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Dave Attell
Attell in December 2009
Born	(1965-01-18) January 18, 1965 (age 47) Queens, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1988–present
Genres	Blue comedy Insult comedy Black comedy
Subject(s)	American culture, everyday life, race relations, recreational drug use, self-deprecation, current events, religion
Influences	Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, Redd Foxx, Don Rickles,[1] Colin Quinn[2], Richard Jeni[3]
Notable works and roles	Saturday Night Live (writer, 1993-1994) The Jon Stewart Show (writer, 1993-1995) The Ugly American on The Daily Show Host of Insomniac with Dave Attell Host of The Gong Show with Dave Attell Frank in Pootie Tang

Dave Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show with Dave Attell.

Stand-up beginning[link]

Born in Queens, New York, to a Jewish family, he grew up in Rockville Centre, New York and now lives in New York City. Attell's initial motivation to perform stand-up comedy is attributed to his indecisiveness as to what he should do after college. In 1987 he graduated from New York University with a degree in communications. Like many other fledgling comedians, he worked menial jobs during the day and put in his time at comedy clubs at night. He worked his first gig at Governor's in Levittown and, according to Attell, "totally bombed".^{[citation needed]} After years of honing his act, he found himself being described as a "comedian's comedian".^{[citation needed]} When working a club, the other comedians, such as Mike Royce (a producer/writer on Everybody Loves Raymond), David Juskow (a performer on TV Funhouse), Kevin Brennan (from Saturday Night Live and HBO's One Night Stand) and Jon Stewart, would come in to watch his act. While the audience didn't always follow his up-front delivery, fellow comedians were refreshed by his originality.^{[citation needed]}

Attell often begins a joke in a relatively tame way, but then gets progressively stranger and ends in an obscene non sequitur. For example: "Sex is not important. What's important is that afterward part. When you're both naked and it's warm and you're watching the sun come up in the windshield. You look in her eyes, you look in her one good eye and help her strap on her leg and you know: you just fucked a pirate."^[4]

Television[link]

Attell's first appearance on television was in 1988 on VH1's Stand-Up Spotlight, which also featured early appearances by Lewis Black, Margaret Cho, Jeff Garlin, Jay Mohr and Wanda Sykes. The show was hosted by Rosie O'Donnell.

Perhaps his biggest break to date was achieved on November 23, 1993 when he made his first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. The appearance was seen by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, who then recruited Attell to be a writer, and occasional performer, on SNL. Attell can be seen behind Chris Farley during the famous "Rudy Giuliani Inauguration" sketch. Attell worked on the show for the '93-'94 season.

In 1995, Attell was featured on two HBO specials: alongside up-and-comers Louis C.K., Anthony Clark, Eric Tunney and Dave Chappelle, he was a featured performer on the 1995 Young Comedians Special, hosted by Garry Shandling. He was also given his own 60-minute special on the channel's "HBO Comedy Showcase". Subsequently, Attell was also given an episode of HBO Comedy Half-Hour in 1997.

Also in 1995, Attell appeared as Squiggly Dave on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, kicking-off a long-standing relationship between Attell and Comedy Central. In 1999 the network issued Attell an installment in their ever-popular Comedy Central Presents series.

The same year the network signed him on as a regular commentator on their satirical news show The Daily Show. When he arrived in 1999, the show was just finding its audience after the departure of host Craig Kilborn and the arrival of Jon Stewart, an old friend of Attell's from the New York comedy circuit. The three-year stint gave Attell access to a mass audience on a regular basis (The Daily Show has done much the same for comedians Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Lewis Black and others). Attell's series of commentary on the show was called "The Ugly American."

In 2003, Attell began appearing semi-regularly on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. The show featured many of the performers he works with every day at the underground comedy club the Comedy Cellar and is based on the conversations they would have off-stage at the Olive Tree Cafe, the restaurant above the club. The unscripted show was canceled in November 2004 due to poor ratings and controversial subject matter.

In 2007, Attell appeared in the Michael Addis film, Heckler. Heckler is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. Attell appeared on Comedy Central's Last Laugh in 2007.

