Dane Cook

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Dane Cook
Dane Cook ComicCon (cropped).JPG
Cook at Comic Con 2007 promoting Good Luck Chuck
Birth name Dane Jeffrey Cook
Born (1972-03-18) March 18, 1972 (age 52)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, film, television
Nationality American
Years active 1990–present
Genres Observational comedy, black comedy
Subject(s) Human behavior, human sexuality, American politics, gender differences
Website Official website

Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released five comedy albums: Harmful If Swallowed; Retaliation; Vicious Circle; Rough Around The Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden; and Isolated Incident. In 2006, Retaliation became the highest charting comedy album in 28 years and went platinum.[1] He performed an HBO special in the Fall of 2006, Vicious Circle, a straight-to-DVD special titled Rough Around The Edges (which is included in the album of the same name), and a Comedy Central special in 2009 titled Isolated Incident. He is known for his use of observational, often vulgar, and sometimes dark comedy.

He is credited as one of the first comedians to use a personal webpage and MySpace to build a large fan base[2] and in 2006 was described as "alarmingly popular".[3] As an actor, Cook has appeared in films since 1997, including Mystery Men, Waiting..., Employee of the Month, Good Luck Chuck, Dan in Real Life, Mr. Brooks, and My Best Friend's Girl. He also provided the lead voice role in the 2013 family film Planes, and its 2014 sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue.

Personal life

Cook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts,[4] the second son of Donna Jean (née Ford; died 2006) and George F. Cook (died 2007).[5] He has an older half-brother, Darryl, and five sisters. He grew up in a Catholic family[6] of Irish descent.[7] Cook was raised in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he attended Arlington High School.

Cook has described himself as being "pretty quiet, pretty introverted, shy" as a child, although he was a "wild child" at home.[8] He overcame his shyness in his junior year of high school when he began acting and doing stand-up comedy.[9] After graduating from high school, he studied graphic design in college as a back-up plan in case he did not achieve success in comedy.[10] He now designs all of his merchandise, including the cover of his album, Harmful If Swallowed.[9] Cook has stated that he does not drink or do drugs.[11]

Cook's half-brother Darryl was Cook's business manager until 2008, when it was discovered that Darryl and his wife had embezzled millions of dollars from Dane Cook. Both were convicted and sentenced to prison for the embezzlement.[12]

Career

Dane Cook

Early work

On October 30, 1992, Cook and a group of local emerging improv/sketch comedians were scheduled to appear at the Boston Garden as part of local radio station WBCN's "Rock of Boston" music concert. Although they anticipated appearing earlier in the lineup, they were scheduled to perform between popular band Spin Doctors and the final headline act Phish, making them somewhat nervous but determined to do well. Moments after they took the stage however, the crowd, neither expecting nor appreciating a comedy act at this late stage in the evening's program and impatient for Phish to go on, expressed their displeasure by throwing their shoes at the stage. Robert Kelly, also on stage as a member of the comedy group, pleaded with the audience to settle down and let them perform their act; the crowd instead escalated to throwing lighters. Sustaining minor injuries, Cook and the comedy group left the stage. Cook described the incident – as well as how dejected he felt and his resulting determination to someday return to the Boston Garden and perform successfully someday – as part of a web series for The Tonight Show entitled "Worst I Ever Bombed".[13][14]

Stand-up

In 1994, Cook moved to New York City and began performing. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles, where he still lives today.[15] His big break came in 1998 when he appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. In 2000, Cook did a half-hour special on Comedy Central Presents. Since then his special has won the Comedy Central Stand-up showdown twice in a row.[16]

In 2003, Cook released his first CD/DVD, Harmful If Swallowed. He signed a contract with Comedy Central Records. The album is certified platinum. He released his second CD/DVD in 2005, entitled Retaliation. This album went double platinum and made Cook the first comic in 29 years to have an album at #4 on the Billboard charts.[16] He performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, and then afterwards he joined Snoop Dogg in presenting the award for Best New Artist.[16]

On April 15, 2005, Cook performed his first HBO Special entitled Vicious Circle. Vicious Circle was filmed "in the round" at the TD Garden. The same year, Cook shot two pilot episodes for his own sitcom, Cooked. The sitcom never got picked up and the two pilot episodes were later released on DVD as the Lost Pilot Episodes. That same year, he embarked on a 30-day, 20-show college tour called Tourgasm with his longtime friends Robert Kelly, Gary Gulman, and Jay Davis. The tour was filmed and was later made into a 9-episode documentary on HBO.

