Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor and former voice actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill. He has also won acclaim for his occasional dramatic roles.
Root was born in Sarasota, Florida, the son of Leona Estelle and Rolland Clair Root, a construction supervisor. He graduated from Vero Beach High School in Vero Beach, Florida. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he majored in acting and broadcasting.
Among his most recognized television roles are eccentric billionaire Jimmy James on the sitcom NewsRadio and as the voice of depressed Army barber Bill Dauterive and Hank Hill's skirt-chasing boss Buck Strickland on the animated television series King of the Hill (Root originally auditioned for the role of Dale). He had a recurring role on the final two seasons of The West Wing as Republican campaign consultant Bob Mayer. His most recognizable film roles to date are as the mumbling, quirky Milton Waddams in Office Space, as the mild-mannered gymrat Gordon Pibb in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, as Suds, a drunk sports writer, in Leatherheads, and as the dimwitted principal in the 2008 Judd Apatow produced comedy Drillbit Taylor.
Andrew Roane "Andy" Dick (born December 21, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. He is best known as a talented comic but is also known for his eccentric and controversial behavior. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio and was a supporting character on Less than Perfect. He briefly had his own program, The Andy Dick Show on MTV, and he is also noted for his outlandish behavior from a number of Comedy Central Roasts.
Dick was born Andrew Roane Dick in Charleston, South Carolina on December 21, 1965 and he was adopted at birth by Allen and Sue Dick. He was brought up Presbyterian, and as a kid, he spent time living with his family in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, and Yugoslavia before moving to Chicago in 1979. He attended Lassiter High School, which was being temporarily housed at George Walton Comprehensive High School in Cobb County, Georgia. Dick appeared in numerous theater productions during his high school years and was elected homecoming king his senior year in 1983. While in high school, Dick tended to use his name as a joke; and one day, he dressed in a homemade superhero costume and presented himself at school as "Super Dick". Dick graduated from Joliet West High School in 1984, and is a friend of actor Anthony Rapp, whom he had known since childhood. After graduating from high school, Dick joined Chicago's Second City, attended Columbia College Chicago, and took improv comedy classes at i.O. (formerly 'ImprovOlympic').
NewsRadio was an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios. The show's theme tune was composed by Mike Post, who also scored the pilot (Ian Dye and Danny Lux did subsequent episodes).
The show placed #72 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
The series is set at WNYX, a fictional AM news radio station in New York City populated by an eccentric station owner and staff. The show begins with the arrival of a new news director, level-headed Dave Nelson (Dave Foley). While Dave turns out to be less naive than his youthful appearance suggests, he never fully gains control of his co-workers.
The fast-paced scripts and ensemble cast combined physical humor and sight gags with smart dialogue and absurd storylines. Plots often involved satirical takes on historical events, news stories and pop culture references appealing to a sophisticated, college-educated target audience. The third- and fourth-season finales took the absurdity to the extreme, setting the characters in outer space and aboard the Titanic.
David Scott "Dave" Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown. He also frequently appears on The Late Late Show on CBS.
Foley, the third of four children, was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, the son of Mary, a homemaker, and Michael Foley, a steam-fitter.
After dropping out of high school, Foley pursued standup comedy for about a year in the Toronto Second City Training Centre where he began taking improv classes. There, he met Kevin McDonald, who got him a job with him as an usher at a local art house movie theatre. Together, they formed the original The Kids in the Hall.
In October 1989, The Kids in the Hall debuted on TV, with a cast of Foley, McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Some of Foley's famous characters include Hecubus, one of the Sizzler sisters, the A. T. & Love boss, Bruno Puntz Jones, Mr. Heavyfoot, Jocelyn, and Lex. The show ended in April 1994.