In July 2008, Attell began hosting The Gong Show with Dave Attell for Comedy Central. Like the 1970's version, the show had a rotating panel of celebrity judges grading unusual acts.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Other notable television roles for Attell:

• "Dave" in a couple of the early episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond
• The voice of "Frank Demore" on Crank Yankers
• "Brad Campbell" on Ed
• Himself on Arrested Development

Attell has also been on numerous talk shows, including The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Last Call with Carson Daly. He is also a frequent guest on Opie & Anthony.

In January 2010, he co-hosted the AVN Awards show, along with porn actresses Kirsten Price and Kayden Kross.^[10]

Dave Attell hosts the hit Showtime series Dave's Old Porn where he has a fellow comedian and a retro porn star on as guests. They proceed to watch different porn films from the "Golden Age of Porn" in the 1970's and 1980's. The show has a Mystery Science Theater 3000 quality to it.

On January 21, 2012 Attell was a co-host of the 2012 AVN Awards in Las Vegas along with Adult Film Stars, Bree Olsen and Sunny Leone

Film[link]

Attell played the roles of "Don" in Los Enchiladas! The film was written, produced and directed by his friend, comedian Mitch Hedberg, and co-starred with Hedberg as well as fellow comedians Todd Barry and Marc Maron.

In the short film The Office Party, Attell once again played the role of "Don". The film co-starred ex-Karate Kid/Outsider Ralph Macchio, Jon Stewart, Carol Kane and Tate Donovan. The film was written and directed by Daily Show producer Chiara Edmands.

Pootie Tang saw Attell as the bumbling corporate lackey, "Frank". The film was written and directed by fellow comedian Louis C.K.. It co-starred Lance Crouther, Wanda Sykes and Chris Rock among others.

Attell also played "Efram the Driver" in the Independent feature My Suicidal Sweetheart, written and directed by filmmaking newcomer Michael Parness. The film co-starred Natasha Lyonne, David Krumholtz, Tim Blake Nelson, Lorraine Bracco, David Paymer and Rosanna Arquette.

Also Dave Attell had a cameo appearance in the film Abby Singer as well as Scary Movie 4.

Though not a film, the video game Outlaw Golf 2 featured the voice of Attell as the Color Commentator.

He plays the character Barker in the 2008 comedy film Harold.

He voiced the GPS on the Mystery Machine in the 2010 film Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo.

[edit] Insomniac with Dave Attell

Insomniac with Dave Attell was one of Attell's television shows. Described by Attell as "Wild On E! for Ugly People", it featured Attell walking the streets of America's (later the world's) greatest (and some not-so-great) cities late at night, meeting the people in a haze of ecstatic inebriation. The show occasionally went overseas.

The American cities featured on the show were Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin (2 times), Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Key West, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Long Island, Memphis, Miami, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City (4 times), Oakland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Reno, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

The foreign cities featured on the show were Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Montreal, Tijuana, Toronto, and specials that took place in Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.

The most common activity (besides roaming the street aimlessly and visiting bars) was visiting workers on their night shifts. Instead of spending time with gas station attendants, Attell went searching for odd professions to highlight. Among them were crime-scene cleaners, bail bondsmen, cow-milkers, brothel-hookers, bicycle cops, coal miners, and porn overdubbers. Memorable episodes include a visit to Chicago's world-famous The Wieners Circle, where the staff routinely got in cursing matches with their customers, and a visit to a Phoenix nudist camp.

Throughout the run of the show, Attell carried around a one-time-use film camera and took pictures of random events, which would be shown during the end-credits.

Attell has said that he decided to more-or-less end Insomniac because the show had gotten too popular to establish a level of spontaneity. As soon as he would walk into a bar with a camera crew, crowds would surround them, desperate to be on his television show. He has said, though, that people aren't so aware of his show overseas, so he would more than likely do a few specials in other countries.

Present[link]

Attell can be seen touring occasionally. He is a mainstay on the New York comedy circuit and performs several times a week at the Comedy Cellar.^{[citation needed]}

Attell's first one-hour special, Captain Miserable, aired December 8, 2007 on HBO.

