Ryan Stiles

Ryan Stiles
Stiles in November 2008
Born	Ryan Lee Stiles (1959-04-22) April 22, 1959 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian, director, voice actor
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Patricia McDonald (1988–present)

Ryan Lee Stiles (born April 22, 1959) is an American actor, comedian, director, and voice actor whose work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his improv and co-production work on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the role of Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show. He currently plays Herb Melnick on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men.

Early life and career

Stiles was born in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of five children. His father, Sonny, was a fishing plant supervisor. His mother's name is Irene. When he was ten, his Canadian-born parents moved the family to Richmond, British Columbia. At the age of seventeen, he dropped out of his high school, Richmond Secondary, to pursue a career in comedy. He worked in his father's fish-processing plant to earn a living while doing stand-up at Punchlines Comedy Club in Vancouver, British Columbia and performing improv with Vancouver TheatreSports League. In 1986, Stiles successfully auditioned for a berth at Toronto's renowned Second City comedy ensemble.

Television work

By 1989, Stiles had gained the attention of the producers of the British improvisational comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Stiles was a regular on the show until 1998, and the show's short production season allowed him to make numerous television and motion picture appearances in the United States.

In 1995, Stiles was asked by American comic Drew Carey to be a regular on his comedy The Drew Carey Show. Stiles played Drew's smart but underachieving best friend, Lewis Kiniski. Stiles' first line in the pilot episode of the show, "And that's why the French don't wash," is a line he had previously used in an episode of the British version of Whose Line?.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

In 1998, Carey successfully lobbied ABC to get an American version of Whose Line? produced. Following the final season of the British version in 1998, the American version premiered, with both Stiles and Carey credited as executive producers. Stiles and Colin Mochrie were the only two performers to appear in every episode of the US version, though Wayne Brady also became a regular near the beginning of the second season. The series was produced until 2006.

Stiles was the most prolific performer on the original UK version of Whose Line?, appearing in 76 of the series 136 episodes (including compilations). He first appeared in the fifth episode of the second season, which aired in late 1988. He appeared in one other episode of that season, before returning for four episodes of the third season. His prominence increased with each season, including appearances in every episode of Season 4 which was filmed in New York; ultimately appearing in every episode from the seventh season onwards.

Stiles was known for several recurring impressions he performed on the shows, performed both at his own decision and as an assignment in games. These included Carol Channing, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Steve Irwin and Christopher Lloyd's character in Taxi, Jim Ignatowski. He made clear his dislike of the musical segments of the show at every opportunity whenever he was chosen to perform in them, mostly because of his inability to form lyrics quickly. In particular, he disliked the games Hoedown and Irish Drinking Song, often reacting negatively (or sarcastically positively) to its being announced. Other than in early UK playings, Stiles was always the last performer to sing in Hoedown and other similar musical games, allowing him more time to devise lyrics, and giving him the final punch-lines, as well as injecting (usually not-so subtle) jabs at the Hoedown itself, or of the host for having him perform in it.

Stiles had first met Colin Mochrie years before while performing stand-up. They first performed together in Vancouver TheaterSports then in Second City, Toronto.There were a number of games which exclusively paired Mochrie and Stiles at every playing. Though other performers did so, he was the most common performer to make bald jokes at Mochrie's expense. In return, Mochrie often made jokes about Stiles's height, nose, attractiveness, and tendency to wear exotic, flamboyant shoes, which were designed by George Esquivel.

Stiles took part in the regular practice of mocking host Clive Anderson on the UK series, though he did so with less frequency than others. On the American version, however, he was among the most frequent mockers of Carey, especially during the Hoedowns.

Stiles was almost always in a button-up shirt; typically a dress shirt, and was one of the few performers (along with Greg Proops) to commonly wear a necktie. One of Stiles's notable trademarks on the US series were his dress shoes, many of which were an unusual color, most notably his blue shoes, or had a flashy pattern of several colors. This was due to the fact that he often had to get shoes custom-made due to his height and shoe size. Stiles' shoes and the size of his nose were sometimes mocked by Carey and the other performers. In addition, a running gag on both versions of the show had the producers trying (and invariably failing) to stump Stiles, by giving him increasingly bizarre mannerisms or characters in the games that require him to act them out. When reading them just prior to the scene, he and Carey would often laugh at what was written on the cards.

Stiles received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 2002 for his work on the show.

Personal life

In 1981, Stiles met Patricia McDonald at Punchlines where she was waitressing. They lived together for seven years before marrying in 1988. They have three children: Sam, Mackenzie, and Claire. When not working in Hollywood, he lives at his home on Lake Samish, outside Bellingham, Washington, where he has opened the Upfront Theatre, a small theatre dedicated to live improv comedy.

Stiles once lived in a house previously owned by Liberace in Sherman Oaks, California, but he sold it.

Other appearances

Stiles appeared in the 1991 film Hot Shots as Mailman Farnham, and also starred in the 1993 sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux, as marine Rabinowitz.

Since 2004, Stiles has been seen as the recurring character Dr. Herb Melnick in several episodes of the comedy Two and a Half Men which stars his Hot Shots co-stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. Stiles also made short guest appearances on Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Mad TV, Corner Gas, and Dharma & Greg. In July 2008, he was a guest star on Reno 911! as Sergeant Clift, an acting coach.

During the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike Stiles appeared in several commercials for Nike, hanging out in an empty ballpark doing things such as playing the organ and attempting to do the wave alone. The commercials ended with the tag line: "Play ball. Please."

Stiles is rumored to be a front-runner for the role of Freddy Krueger in the upcoming reboot of Nightmare on Elm Street.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Rainbow War
1991	Hot Shots!	'Mailman' Farnham
1993	Hot Shots! Part Deux	Rabinowitz
1997	Courting Courtney	Chad Gross
2003	Nobody Knows Anything	Harold	uncredited
2006	The Extra	Clyde
2009	Astro Boy	Mr. Mustachio	voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989– 2006	Whose Line Is It Anyway	Himself	appeared in every episode from 1998 onwards
1995– 2004	The Drew Carey Show	Lewis Kiniski	Main role
2004– present	Two and a Half Men	Dr. Herb Melnick	guest role in one Season 2 episode, recurring from Season 4 onwards

Commercials

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Nike	unknown	commercials pleading for the end of the 94/95 MLB strike
2001	Kinko's	"Kenny"	various
2004	Progressive Automotive Insurance	unknown	various
2005	Pizza Hut	unknown	various
2007	Playskool	unknown	various

External links

• Ryan Stiles at IMDb
• Ryan Stiles Net Fansite
• Ryan Stiles biography