" theme, as well as six consecutive ASCAP awards during the 1980s for the Most Performed Television Themes of the year. He
Michael Portnoy of Lip", were antic and unpredictable, and characterized by dense language play, song and movement fragments and rapid transformations of character. In the mid 1990s, Portnoy regularly performed in venues such as Surf Reality and Luna Lounge's weekly show "Eating It", the epicenter of New York's alternative comedy scene. His wild and abstract theatrical performances, which occasionally interrupted and challenged other comedians on stage, prompted "Time Out New York" to describe him as "the bad boy of comedy", and the "New York Post" to dub him "the next Andy Kaufman". At the same time, Portnoy started working as a dancer