In May 2008, Attell announced a casting call on his MySpace page for Comedy Central's relaunch of The Gong Show. Attell was host, along with Greg Fitzsimmons serving as head writer on the series. However, The Gong Show with Dave Attell aired only from July to September 2008.

He is also a mainstay on the USO circuit.^[11][12]

Attell performed at Funny for Fido, a benefit to help homeless animals in New York City, on June 3, 2009.

Attell returns to television on Showtime beginning October 20th, 2011 in Dave's Old Porn, a weekly series that combines comedy with retro 70's/80's pornos.

On January 21, 2012 Attell was a co-host of the 2012 AVN Awards in Las Vegas along with Adult Film Stars, Bree Olsen and Sunny Leone.

Discography/videography[link]

• The Best of Insomniac Uncensored (Vol. 1) - DVD, 2003
• The Best of Insomniac Uncensored (Vol. 2) - DVD, 2003
• Skanks for the Memories... - CD, 2003
• Hey, Your Mouth's Not Pregnant! - DVD, 2006
• Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour - DVD, 2006
• Captain Miserable - HBO DVD, 2007

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dave Attell

External links[link]

• Dave Attell's Official Dave's Old Porn Website
• Dave Attell's Official Website
• Dave Attell on Myspace
• Dave Attell at the Internet Movie Database
• Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour
• Review of Nov. 2005 performance in Boston

Drew Carey
Carey in November 2008
Birth name	Drew Allison Carey
Born	(1958-05-23) May 23, 1958 (age 54) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1985–present
Genres	Improvisational comedy
Notable works and roles	The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Host of: Whose Line Is It Anyway? The Price Is Right Power of 10 Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza
Website	http://www.drewfromtv.blogspot.com

Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host of the U.S. version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.

Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. As of 2012, he hosts the television game show The Price Is Right. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey has written an autobiography, Dirty Jokes And Beer: Stories Of The Unrefined, detailing his early life and television career.

Early life[link]

Carey in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform, with rank insignia of a Corporal

Carey was the youngest of Lewis and Beulah Carey's three sons and raised in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.^[1] When he was eight years old, his father died from a brain tumor.^[2][3] According to his autobiography, he was born with six toes on his right foot and he played the cornet and trumpet in the marching band of James Ford Rhodes High School, from which he graduated in 1975.^[4] Drew is of Scottish heritage from both parents.^{[citation needed]}

He continued on to college at Kent State University (KSU) and was expelled twice for poor academic performance. He left KSU after three years, but not before becoming a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After leaving the university, Carey enlisted into the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1980 and served for six years.^[1] He relocated to Las Vegas for a few months in 1982, and for a short time worked as a bank teller and a waiter at Denny's.^[1][3]

Stand-up career[link]

In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes.^[5][6] The following year, after winning an open-microphone contest, he became Master of Ceremonies at the Cleveland Comedy Club.^[2] He performed at multiple comedy clubs over the next few years in both Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search.^[7] Carey was working as a stand-up comedian when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1991.^[8] His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian.^[5][9] In that same year, Carey joined the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.^[10] In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.^[11]

Acting career[link]

Early roles[link]

Following on the success of his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, during which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the film Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC.^[12] After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a consultant for the television show Someone Like Me.^[13]

[edit] The Drew Carey Show

After their stint on Someone Like Me, Carey and Helford developed and produced the storyline for The Drew Carey Show. The sitcom revolved around a fictionalized version of Carey, as he took on the stresses of life and work with his group of childhood friends. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, Carey revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common in his stand-up routines.^[4] Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $300,000.^[14] By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode.^[15] The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and increasing production costs (around $3 million per episode) precipitated its cancellation.^[15][16] The program had a total of 233 episodes over its nine-year run and Carey was one of four actors to appear in every episode. The show starred (in order of episode appearances) Carey, Diedrich Bader, Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles (all in every episode); Craig Ferguson (starring role in seasons 2-8 and guest appearances in 9); Christa Miller (seasons 1-7); and Ian Gomez (semi-regular from seasons 1-9) and John Carroll Lynch (semi-regular from seasons 3/4-9).

