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Larry the Cable Guy

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Daniel Lawrence Whitney
Born (1963-02-17) February 17, 1963 (age 61)
Pawnee City, Nebraska, USA
Occupation(s)Comedian, Actor
SpouseCara Whitney (1 child)
ChildrenWyatt Whitney (age unknown)
Expecting second child in late summer
Websitewww.larrythecableguy.com

Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17 1963 in Pawnee City, Nebraska), better known by the stage name Larry the Cable Guy, is a stand up comedian, actor, and one of the co-stars of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and the subsequent series Blue Collar TV. He starred in the feature-length movie Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, provided his voice to star in the animated film Cars as Mater, its subsequent video game and its short film sequel Mater and the Ghostlight, and presently stars alongside close friend Bill Engvall in the film Delta Farce.

Biography

Early life

Whitney grew up in Pawnee City, Nebraska; he moved to Palm Beach County, Florida with his family when he was 16 where he attended Berean Christian School. His father, a preacher who once played guitar with the Everly Brothers, worked as the principal of the nearby Berean Christian Elementary School. Whitney worked at Wendy's until 1985, when he began doing stand-up comedy with other West Palm Beach locals like buddy Jamie Porter. He continued his career at the Comedy Club in Blue Springs, Missouri, on amateur nights at the encouragement of friends and coworkers. In 1991, he began doing radio comedy, where he would call into stations as fictional characters. The "Larry" character was created after a friend from one of the stations asked him to call in as a cable installer.

Comedy 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 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 90s 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 Chris Baker Show Friday mornings, as well as the Kirk, Mark, and Lopez morning show on 98 Rock in Baltimore, MD. He was also a frequent guest on the Johnny Dare and Murphy show on 98.9, KQRC, Kansas City. Larry's trademarks are Redneck-style humor, recounting bizarre stories about his "family," delivered in an affected thick Southern dialect, and using, among other common expressions, his own catchphrase "Git-R-Done!"

He also sings Christmas songs like "Donny the Retard," "Titty Bars Christmas," and "I Pissed My Pants". He uses "Madder than" analogies like "Madder than a skinhead watching The Jeffersons," "Madder than a carload of queers getting pulled over for doin' a 69 in a 55," "Madder than a one-legged waitress at the IHOP," or "Happier than Jim Nabors with a wheelbarrow full of buttholes," and possibly his most famous, "Happier than a tornado in a trailer park," from his character in the film Cars.

In 2005, he was featured in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up," playing dual roles as himself and a transvestite bar patron. In 2006, he starred in the film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, was the voice of Mater, the tow truck, in Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-nominated animated film Cars, as well as the voice of Ryder, a crazy cat in the Walt Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound 2.

Whitney 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.

He has also been 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) who butt heads at the type of programming they feel appropriate for air. A half-hour pilot has been ordered by the network.[1]

Private life

The real Dan Whitney himself is somewhat of an unknown. A few biographies of him describe only the fictional life of Larry the Cable Guy, as he rarely speaks out of character when in public. Residents of Pawnee County confirm the existence of his father and one brother.

In a 60 Minutes report, 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."[2]

Whitney lives on a rural parcel of land in Seminole County, Florida, just north of Orlando and has a home in Lincoln, Nebraska. He's a dedicated supporter of the University of Nebraska football team. He frequently attends Nebraska Football games in his luxury box above Memorial Stadium, Lincoln. Whitney is married to a former radio personality from KOMP in Las Vegas, NV.

Daniel and his wife also recently celebrated their first child together, a boy.

Southern accent

Whitney's Southern accent is worn as an affectation. Having grown up in Nebraska before moving to West Palm Beach in South Florida when he was 16, Whitney's natural inflection is much more Midwest than Deep South. He says in interviews and in his autobiographical book GIT-R-DONE that he willingly "turns on" the accent.[3] See this YouTube link for an early comedy routine performance without his accent. He also has many inconsistencies within his accent making it a mix of several different regional areas.

Catchphrases

Larry the Cable Guy uses catchphrase humor, including "Git-R-Done", as well as "Lord, I apologize for that right there, and please be with the starvin' pygmies in New Guinea, A-men" and/or "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there!" after particularly egregious jokes.

Fictional family

His often-heard-of fictional family includes the following:

  • A grandma who gets the "walkin' farts".
  • A grandpa who uses a device to speak due to throat cancer.
  • A brother who is not only deaf but has Tourette's syndrome.
  • A sister, Liddie, who is very overweight who has a belly button ring; this sister was also immortalized in a sketch on Blue Collar TV.
  • Another sister who looks like DeeWayne from the Ozarks and has numerous moles; Larry has nicknamed her "Old Moley," "Holy Moley," and "Guacamole". This sister also is overweight.
  • His sister's husband, who is originally from Mexico.
  • His sister's baby, whom Larry has nicknamed "Rolie Polie Moley".
  • A niece and nephew, parents unclear, who bring home fairy tale books that are now "politically correct," as read by Larry on Blue Collar TV.
  • A 370-pound hypochondriac aunt.
  • A dog named Wilson whose tail was docked a little too long.
  • A wife that looks like his favorite country music singer, Travis Tritt.
  • A great-great-grandfather who is a Civil War veteran and is called Lawrence the Telegraph Guy.
  • A girlfriend named BayLee Spain Long
  • A mother's lesbian lover named Frita (used in early career)

Radio career

Whitney was a radio personality on:

Discography

Filmography

Wikiquote has quotations related to Larry the Cable Guy.

References

  1. ^ "Basic Cable Guy: Pilot At Comedy Central — Network Has Ordered Half-Hour Animated TV Show Starring 'Blue Collar' Comedian", HollywoodReporter.com, December 13, 2006
  2. ^ Bob Simon. "Political Correctness 'Out Of Control': Bob Simon Interviews The King Of Comedy, Larry The Cable Guy", 60 Minutes Online, December 17, 2007
  3. ^ An Interview with Larry the Cable Guy, Dead-Frog.com, June 15, 2005


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