50-512: Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian , actress, writer, producer, director, and podcaster . Cummings grew up in a challenging environment marked by her parents' divorce when she was five and being raised in a dysfunctional, alcoholic household. Cummings found direction through her education at St. Andrew's Episcopal School and studies at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2004. Her early career
100-468: A stand-up comedian , especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole ") and through the stand-up specials No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). Leary began taking roles in film and television starting in the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and Wag the Dog (1997). In
150-438: A 2008 appearance on The Opie and Anthony Show , comedian Louis C.K. claimed Leary stole his "I'm an asshole" routine, which was then expanded upon and turned into a hit song by Leary. On a later episode of the same show, Leary challenged this assertion by claiming to have co-written the song with Chris Phillips . In his 2008 book Why We Suck : A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid , Leary wrote: There
200-532: A Boston-based comedy benefit show for Neely's cancer charity; this became Comics Come Home , which Leary has hosted annually ever since. Leary has appeared in many films, including The Sandlot as Scott's stepfather Bill, Monument Ave. , The Matchmaker , The Ref , Draft Day , Suicide Kings , Dawg , Wag the Dog , Demolition Man (as an Emmanuel Goldstein -esque revolutionary to Nigel Hawthorne 's Big Brother ), Judgment Night , The Thomas Crown Affair and Operation Dumbo Drop . He had
250-562: A Drama Series for Rescue Me , and in 2008 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the HBO movie Recount . Leary was offered the role of Dignam in The Departed (2006) but turned it down because of scheduling conflicts with Rescue Me . He provided voices for characters in animated films, such as a fire-breathing dragon named Flame in the series The Agents , a pugnacious ladybug named Francis in A Bug's Life and
300-699: A Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson 's antisemitic comments. As an ice hockey fan, Leary hosted the National Hockey League video NHL's Greatest Goals . In 2003, he was the subject of the Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary . Leary did the TV voiceover for MLB 2K8 advertisements, using his trademark rant style in baseball terms, and ads for
350-700: A backyard rink at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut , with piping installed under the ice surface to help it stay frozen. He is a fan of the Boston Bruins and the Boston Red Sox , as well as the Green Bay Packers . Leary describes himself as a " Jack Kennedy Democrat " with some conservative ideologies, including support for the military. Leary told Glenn Beck , "I was a life-long Democrat, but now at my age, I've come to realize that
400-523: A cancer cure." During Leary's 2003 Comedy Central Roast , comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast. The feud is also mentioned in Cynthia True 's biography American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story : Leary was in Montreal to host
450-514: A chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss ' book Tools of Titans . Cummings was the featured guest on the first episode of Talk Tuah on September 10, 2024. A 2024 New York Times feature about Hannah Berner quoted Cummings as saying that in the past, “for a woman to even be tolerated in comedy, you had to hate yourself.” Cummings added that being "mean for the sake of a joke" is no longer required to succeed, citing Berner as an example of
500-493: A collection of personal stories about her life. Beginning in 2018, Cummings served as one of the head writers, an executive producer, and overseer of day-to-day production of the revival of the comedy series Roseanne , for ABC. Cummings left the show before its cancelation. Her fourth hour-long special, Can I Touch It? , was released on July 30, 2019, on Netflix. This special features a robot that Cummings had custom made to look exactly like her, and she brings this robot out at
550-637: A comedian at the Boston underground club Play It Again Sam's. However, his first real gig was at the Rascals Comedy Club as part of the TV show The Rascals Comedy Hour , on October 18, 1990. He wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, Lenny Clarke's Late Show , hosted by his friend Lenny Clarke and written by Martin Olson . Leary and Clarke both spoke about their early affiliations and influences in
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#1732790501173600-878: A comedy roaster in the Comedy Central Roasts of Joan Rivers (2009), David Hasselhoff (2010), and Donald Trump (2011). In August 2010, her first one-hour special, titled Whitney Cummings: Money Shot , premiered on Comedy Central. In 2010, Cummings went on tour with Denis Leary and the Rescue Me Comedy Tour to promote the show's sixth season. She also appeared with Leary on Douchebags and Donuts . In 2011, two multi-camera, live-audience sitcoms that Cummings created were picked up by broadcast networks: 2 Broke Girls (which she co-created and executive produced with Michael Patrick King ) and Whitney (which she starred in, executive produced, and created). Whitney , in which Cummings portrayed