Improv television[link]

While still starring in The Drew Carey Show, in 1998 Carey began hosting the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the episode. The show ran for a total of 220 episodes until the show's cancellation in 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast. His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster.^[17] Carey's income from Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show led to his inclusion on the Forbes list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, at 24th with $45.5 million.^[18]

For the WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?.^[19] It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central.^[20] The show's premise relied on the use of a green screen for all of the actors' improv interactions. Animation on the screen was inserted during post-production.

On November 18, 2010, the Game Show Network announced that Drew Carey would host a new improv show in primetime, called Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. The show is filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada and first aired on April 11, 2011.^[21] The show takes on the premise of Whose Line? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in that it features many of the same performers from both shows and they do improv based on audience-provided suggestions.

Improv All-Stars[link]

Carey was one of the founders of the Improv All-Stars, a group of eleven actors who perform in unscripted skits.^[22] The group joined Carey in all three of his improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza and some members had major roles or guest starred on The Drew Carey Show.^[23] The Improv All-Stars travel on comedy tours, performing at comedy clubs throughout the United States.

Game show host[link]

[edit] Power of 10

Beginning in 2007, Carey began hosting game shows, beginning with his April selection as host of the CBS game show pilot Power of 10. The show ran from August 7, 2007 to April 7, 2008 and aired twice weekly during the late summer and early fall. Each game featured contestants predicting how a cross-section of Americans responded to questions covering a wide variety of topics in polls conducted by CBS.^[24]

[edit] The Price Is Right

After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, Carey was contacted by CBS about replacing the retiring Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. After initially turning down the offer, Carey announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007.^[25] His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on October 15. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated "You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this."^[26] When Carey began hosting, the set, theme music, and show logo were updated. However, Carey kept the old closing line about spaying and neutering that originated with Barker, although his version uses slightly different wording. During Carey's second year as host, he began to write some of the sketches used during the Showcase, which features guest appearances by stars of other CBS programs.

Other roles and appearances[link]

Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in the late 1990s in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after an episode of The Drew Carey Show featured McDonald's. As a result of his dismissal, Carey sued A&W for compensation.^[27]

Entrance to Sounds Dangerous! at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios (then "Disney-MGM Studios"), part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, debuted a 12-minute attraction in 1999 titled Sounds Dangerous!.^[28] In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective. When his video camera fails, the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently^[when?] running on a limited "seasonal" schedule.

In 2000, Carey was given a cameo appearance in the House Party expansion pack of the computer game The Sims.^[29] To make him appear, the characters in the game must throw a successful party, which causes Carey to arrive in a limo and join the festivities. Carey is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.^[29][30] Carey made several other cameo appearances in music videos, including "Weird Al" Yankovic's "It's All About the Pentiums"^[31] and Fountains of Wayne's 2004 video for "Mexican Wine", giving an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.^[32]

Although primarily known for his television work, Carey has done limited film work, with his first appearance in 1993's Coneheads. His next film was the 2000 television film, Geppetto that debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. The film, an adaptation of Pinocchio, included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on his improv shows.^[33] Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.^[3] In 2005, Carey appeared in three films: the animated film Robots, where he provided a voice-over for the character Crank; The Aristocrats where he retold a dirty joke along with other celebrities; and the documentary, Fuck, where he was interviewed.

Carey provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House correspondents' dinner.^[10] Once Carey completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush, noting Carey's improv work, made a joke of his own: "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?"^[34] In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion.^[35] In September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and The Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, on a comedy tour of Iraq.^[36]

On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. In this series, Carey traveled throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World Cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of the towns and states he visits.^[37] In early 2008, Carey appeared in Matt Groening's The Simpsons as part of the episode "All About Lisa" as a guest on the Krusty the Clown Show.

