Larry the Cable Guy

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Larry the Cable Guy
Birth name Daniel Lawrence Whitney
Born February 17, 1963 (1963-02-17) (age 46)
Pawnee City, Nebraska, USA
Medium Stand-up, Television, Film, Radio
Nationality American
Years active 1991–present
Genres Character comedy, Country comedy
Subject(s) Culture of the Southern United States, obesity, human sexuality, Wal-Mart, buffets, political correctness, self-deprecation, family, frugality, personal hygiene, Second Amendment
Spouse Cara Whitney
Notable works and roles Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road
Website Official site

Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), better known by the stage name Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is one of the co-stars of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also includes Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ron White, with whom he has starred on Blue Collar TV.

Larry the Cable Guy has released five comedy albums, of which three have been certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies. In addition, he has starred in three Blue Collar Comedy Tour-related movies, as well as in the films Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Delta Farce, and Witless Protection. He does the voice of Mater in the Disney/Pixar film Cars, and has a book out entitled Git r' Done!

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[edit] Early life

Daniel Whitney spent his early childhood in Pawnee City, Nebraska. His father Tom Sr. was a minister at the Four Mile Church in nearby Humboldt and the Congregational Church in Verdon for several years. Whitney moved to Palm Beach County, Florida with his family when he was 16, where he attended The King's Academy and later graduated from Berean School, in 1981. His father, who once played guitar with the Everly Brothers, was a high school principal at The King's Academy. Whitney worked as a fast food cook at Wendy's until 1985, when he began doing stand-up comedy with other West Palm Beach locals. At the encouragement of friends and co-workers, he continued his standup work during amateur nights at the Comedy Club in Blue Springs, Missouri. In 1991, he began doing radio comedy, in which he would call in to stations as fictional characters. The "Larry" character was created after a friend from The Ron and Ron Show on 95YNF in Tampa, Florida asked him to call in as a cable installer and install his cable.

[edit] Career

Whitney started a career in radio as a disc jockey in Blue Springs, Missouri. He moved to Omaha, where he was a personality on the short lived alternative station 101.9 The Edge KGDE. This was followed by stints at Rock 100 WDIZ and 101.1 WJRR in Orlando before meeting the Blue Collar Boys. He became known in the South in the early 1990s when he made regular radio appearances via phone on programs such as The Ron and Ron Show. He was also a regular via phone during the late 90s on Z-92's The Todd and Tyler Show in Omaha, Nebraska, on the nationally syndicated The Chris Baker Show Friday mornings, as well as the Kirk, Mark, and Lopez morning show on 98 Rock in Baltimore, Maryland. He was also a frequent guest on the Johnny Dare and Murphy show on 98.9, KQRC, Kansas City. He also did appearances on Real Radio 104.1 in Orlando, Florida, on the Monsters in the Mid Day (presently the Monsters in the Morning), as he was a personal friend of BlackBean (Carlos Navarro) with whom he had done voice-over work. He was brought to New England on Greg and the Morning Buzz on WHEB 100.3 and WGIR 101.1 in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire, respectively, doing two commentaries a week.

He became famous developing the Larry character, a persona that he now maintains throughout his stage act. The Larry character is characterized by a stereotypical redneck appearance, off-color humor, recounting stories about his "family," delivered in an affected thick Southern accent, and using, among other common expressions, his own catchphrase "Git-R-Done!" A part of Larry the Cable Guy's routine is his affected Southern accent. He says in interviews and in his autobiographical book GIT-R-DONE that he deliberately "turns on" the accent both on and off stage, because he may forget it if he kept his normal accent intact.[1] Larry the Cable Guy uses catchphrase humor, including "Git-R-Done," "Lord, I apologize," and "I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there" after particularly egregious jokes. He appears in Nutrisystem commercials with Dan Marino. Marino delivers the catchphrase, "Git-R-Done," and is shown dressed in Whitney's trademark attire, including a pair of jeans, a cut off, untucked flannel shirt, and camouflage hat.

He has also seen considerable success from his comedic recordings. His first two comedy albums, Lord, I Apologize (2001), and The Right To Bare Arms (2005), have both been certified gold by the RIAA. A third album, Morning Constitutions, and its accompanying TV special were released in 2007.

In 2006 he was approached by Comedy Central to voice a character for an as-yet-unnamed animated series. The show would involve his character as one of two owners of a small cable channel (the other, a high-classed, high-attitude woman). A half-hour pilot was ordered by the network, but has yet to air.[2]

Larry was roasted in a Comedy Central special on March 15, 2009.[3] During the roast he can be heard greeting roasters out of character and in his normal speaking voice, as well as being called 'Dan' by Bill Engvall.

[edit] Personal life

The few biographies of Whitney describe only the fictional life of Larry the Cable Guy, as he rarely speaks out of character when in public. His father died "a few years ago" in Florida, while his mother Shirley lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.[citation needed] He has an older sister, Debbie, who also lives in Lincoln. His older brother, Tom Whitney, Jr., with daughter Danielle, named after her uncle, lives in Florida. In 2005, he married Cara and they now have a son and a daughter, Wyatt and Reagan.

In a 60 Minutes interview, in which Whitney spoke in his Cable Guy voice, correspondent Bob Simon reveals Whitney's "happy-go-lucky" lifestyle: "Unlike many comedians the 60 Minutes team has met, Larry is not angry, he's not depressed, he's not paranoid. He's a hard-working, supremely confident, happy-go-lucky funnyman."[4]

Daniel is also a tremendous University of Nebraska football fan and can be seen regularly on the sidelines at their games.

[edit] Radio career

Whitney was a radio personality on:

[edit] Discography

Year Title Chart Positions RIAA
US Comedy US Country US
2001 Lord, I Apologize 1 53 — Gold
2004 A Very Larry Christmas 1 8 43 Gold
2005 The Right to Bare Arms 1 1 7 Gold
2007 Morning Constitutions 1 5 16 —
Christmastime in Larryland 1 12 42 —

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ An Interview with Larry the Cable Guy, Dead-Frog.com, June 15, 2005
  2. ^ "Basic Cable Guy: Pilot At Comedy Central — Network Has Ordered Half-Hour Animated TV Show Starring 'Blue Collar' Comedian", HollywoodReporter.com, December 13, 2006
  3. ^ COMEDY CENTRAL® TO RIP MORE THAN FLANNEL SLEEVES - NETWORK TO ROAST LARRY THE CABLE GUY
  4. ^ Simon, Bob. "Political Correctness 'Out Of Control': Bob Simon Interviews The King Of Comedy, Larry The Cable Guy", 60 Minutes Online, December 17, 2007

[edit] External links

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