650-559: A department store model at local shopping malls. She graduated magna cum laude in 2004 with a degree in Communications, and initially aspired to a career as a journalist. Cummings moved to Los Angeles after college and worked on Punk'd on MTV in 2004. That same year, she starred in the low-budget thriller EMR , which was screened at Cannes . Cummings began performing stand-up in 2004. In 2007, Variety named her one of 10 Comics to Watch in 2007. In 2008, she appeared in
700-734: A high-rise simulator for the New York City Fire Department 's training campus. As the foundation's president, Leary has been active in all of the fundraising. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Leary donated over a dozen boats to the New Orleans Fire Department to aid in rescue efforts in future disasters. The foundation also rebuilt entire NOLA firehouses. For many years, Leary had been friends with fellow comedian Bill Hicks . But when Leary's comedy album No Cure for Cancer
750-680: A manager at the Hill Top House Hotel . Cummings attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland , graduating in 2000. During high school, she interned at Washington's NBC-owned television station WRC-TV . She studied acting at Washington, D.C.'s Studio Theater. After high school, Cummings enrolled at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania . During this time, she worked as
800-544: A memoir, An Innocent, a Broad , about the premature birth of their son on a visit to London. She has also written a novel, Outtakes From a Marriage , which was published in 2008. Her second novel, The Good House , was published in 2013. Her essay in a New York Times column about her marriage to Denis inspired the Modern Love series Episode 4: "Rallying to Keep the Game Alive". Leary is an ice hockey fan and has
850-672: A native of Texas and a public relations director of Neiman Marcus at Mazza Gallerie ; and Eric Lynn Cummings, a lawyer and venture capitalist from West Virginia . She has an older half-brother named Kevin and an older sister named Ashley. Cummings was raised Roman Catholic. Her parents divorced when she was five years old. She has stated that she was raised in a dysfunctional, alcoholic household. At age 12, she temporarily resided with her aunt in Virginia , and spent summers in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , where her father worked as
900-534: A prehistoric saber-toothed tiger named Diego in the Ice Age film series. He has produced numerous movies, television shows, and specials through his production company, Apostle; these include Comedy Central 's Shorties Watchin' Shorties , the stand-up special Denis Leary's Merry F#$ %in' Christmas and the movie Blow . As a Boston Red Sox fan, Leary narrated the official 2004 World Series film. In 2006, Leary and Lenny Clarke appeared on television during
950-487: A role in Oliver Stone 's Natural Born Killers that was eventually cut. He held the lead role in two television series, The Job and Rescue Me , and he co-created the latter, in which he played Tommy Gavin , a New York City firefighter dealing with alcoholism, family dysfunction and other issues in post- 9/11 New York City. Leary received Emmy Award nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Lead Actor in
1000-460: A semi-fictionalized version of herself, was not well received by critics, and Cummings acknowledges it was a learning curve for her. The series was canceled after two seasons in May 2013. While still working on the second season of Whitney , Cummings also hosted a talk show, Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings , on E! in 2012, which was cancelled after 11 episodes. Cummings later stated that she
1050-504: A student, Leary founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a troupe that continues on the campus today. After graduating from Emerson in 1981, Leary taught comedy-writing classes at the school for five years. In May 2005 he received an honorary doctorate and spoke at his alma mater's undergraduate commencement ceremony; and is credited as Dr. Denis Leary on the cover of his 2009 book Why We Suck . Leary began working as
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#17327905011731100-643: A sunnier comedian. In June 2023, Cummings revealed that she was pregnant and expecting a son. She gave birth to her son on December 17, 2023. Cummings has described her comedic influences beginning with Paul Reiser , who she said "made these hysterical, brilliant commentary about the most mundane things and open it up to a hysterical world". Other important influences for her were George Carlin , who she says challenged her to "question everything". Later influences were Dave Attell ("a legend now but he's very edgy"), Lenny Bruce , and Bill Hicks . Stand-up comedian Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1150-519: A supporting role in the 2017 thriller Unforgettable , starring Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson , released in April 2017. The following month, 2 Broke Girls was cancelled after having run six consecutive seasons. Cummings made her directorial debut with The Female Brain (2017), an independent comedy film distributed by IFC Films , which Cummings also starred in. Also in 2017, Cummings published her first book, titled I'm Fine...And Other Lies ,
1200-607: A variety of topics, playing off the then-popular and growing alternative scene . One of these rants served as an introduction to the video for "Shamrocks and Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom)" by House of Pain . Leary released two records of his comedy: No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). In late 2004, he released the EP Merry F#%$ in' Christmas , which included a mix of new music, previously unreleased recordings and some tracks from Lock 'n Load . In 1993, Leary's sardonic song " Asshole ", about