Writing[link]

Carey has routinely written throughout his career, including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined wherein he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills.^[4] The book discusses his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there is one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on The New York Times bestseller list for three months.^[38]

Personal life[link]

He adopted his crew cut hair style while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him).^[39] However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently^[when?] lives in Los Angeles and New York City.^[40]

On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz.^[41] In January 2012, it was reported that Carey and Jaracz had called off their engagement.^[42] She has appeared on The Price Is Right several times.^{[citation needed]}

After suffering chest pains while filming The Drew Carey Show in August 2001, Carey went to the hospital where he underwent a coronary angioplasty.^[43] Although his weight was a comedic topic throughout his sitcom and improv shows, in 2010 he began a diet and exercise plan, resulting in an extensive weight loss and elimination of his type-2 diabetes.^[44]

Political views[link]

Carey is an outspoken libertarian.^{[45][46][47][48]} He has expressed his political philosophy in the following terms, "I believe the answers to all the problems we face as a society won't come from Washington, it will come from us. So the way we decide to live our lives and our decisions about what we buy or don't buy are much more important than who we vote for."^[49]

Carey has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's management of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. He made donations to Ron Paul's presidential campaign for the 2008 election.^[50] On the September 26, 2008 episode of The Late Late Show, Carey defined "libertarian" to host Craig Ferguson as "a conservative who still gets high."^[51]

Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of California's newly passed no-smoking ordinance inside bars and restaurants.^[52] Carey has hosted a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, an online project of Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.^[53] The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007. Other episodes discuss topics such as eminent domain, urban traffic congestion, and medical marijuana.

Sports involvement[link]

Carey is a devoted fan of the U.S. National Soccer Team, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Indians. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the return of the Cleveland Browns, televised on ESPN.^[18] Carey attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Carey is a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who began play in Major League Soccer on March 19, 2009. Carey is a fan of FC Barcelona and of the Scottish team Rangers.^[54] In 2006 he was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Galaxy.^[55]

Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the dedication of Cleveland Browns Stadium, September 1999

Carey has shown his support for the Indians by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness that was given to fans. Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."^[56]

In 2001, Carey was the first television actor to enter World Wrestling Entertainment's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match, which he did to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute, but after the next entrant Kane refused a monetary bribe, Carey eliminated himself from the match by jumping over the top rope and retreated from ringside.^[57] On April 2, 2011 Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Kane.^[58]

Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the 2003 World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out actor Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.^[59]

On May 15, 2011, Carey completed the "Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon" in 1:57:02, then on September 4, 2011, he improved to complete the Disneyland Half Marathon in 1:50:46.

On October 30, 2011, Carey finished the Marine Corps Marathon with a chip time of: 4:37:11 and placed 10149th out of 20940.

Philanthropy[link]

Carey at the World Cup Fest in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2006 while filming Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures

Carey is a supporter of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings.^[60] He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity.^[61] In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams to compete against him.^[62] Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.^[63]

In October 2009, Carey made a bid of $25,000 in a charity auction for the @drew Twitter account. He later increased his offer to $100,000 if the number of followers of his account @DrewFromTV reached 100,000 by the end of the auction.^[64] In an interview with CBS News, he announced that he would instead donate $1 million to the charity LIVESTRONG Foundation if his follower count reached one million by December 31, 2009.^[65]

Photography[link]

Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer.^[66] His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge.^[55] He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.

Awards and honors[link]

Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• Carey won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.^[10]
• In 1995, he was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.^[1]
• Carey received an honorary DHL from Cleveland State University in 2000.^[67]
• He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000 and 2001.^[68]
• On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[69] His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
• In 2004, he was ranked 84th on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.^[70]
• On June 21, 2008 Carey won second place from the Los Angeles Press Club for his feature on medical marijuana in the multimedia package category.^[71]
• On June 26, 2011 Carey shared the award for "Best Advocacy Journalism" with Reason.tv Editor Nick Gillespie and Paul Feine at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards.^[72]

Filmography[link]

Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of sitcoms and comedy shows.

