Larry the Cable Guy: Biography

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• Discography
• Biography
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• Slidawg & the Redneck Ramblers
• Ron White
• Bill Engvall
• Jeff Foxworthy

• Grandpa Jones
• Sam Kinison
• Homer & Jethro
• Ray Stevens
• Adam Sandler
• Weird Al Yankovic
• Ben Colder

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Birth Name:

Daniel Whitney

Born:

Feb 17, 1963 in Pawnee City, NE

Genres:

Comedy & Spoken Word, Music Comedy, Spoken Comedy, Comedy

Decades Active:

2000's

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

The man who add the catchphrases "GitRDone" and "Lord, I Apologize" to the American lexicon and draws fans by the pickup truck load to his shows has proven to be one of the most successful comics of the early 2000s. Dan Whitney, known better as Larry the Cable Guy, claims he was born in the back of an ElCamino during a Foghat concert. His drawl may sound Southern, but Larry was raised on a pig farm in Pawnee City, Nebraska. His upbringing was conservative, traditional, and church going. That didn't mean that stripbars were out of the question when Larry reached 18 (maybe even a little earlier). Fascinated by this redneck life "redneck" being a term he is not only fine with, but endorses and always looking to comment on it, Larry's friends were captivated by his humorous observations and dared him to try his hand at standup. He did in 1986 and the fans reaction to his slow, approachable style had him hooked. Two years later, he relinquished his title as funniest bellhop at the Ramada Inn and set out for a career in comedy.

His oneliner filled act soon caught wordofmouth fire in the South and brought him to the attention of television. Appearances on Evening at The Improv and Comic Strip Live increased his fan base past rural America, but it was on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Show on radio that Larry got the most exposure. His success with radio continued when he became a regular on Jeff Foxworthy's Country Countdown Show and Larry soon started syndicating his "commentaries" to 14 markets across the country. Foxworthy invited the comic to join his Blue Collar Comedy Tour along with Bill Engvall in 2000. The successful tour grossed 15 million, sold more than 1 million copies when released on DVD, and turned Larry into a superstar. His debut CD, Lord, I Apologize, appeared in 2001 and has since been the Dark Side of the Moon of the comedy charts sticking in the top 20 for two years running. In 2002, a Comedy Central airing of Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie became the network's highestrated movie in its 12year history, even with the DVD widely available. Larry the Cable Guy: GitRDone became his first solo DVD in 2003 and a year later, Larry, Foxworthy, and Engvall would turn their tour into the highlyrated television show Blue Collar TV. Wearing his redneckness as a badge of honor while hating political correctness and racism equally made Larry a hard target for detractors, but he made news with a 2004 appearance on the morning talk show, The View. Clay Aiken fans bombarded the show and the comic with hate email when the comic declared, "I'm on the Clay Aiken diet. That's where you pop in a Clay Aiken CD and try to keep food down." Ignoring the "controversy", Larry spread holiday cheer at the end of the year with his new CD, A Very Larry Christmas, and appeared on Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again. The Right to Bare Arms appeared in March the next year.

- David Jeffries, All Music Guide