1250-649: A while, they taught us wrong. I didn't raise my kids with the fear of God. I raised my kids with the sense of, you know, to me, Jesus was this great guy...." Leary is godfather to Damian Hurley , the son of actress Elizabeth Hurley . On December 3, 1999, six firefighters from Leary's hometown of Worcester were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire . Among the dead were Leary's cousin Jerry Lucey, as well as Leary's close childhood friend, Lt. Tommy Spencer. In response,
1300-557: A word and briskly left the dressing room. According to the book, True said that upon hearing a tape of Leary's album No Cure for Cancer , "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it." In
1350-450: Is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks ... to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't [care] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you – your kid is not autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both. Leary later stated that
1400-594: The Comedy Central Roasts of celebrities. A significant break in television came with the creation of 2 Broke Girls in 2011, a sitcom she co-created and executive produced, alongside starring in and producing her own sitcom, Whitney . Cummings has continued with comedy specials, roles in films and television, and directing the film The Female Brain . Cummings was born on September 4, 1982, in Washington, D.C. , to Patti Cummings (née Cumming),
1450-532: The ladybug in A Bug's Life and Diego the saber tooth tiger in the Ice Age franchise. From 2015 to 2016, Leary wrote and starred in the comedy series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll on FX . Denis Colin Leary was born on August 18, 1957, in Worcester, Massachusetts , the son of Catholic immigrant parents from Killarney , County Kerry , Ireland. His mother, Nora (née Sullivan) (b. 1929),
1500-514: The "Nasty Show," at Club Soda , and Colleen was coordinating the talent so she was standing backstage when she heard Leary doing material that sounded incredibly similar to old Hicks riffs, including his perennial Jim Fixx joke: (" Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut dude. The plot thickens."). When Leary came offstage, Colleen, more stunned than angry, said, "Hey, you know that's Bill Hicks' material! Do you know that's his material?" Leary stood there, stared at her without saying
1550-648: The 2000s, he developed and starred in the television show The Job (2001–2002) and was the star and co-creator of Rescue Me (2004–2011), for which he received two Primetime Emmy nominations, one for writing and one for acting. He has continued to take starring roles in films, including Captain George Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man and Cleveland Browns head coach Vince Penn in Draft Day . Leary has also done voice work, including Francis
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1600-482: The 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck. He has also appeared in commercials for Hulu and DirecTV 's NFL Sunday Ticket package. Leary was a producer of the Fox series Canterbury's Law , and wrote and directed its pilot episode. Canterbury's Law aired in the spring of 2008 and was canceled after eight episodes. On September 9, 2008, Leary hosted the sixth annual Fashion Rocks event, which aired on CBS . In December of
1650-618: The Boston comedy scene in the documentary film When Standup Stood Out (2006). During Leary's time as a Boston-area stand-up comic, he developed his stage persona. Leary appeared in sketches on the MTV game show Remote Control , playing characters such as Keith Richards , co-host Colin Quinn 's brother and artist Andy Warhol . He earned fame when he ranted about R.E.M. in an early 1990s MTV sketch. Several other commercials for MTV quickly followed, in which Leary would rant at high speeds about
1700-650: The Democrats suck, and the Republicans suck, and basically the entire system sucks. But you have to go within the system to find what you want." Leary has said of his religious beliefs, "I'm a lapsed Catholic in the best sense of the word. You know, I was raised with Irish parents, Irish immigrant parents. My parents, you know, prayed all the time, took us to Mass . And my father would sometimes swear in Gaelic . It doesn't get more religious than that. But, no, after
1750-538: The San Francisco audition for Last Comic Standing , although she did not pass the showcase. She co-starred on The Tony Rock Project and appeared in the 2008 romantic comedy Made of Honor . Beginning in 2007, Cummings appeared as a regular roundtable guest on the E! series Chelsea Lately , and continued to appear until its conclusion in 2014. In 2008, she was named one of 12 Rising Stars of Comedy by Entertainment Weekly . She subsequently appeared as
1800-556: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 970158215 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:41:41 GMT Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as
1850-577: The comedian founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation . Since its creation in the year 2000, the foundation has distributed over $ 2.5 million ( USD ) to fire departments in the Worcester, Boston and New York City areas for equipment, training materials, new vehicles and new facilities. Leary won $ 125,000 for the foundation on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire . He had close ties with WAAF , which in 2000 released