Television work[link]

Films[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Drew Carey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Drew Carey

Wikinews has related news: Drew Carey to replace Bob Barker as host of "The Price is Right"

• Drew Carey on Twitter
• Drew Carey's blog
• Drew Carey at the Internet Movie Database
• Drew Carey and the Improv All-Stars
• Drew Carey's WWE Hall of Fame Profile
• Reason Foundation Official site

v t e Whose Line Is It Anyway? UK version Host Clive Anderson Regular contestants Chip Esten Stephen Frost Stephen Fry Josie Lawrence Mike McShane Paul Merton Colin Mochrie Greg Proops John Sessions Brad Sherwood Tony Slattery Steve Steen Ryan Stiles Jim Sweeney Sandi Toksvig Caroline Quentin Musicians Colin Sell Richard Vranch Laura Hall Win Meyerson US version Host Drew Carey Regular contestants Wayne Brady Chip Esten Kathy Greenwood Colin Mochrie Greg Proops Brad Sherwood Denny Siegel Ryan Stiles Jeff Davis Musicians Laura Hall Linda Taylor Cece Worrall-Ruben Related topics List of UK episodes List of US episodes List of games Drew Carey's Green Screen Show (List of episodes) Mock the Week Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza (List of episodes)

Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan performs at a comedy club after UFC 70
Birth name	Joseph James Rogan[1]
Born	(1967-08-11) August 11, 1967 (age 44) Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, Presenter, Announcer, Podcaster
Nationality	American
Years active	1988—present
Genres	Satire/political satire, blue comedy, observational comedy
Subject(s)	Recreational drug use, self-deprecation, race relations, marriage, everyday life, parenting, current events, politics, religion
Influences	Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison
Spouse	Jessica Rogan (2009–present) 2 children, 1 step daughter
Notable works and roles	Joe Garrelli in NewsRadio Co-Host of The Man Show Host of Fear Factor Commentator for the UFC Author of the Book Space Monkey Host of The Joe Rogan Experience

Joseph James "Joe" Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American martial artist, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and color commentator. He is best known for playing Joe Garrelli on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, commentating for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hosting the NBC reality show Fear Factor and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Early life[link]

Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey.^[2] His paternal grandfather was Irish and the remainder of his ancestry is Italian.^[3]

Career[link]

Martial arts[link]

In 1981, at age fourteen, he became a practitioner of Kenpo Karate before transitioning to Taekwondo.^[4] He eventually gained a 2nd dan black belt.^[5] A four-time state champion in Massachusetts, in 1987 he was the USA Taekwondo U.S. Open Champion.^[6] In 1996, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jean Jacques Machado, eventually earning his brown belt.^[7] In addition, he holds a brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.^[8][9]

He also practiced and competed in kickboxing.^[10]

Acting[link]

In 1994, he co-starred on the Fox comedy Hardball as Frank Valente, the young, ego-centric star player on a fictional professional baseball team.^[11] From 1995 to 1999, he co-starred on the comedy NewsRadio. He portrayed Joe Garrelli, the electrician at WNYX, a news radio station in New York City.^[12] In 2002, he appeared on the episode "A Beautiful Mind" of Just Shoot Me as Chris, Maya Gallo's boyfriend.^[13] In 2011, Rogan played his first major character in a movie in the Kevin James movie Zookeeper.^[14] He is slated to play himself in an upcoming action-comedy starring Kevin James called Here Comes the Boom, set to be released in the summer of 2012.^[15]

Color commentary[link]

Rogan began working for the UFC in 1997, making his debut interviewing fighters at UFC 12: Judgement Day in Dothan, Alabama, before eventually becoming a color commentator for the promotion.^[16] He won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards in two occasions as Best Television Announcer. He was also named "MMA Personality of the Year" in the 2011 World MMA Awards.^[17]

Stand-up comedy[link]

Rogan has toured as a stand-up comedian and recorded several albums and specials, including Shiny Happy Jihad and Joe Rogan: Talking Monkeys in Space.

In 2007 Rogan confronted comedian Carlos Mencia on stage, accusing him of joke thievery.^[18] A video of the incident, created with Brian Redban, included evidence and supporting comments from other comedians, including George Lopez, Reverend Bob Levy, Bobby Lee and Ari Shaffir.^[19]

Hosting[link]

Rogan worked on the TV series Fear Factor, as a host of the United States version of the show. He hosted from June 11, 2001 through September 12, 2006. Rogan returned as the host of Fear Factor in the rebooted edition of the show, which aired December 12, 2011 on NBC.