On December 3, 2005, Cook hosted Saturday Night Live. He would then go on to host the premiere of season 32 of SNL a year later.

In 2006, Cook headlined for Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour and hosted the 2006 Teen Choice Awards alongside Jessica Simpson. The following year he won the award for Best Comedian. On November 12, 2007, Cook became the second comic to sell out Madison Square Garden. He did two sold out shows in one night. The show was filmed and would later be put onto a DVD to be sold on Cook's third comedy album. Cook won the Big Entertainer Award at the VH1 Big in '06 Awards, and Rolling Stone magazine's Hot Comic of the Year. The following day, November 13, 2007, he released his third CD/DVD entitled Rough Around The Edges, which was filmed live at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During that time, he embarked on his first arena tour.

On April 10, 2007, Cook broke The Laugh Factory's endurance record (previously held by Richard Pryor)[17] by performing on stage for 3 hours and 50 minutes. Dave Chappelle would break the record five days later.[18] On January 1, 2008, Cook later broke Chapelle's record, by performing on stage for 7 hours.[19]

From May 23, 2008 to May 25, 2008, Cook reunited with Robert Kelly and Al Del Bene for three shows at The Coliseum in Caesars Palace. From May 29-June 4, 2008 the trio went to Iraq to perform for the troops. Del Bene was the Emcee, Kelly was the Feature, and Cook was the Headliner.

He finished his fourth album, Isolated Incident; a performance which aired on Comedy Central on May 17, 2009, with the release of the record following two days later. He kicked off that tour at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, on April 25, 2009. This album will be the last as part of Cook's four record deal with Comedy Central Records. The new album was performed at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood, which is considered to be Cook's home base, where he goes and works on new material. He released the DVD version of Isolated Incident in November 2009.[20]

In 2012, Cook caused a minor controversy when a joke he made in a comedy club about the 2012 Aurora shooting was recorded and made the news headlines. “So I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into the movie. And I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie, but the movie is pretty much a piece of crap… Yeah, spoiler alert. And I know that if none of that would have happened, I’m pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, probably was like, ‘Ugh f—king shoot me.’” He later took to Twitter to apologize, "I am devastated by the recent tragedy in Colorado & did not mean to make light of what happened. I made a bad judgment call with my material last night & regret making a joke at such a sensitive time. My heart goes out to all of the families & friends of the victims"[21][22][23][24]

In 2014, Cook had his special Troublemaker air on Showtime.[25]

Critique

Cook's style is principally "long-form storytelling"[26] and "multipurpose phrases".[3] Cook says his onstage persona is a combination of the personalities of his mom, Donna, and his dad, George. "My mother is like a Looney Tunes cartoon. She's wiggly ... She has the ability to tongue in cheek a lot, and do it in a way where she's being physical. My dad is the polar opposite. He always had a little 'what the fuck' in his voice. Even if he knew nothing about what he was talking about, he could sell it. So I looked at these two extremely funny people and created a style of comedy from absorbing their actions."[27]

He explains: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

I wanted to create a stage persona for myself that allowed me to really speak about anything I want... So I can be a storyteller, I can be jokey, I can be corny, I can be a little vulgar, I can be a lot vulgar. And I'm not afraid to go anywhere to get the point of the joke across, even if I have to just blabber like a retard until it becomes apparent that I'm a retard and that the audience should laugh.

Commentators in a variety of media sources have characterized Dane Cook's humor as unfunny.[2][3][28] Comedian Ron White has criticized Dane Cook for his lack of real material and for his inflated ego; saying "[He] does not make me laugh, at all, in any way, shape or form."[29] When asked about his opinion of Cook on The Howard Stern Show, comedian Nick DiPaolo said "he doesn't make me laugh, but that doesn't mean he's not funny."[30] On Boston radio station WBCN, Dane Cook was named by radio show Toucher and Rich to a tournament of the top 16 "Worst Comedians" and, based on listener voting, was voted the "Worst Comedian" of all. In the Michigan Daily, Elie Zwiebel and co-author Jesse Bean wrote that "he's managed to become one of the most overrated comics ever" and that his act is "boringly stagnant".[31]

