Lenny Clarke
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| Lenny Clarke | |
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 Clarke in January 2006 |
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| Born | September 16, 1953 (age 58) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Lenny Clarke (born September 16, 1953) is an American comedian and actor, famous for his thick Boston accent and role as Uncle Teddy on the series Rescue Me. During the 1970s, as related in the Comedy Central roast of Clarke's friend Denis Leary, Clarke ran for mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. When asked by Leary what his platform was, Clarke replied "Fuck the Kennedys". Clarke had buttons and bumper stickers made with this slogan on them. In an attempt to spark interest in his campaign, Clarke stole a Boston bus and began to pick up random people and drop them at their doors.
[edit] Life and career
Clarke was the most famous "saloon comic" in Boston during the 1980s, the heyday of the Boston comedy scene. The DVD release When Standup Stood Out (2006) details Clarke's early career and affiliations with other famous Boston comics, such as Steven Wright and Denis Leary, his good friends. In 1980, Clarke wrote and starred in a local television show Lenny Clarke's Late Show featuring Wright and Leary, in collaboration with Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Clarke and Olson were roommates, and their apartment, known by comedians as "The Barracks", was a notorious "crash pad" for comics visiting Boston, and the subject of a documentary film as Clarke and Leary explain in When Standup Stood Out.
Since his early days in Boston, Clarke starred in his own short-lived network sitcom Lenny (1990), and in such TV shows as Contest Searchlight, The Job, The John Larroquette Show and It's All Relative and movies like Monument Ave., Fever Pitch and Southie. As of 2006, Clarke appears in the recurring role of Uncle Teddy on the FX comedy-drama Rescue Me.
In 2006, Clarke and Leary appeared on television during a Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox 1st baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson's anti-semitic comments.[1][2]
In 2007, Clarke played the role of Ron Abbot on the short lived Fox comedy series The Winner. The show was cancelled after six episodes due to low ratings on May 16, 2007.
Clark is also an occasional guest on the WEEI radio shows in Boston. It was on the show were he announced that he would be a regular on the new Fox Sitcom "Brothers" as the racist neighbor who is married to a black woman.
On the evening of January 19, 2010, Clarke appeared on stage at the victory speech of Republican Senator elect from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, who was elected to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Edward Kennedy.
He had appeared on ESPN's: 30 for 30 - 4 Days in October; along side ESPN sports and pop culture columnist Bill Simmons as a narrator giving insight on the 2004 ALCS comeback by the Red Sox against the New York Yankees.
Lenny Clarke was widely criticized[3][4] for referring to Katherine Clark, a candidate at the time for State Senate who eventually won the election, as a "whore."[5][6] Clarke had been performing in support of Clark's opponent, Craig Spadafora, who attempted to distance himself from Clarke's remarks.[7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ Bad Idea Blue Jeans: Rescue Me (from Mel Gibson)
- ^ Error - BostonHerald.com
- ^ Whore-Mongering Clarke Repudiating
- ^ Error - BostonHerald.com
- ^ Contrite Lenny Clarke Apologizes for Bad Joke
- ^ Error - BostonHerald.com
- ^ Massachusetts Candidate In Hot Water Over Comedian's Whore Reference
- ^ Error - BostonHerald.com