In 2003, Rogan and Doug Stanhope replaced Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla as co-hosts of The Man Show.^[20] They continued through the end of the show's run in 2004.

In December 2009, Rogan began hosting a regular podcast with concurrent live Ustream availability.^[21] Co-hosted by his friend and the show's producer Brian Redban, the podcast features an array of guests from the pursuits of comedy, acting and Mixed Martial Arts.^{[citation needed]} Now known as The Joe Rogan Experience, the show is regularly found in the Apple iTunes top 10 most downloaded comedy, and was named one of iTunes "Best of 2010" audio podcasts in its first year.

Personal life[link]

In 2008, Rogan and his wife to be, Jessica, had a baby girl.^[22] The couple married in 2009. In 2010, Rogan announced the birth of a second baby. Rogan also has a step daughter with his wife Jessica.^[23][24]

Although raised Roman Catholic,^[25] Rogan stated in September 2010, during a guest appearance on the Alex Jones radio show, that he does not follow any organized religions because he feels it is all the work of man. Rogan also said that he is not completely opposed to the concept of a "higher power" such as a God; however, he views the concept of God as part of nature that exists in everything.

Rogan has argued for the possibility of the moon landings being a hoax.^[26][27]

One of the recurring themes in his stand-up comedy and life is the use and support of cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, and DMT. Rogan supports the medical and recreational use of cannabis.^[28] He has also starred in the marijuana documentary The Union: The Business Behind Getting High.^[29] Rogan was featured in the 2010 History Channel documentary, Marijuana: A Chronic History, as an advocate of legalized medical use of marijuana. He is also the presenter of the 2010 documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, released in October 2010.

Comedy recordings[link]

• I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (CD) (August 22, 2000)
• Live from the Belly of the Beast (DVD) (May 4–5, 2001)
• Joe Rogan: Live (DVD) (September 1, 2006)
• Shiny Happy Jihad (CD) (April 10, 2007)
• Talking Monkeys in Space (CD & DVD) (2010) Comedy Central Records

Awards and recognition[link]

• World MMA Awards
  • 2011 Personality of the Year
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2010 Best Television Announcer
  • 2011 Best Television Announcer ^[30]
• Teen Choice Award,
  • Choice TV Reality/Variety Host for Fear Factor (2003, Nominated)

See also[link]

• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Joe Rogan on Twitter
• Joe Rogan on Youtube
• Fear Factor
• Interview from August 2008
• Joe Rogan at the Internet Movie Database
• Joe Rogan on his UFC career

Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin in Australia, 2005
Born	Stephen Robert Irwin (1962-02-22)22 February 1962 Essendon, Victoria
Died	4 September 2006(2006-09-04) (aged 44) Batt Reef, Queensland
Cause of death	Stingray accident
Nationality	Australian
Other names	The Crocodile Hunter
Occupation	Naturalist Zoologist Conservationist Television personality Herpetologist
Years active	1997–2006
Notable work(s)	The Crocodile Hunter
Spouse	Terri Irwin (m. 1992–2006) «start: (1992)–end+1: (2007)»"Marriage: Terri Irwin to Steve Irwin" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Steve_Irwin)
Children	Bindi Sue Irwin (b. 1998) Robert Clarence Irwin (b. 2003)
Website
Australia Zoo

Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian wildlife expert,^[1][2] television personality, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. Together, the couple also owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane. Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary film titled Ocean's Deadliest. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship MY Steve Irwin was named in his honour.