Jim Breuer talked about Cook's reputation within the comedy industry, saying: "Everyone kills this guy ... Not one comedian comes on [my Sirius radio show] and says 'I'm so happy for him', which is weird. ... They can't stand this poor guy." Breuer went on to say that he personally thinks Cook is a "tremendous performer".[32]

Paul Provenza said that he was not a fan of his earlier work, but "...caught a couple of Dane Cook shows at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, and he was fantastic", and became a fan because he felt he had "matured".[33]

Accusations of plagiarism

Comedian Joe Rogan has claimed that Cook performed a bit on an episode of Premium Blend that Rogan had developed on I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (sketch titled "Tigers Fucking"), and claimed to have performed the routine earlier in clubs with Cook present.[34] Other comedians have also accused Cook of stealing their material. A 2007 article in Radar magazine about joke theft included Rogan's allegations, as well as the allegations of an anonymous "veteran comic" who accused Cook of appropriating one of that comic's "very physical routines," despite a direct request by the comedian that Cook stop using the routine in question.[35] The piece also noted widespread Internet discussion of the similarity between the bits "Struck by a Vehicle," "Itchy Asshole," and "My Son Optimus Prime," from Cook's 2005 album Retaliation, and the bits "Guy on a Bike," "Itchy Asshole," and "Kid's Names," from comic Louis C.K.'s 2001 album Live in Houston.[35] In 2011, Cook played himself in an episode of Louie, scripted by C.K., centering on a fictional encounter between the two comics during which they discuss the controversy.[36]

In an interview in 2012, Louis C.K. defended Cook, saying "I don’t think he stole from me knowingly... I think he sort of got some of my jokes in his head and got sloppy. He’s a good guy and not capable of maleficence." [37]

Film

Cook began with small film roles in the late 1990s, including Mystery Men as "The Waffler," and opposite Dennis Rodman in 1999's Simon Sez.[38]

In 2006, Cook starred in his first leading role as the slacker box boy Zack Bradley in Employee of the Month, which co-starred Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. Poorly received by critics, the film made a modest $30 million against a $12 million budget.[39] In June 2007, Cook co-starred in his first dramatic role as the devious photographer "Mr. Smith" in Mr. Brooks, which starred Kevin Costner. The film debuted at #4 at the box office. The film grossed $10,017,067 in the opening weekend.[40]

In September 2007, Cook starred as dentist Charlie Logan in Good Luck Chuck, which co-starred Jessica Alba and Dan Fogler. The film was the second-highest grossing film (#1 Comedy) at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, grossing $13.6 million in 2,612 theaters. The film went on to have a total box office tally of approximately $35 million U.S. and $24 million foreign. It was received very poorly by critics.[41] A month later, Cook co-starred as Mitch Burns in Dan In Real Life, which starred Steve Carell. The film grossed $11.8 million in 1,921 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office. As of July 6, 2008, it has grossed $62,745,217. It received moderate to good reviews from critics.[42]

In 2008, Cook starred as air purifier call-center supervisor Tank Turner in My Best Friend's Girl with Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, and Alec Baldwin. The film grossed $8.2 million in its opening weekend, debuting at #3 at the box office, but received poor reviews from critics.[43] In 2010, Cook auditioned for the role of Captain America for Captain America: The First Avenger, although the director, Joe Johnston, did not have him on the short list for the part.[44]

In 2013, Cook voiced the character of Dusty Crophopper in the animated film, Planes, a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise.[45][46] He reprised his role as Dusty in the 2014 sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue.

In 2015, Cook will star in the film 400 Days with Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, and Ben Feldman. The film is directed by Matt Osterman and is executive produced by Cook himself.[47][48]

Stage

On November 18, 2010, it was announced that both Cook and Josh Hamilton would be starring in Neil LaBute's 2011 Broadway production of Fat Pig.[49] However, before the show began it was postponed for financial reasons, with intent to reschedule it for the 2011-12 season instead.[50]

Television

In October 2005, during an interview with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, actress Charlize Theron leaned forward and allowed Cook to kiss her backside.[51][52][53]

In May 2012, it was announced that Cook would be starring in the new NBC comedy Next Caller.[54][55] On October 12, 2012 the show was canceled prior to its airing despite having already filmed four out of six episodes.[56]