1900-480: The documentary Burn , which chronicles the struggles of the Detroit Fire Department . Burn won the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award. Leary created a television series for FX called Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll , taking the starring role himself. A 10-episode first season was ordered by FX, with the premiere on July 16, 2015. The show ran for two seasons. In 2022, he
1950-464: The end of the special. On November 5, 2019, Cummings launched her first podcast entitled Good for You. Her first guest was actor/producer Dan Levy . Good for You is co-hosted by former assistant and fellow comedian Benton Ray, and features a wide variety of guests, ranging from politicians and comedians to actors and journalists. Fans of the show appreciate Cumming's regular guests, including Nikki Glaser who has featured in multiple episodes, creating
2000-575: The impression of a "highly relatable friendship." In September 2023, Cummings claimed that she was owed over $ 350,000 by podcast network Kast Media, who Cummings had been working with since December 2021. Similar claims of non-payment had been made against Kast Media and its CEO Colin Thomson by Jim Cornette followed by Theo Von , Jason Ellis , Brendan Schaub , Bryan Callen , and Alyx Weiss, who stated they were owed significant money, including several six-figure and seven-figure shortages. Cummings has
2050-424: The magazine, "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did". At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks' material, comedic persona and attitude. One similar routine was about the so-called Judas Priest "suicide trial," during which Hicks says, "I don't think we lost
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2100-629: The station album Survive This! . Part of the proceeds from this album were donated to the Leary Firefighters Foundation. A separate fund run by Leary's foundation, the Fund for New York's Bravest, has distributed over $ 2 million to the families of the 343 firemen killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001, in addition to providing funding for necessities such as a new mobile command center, first-responder training, and
2150-649: The stereotypical American male, achieved much notoriety. The song was voted No. 1 in an Australian radio poll and was used in Holsten Pils ads in the UK, with Leary's participation, and with adapted lyrics criticizing a drunk driver. The single was a minor hit there, peaking at No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1996. In 1995, Leary was asked by Boston Bruins legend Cam Neely to help orchestrate
2200-615: The year, he appeared in a video on funnyordie.com critiquing a list of some of his "best" films, titled "Denis Leary Remembers Denis Leary Movies". Also in 2008, Leary voiced a guest role as himself in The Simpsons episode " Lost Verizon ". On March 21, 2009, Leary began the Rescue Me Comedy Tour in Atlantic City, New Jersey . The 11-date tour, featuring Rescue Me co-stars Lenny Clarke and Adam Ferrara ,
2250-575: Was Leary's first stand-up comedy tour in 12 years. The Comedy Central special Douchebags and Donuts , filmed during the tour, debuted on American television on January 16, 2011, with a DVD release on January 18, 2011. Leary played Captain George Stacy in the movie The Amazing Spider-Man , released in July 2012. He wrote the American adaptation of Sirens . He is an executive producer of
2300-562: Was a maid, and his father, John Leary (1924–1985), was an auto mechanic. Leary is a citizen of both the United States and Ireland. Leary is a third cousin of talk show host and fellow comedian Conan O'Brien . Leary attended Saint Peter's High School (now Saint Paul's) in Worcester and graduated from Emerson College in Boston . At Emerson, he met fellow comic Mario Cantone , whom Leary considers to be his closest friend. While
2350-560: Was cast in the recurring role of Frank Donnelly, an NYPD officer on Law & Order: Organized Crime . Leary has been the narrator for NESN 's documentary show about the Boston Bruins called Behind the B since the show began in 2013. Leary has been married to author Ann Lembeck Leary since 1989. They met when he was her instructor in an English class at Emerson College. They have two children, son John Joseph "Jack" (born 1990) and daughter Devin (born 1992). Ann Leary published
2400-410: Was marked by ventures into stand-up comedy, acting, and internships, including one at Washington's NBC-owned television station WRC-TV . Cummings moved to Los Angeles after college, making her mark with a role in the low-budget thriller EMR and her participation in MTV 's Punk'd . Her stand-up career took off in the mid-2000s, being named one of 10 Comics to Watch in 2007 by Variety and participation in
2450-453: Was overworking herself during this period, and was also in the midst of battling an eating disorder in which she would binge eat followed by compulsive exercise. In June 2014, Cummings released her second hour-long special, I Love You , on Comedy Central. Her third hour-long special debuted on HBO in 2016, titled "I'm Your Girlfriend". Reviews were mixed, suggesting it felt less comedic than her previous stand up performances. Cummings had
2500-540: Was released, Leary was accused of stealing Hicks' act and material, ending their friendship abruptly. In April 1993, the Austin Comedy News remarked on the similarities of Leary's performance: "Watching Leary is like seeing Hicks from two years ago. He smokes with the same mannerisms. (Hicks recently quit.) He sports the same attitude, the same clothes. He touches on almost all of the same themes. Leary even invokes Jim Fixx ." When asked about this, Hicks told
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