Early life[link]

Irwin was born on his mother's birthday to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.^[3] He moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School.^[4] Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator. After moving to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feeding, as well as care and maintenance activities. On his sixth birthday he was given a 12-foot (4 m) scrub python. He began handling crocodiles at the age of nine after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age.^[5] Also at age nine he wrestled his first crocodile, again under his father's supervision.^[6] He worked as a volunteer for Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management program and captured over 100 crocodiles, some of which were relocated, while others were housed at the family park.^[7] Irwin took over the management of the park in 1991^[7] and renamed it Australia Zoo in 1992.^[8]

Career[link]

Marriage and family[link]

Terri Raines Irwin, the wife of Steve Irwin

In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Terri said at the time, "I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy."^[9] They were engaged four months later and were married in Eugene on 4 June 1992. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" (named after Irwin's father) Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who died on 23 June 2004. Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason [he] was put on the Earth." His wife once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more."^[3] Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them and/or the animals.^[10]

[edit] The Crocodile Hunter and related work

Irwin feeding a crocodile at Australia Zoo

Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996, and made its way onto North American television the following year. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK,^[11] and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide.^[12] Sir David Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."^[13]

American satellite and cable television channel Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale titled "Steve's Last Adventure." The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park. Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including Croc Files,^[14] The Crocodile Hunter Diaries,^[15] and New Breed Vets.^[16] During a January 2006 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin^[17] – a plan realised after his death as the series Bindi the Jungle Girl.^[18]

Other television and film work[link]

In 1998, Irwin continued, working with director Mark Strickson, to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World.^[19] He appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[20][21] A 2000 FedEx commercial with Irwin lightheartedly dealt with the possibility of occupational death from snakebite and the fanciful notion that FedEx would have saved him, if only FedEx were used.^[22]

Under Irwin's leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation (later renamed Wildlife Warriors), and the International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to the Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary and Tiger Temple. Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.^[3]

In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2, in which a crocodile warns Dolittle that he knows Irwin is going to grab him and is prepared to attack when he does, but Dolittle fails to warn Irwin in time. Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which was released to mixed reviews. In the film Irwin (who portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts) mistakes some CIA agents for poachers. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, which, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of about US$12 million, and has grossed $33 million.^[23] To promote the film, Irwin was featured in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.^[24]

In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, which was set in Australia Zoo and featured singing and dancing inspired by Australian wildlife.^[25]

Pacific National locomotive NR75 named Steve Irwin

In 2003, Irwin fronted an advertising campaign for The Ghan, a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin.^[26] A Pacific National NR class locomotive was named Steve Irwin as part of the campaign.

In 2006, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production.^[27] Another, previously incomplete scene, featuring Irwin providing the voice of an albatross and essentially playing himself, was restored to the DVD release.^[28]

Media campaigns[link]

Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He enthusiastically joined with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it". His payments for these advertising campaigns were directed into his wildlife fund.^[29]

In 2004, Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year. For some time he was sponsored by Toyota.^[30]

Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002, the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction.^[31] His immense popularity in the United States meant he often promoted Australia as a tourist destination there.^[32] As a part of the United States' "Australia Week" celebrations in January 2006, Irwin appeared at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.^[33]

Search and rescue in Mexico[link]

In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team's divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island where the incident occurred, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane. On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow rock ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff. Irwin and a crewmember escorted him to Irwin's boat. Jones did not recognise Irwin. The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead by a search plane later the same day not far from Jones' location.^[34]

Honours[link]

In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Irwin discovered a new species of turtle. Later given the honour of naming the newly discovered species, he named it Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini) after his family.^[35] Another newly discovered Australian animal – a species of air-breathing land snail, Crikey steveirwini, was named after Irwin in 2009.^[36]

In 2001, Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for his "service to global conservation and to Australian tourism".^[37] In 2004, he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year.^[38] He was also nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year^[39] – an honour which was won that year by Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh.^[40] Shortly before his death, Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology. On 14 November 2007, Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously.^[1]

In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation.^[41] Also in 2007, the state government of Kerala, India named the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in his honour;^[42] however, Terri objected that this action had been taken without her permission and asked the Kerala government in 2009 to stop using Irwin's name and images^[43] – a request which the state government complied with in mid-2009.^[44]

Environmentalism[link]

Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species."^[31] Irwin bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he described as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.^[45]

Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed "Wildlife Warriors Worldwide".^[46] He also helped found International Crocodile Rescue,^[47] the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother, who died in an automobile crash in 2000),^[48] and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.^[49]