Tours

  • Tourgasm 2006 (w/ Robert Kelly, Gary Gulman, Jay Davis)
  • Rough Around The Edges Tour 2007
  • Globo Thermo Tour 2009 (w/ Robert Kelly and Al Del Bene) – In a Shave Magazine review of the Globo Thermo tour, Jake Tomlinson expressed that "his live performance quite enjoyable", and gave the concert 4 out of 5 stars.[57]

Discography

Albums

Year Album Peak chart positions Sales
US US
Heat		 US
Indie		 US
Comedy		 CA
2003 Harmful If Swallowed
  • Released: July 22, 2003
 67 19 25 2 –
  • US Sales: 1,215,409
2005 Retaliation
  • Released: July 26, 2005
 4 – 1 1 –
  • US Sales: 1,264,748
2007 Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden
  • Released: November 13, 2007
 11 – 3 1 20
  • US Sales: 92,000
2009 Isolated Incident
  • Released: May 19, 2009
 4 – 1 1 5
  • US Sales: TBA
2010 I Did My Best: Greatest Hits Album
  • Released: November 22, 2010
 165 – 15 1 –
  • US Sales: TBA
"—" denotes the album didn't chart.

Other releases

Singles

  • (2006) "I'll Never Be You" – #100 (U.S. Pop), #4 (Germany)
  • (2007) "Forward"
  • (2010) "Drunk Girl/Red Car"[58]

Cook co-wrote and performed the song "Ruthie Pigface Draper" for the Dan In Real Life film with Norbert Leo Butz.[59]

Cook provided guest vocals on the 2011 song In the Future by Steel Panther from their third studio album Balls Out.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Flypaper Tim
Buddy Fair Cop
1999 Spiral David
Simon Sez Nick Miranda
Mystery Men The Waffler
2000 Comedy Central Presents Himself Stand-up comedy series
Episode: June 28, 2000
1999–2001 The Late Show Himself Episode: April 12, 1999
Episode: March 14, 2001
2002 L.A.X. Terrell Chasman
The Touch Bob
2003 Stuck on You Officer Fraioli
8 Guys Dane
Windy City Heat Roman Polanski television film
2004 Mr. 3000 Sausage Mascot Voice
Torque Neal Luff
2005 Waiting... Floyd
London George
2006 Employee of the Month Zack Bradley
2007 Farce of the Penguins Online Penguin Voice
Mr. Brooks Mr. Smith
Good Luck Chuck Chuck/Charlie
Dan in Real Life Mitch Burns
2008 My Best Friend's Girl Tank Turner
2011 Answers to Nothing Ryan
Hawaii Five-0 Matt Williams Episode: Loa Aloha
Louie Himself Episode: Oh Louie/Tickets
Detention Principal Karl Verge
2012 Guns, Girls and Gambling Sheriff Hutchins
2013 Planes Dusty Crophopper Voice
2014 Planes: Fire & Rescue
Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself Episode: Dane Cook Wears a Black Blazer & Tailored Pants
2015 400 Days TBA Also Executive Producer

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Overcooked", Salon.com
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ [1] UPI.com, 2010-11-25; retrieved 2010-12-20.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Dave Chappelle's standup marathon: 6 hours, 12 minutes Archived March 27, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  20. ↑ Dane Cook refines comedy act Jam.canoe.ca
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Dane Cook finds humor in darkest times on latest tour, coming to Van Andel Arena on Friday Grand Rapids Press
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ "Pop Life: The Joke's on Us: How can any comedian get as famous as Dane Cook has with no jokes?" by Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, October 19, 2006. Archived November 9, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ "Ron White Interview" by David Medsker.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ "Comics Question the Rise of Dane Cook", Free Press Release, November 9, 2006.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ "Joe Rogan Exposes Dane Cook"
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Getlen, Larry. "Take the Funny and Run", Radar magazine, February 14, 2007.Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
  36. ↑ Dane Cook settles Louis C.K. joke-stealing feud on Louie EW.com, August 5, 2011.
  37. ↑ http://www.laughspin.com/2012/06/18/louis-c-k-on-dane-cook-i-dont-think-he-stole-from-me-knowingly/
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Dan in Real Life (2007). Rottentomatoes.com
  43. ↑ My Best Friend's Girl (2008). Rottentomatoes.com
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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