| Denis Leary  Born: 18-Aug-1957
Birthplace: Worcester, MA
Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Comic Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Loud, smoking comic Denis Leary is a stand-up comedian and actor. As a kid he wanted to play pro hockey, but lousy grades kept him off the high school team. His GPA didn't keep him out of Boston's Emerson College, though, where he co-founded the school's Comedy Workshop. After graduation he spent five years teaching at Emerson, doing stand-up on the side. As a struggling comedian, Leary became friends with Bill Hicks, a brilliantly acerbic and insightful comedian on the nightclub circuit.
Leary's first large-scale success was No Cure for Cancer, a Showtime special and video. Performed while chain smoking, Leary railed against anti-smokers, vegetarians, political correctness, cancer, the National Rifle Association, John Denver, American morals, and dwindling American freedoms. It was hilarious, but a lot of it was ripped off from Hicks -- the attitude, the smoking, the wardrobe, and much of the material. Their friendship ended when Hicks saw No Cure on TV.
"I stole his act", said Hicks. "I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did." When a reporter asked Hicks why he had quit smoking, he answered: "I wanted to see if Denis Leary would." Hicks died of cancer in 1994, and Leary's comedy hasn't been as successful since. Variations of a joke have since circulated the comedy scene: "Denis Leary became famous because there is no cure for cancer." Leary appeared on MTV in the early 1990s, in a series of MTV promotional bits where he insulted famous rock-and-rollers. He has lent his name and face to commercials for Nike, Holsten Pils in England, and Quaker State motor oil, among others.
As a TV actor, Leary's been a cop in The Job and a fireman in Rescue Me. When six firefighters, including Leary's cousin, were killed in a warehouse fire in 1999, he started the Leary Firefighters' Foundation Fund, a charity that underwrites improvements in firefighters' training and equipment. After 343 New York firefighters were killed on September 11, Leary expanded the charity to include The Fund For New York's Bravest.
Leary holds dual citizenship with the U.S. and Ireland. He is a cousin to Conan O'Brien. Politically, he is a libertarian.
He once went drinking with Dean Martin, who called him a pussy when Leary declined a whiskey after seven hours of boozing. "I was very proud of that", says Leary. "I couldn't believe it -- I had just gotten called a pussy by Dean Martin! That was, like, one of my lifetime goals realized."
Father: John Leary (auto mechanic; d. 1985)
Mother: Nora Leary (maid)
Wife: Ann Lembeck (screenwriter, m. 1982)
Son: Jack Leary (b. 1990)
Daughter: Devin Leary (b. 1992)
High School: St. Peter-Marion High School, Worcester, MA (1975)
University: Emerson College (1979)
Endorsement of IBM 1996
Endorsement of Nike 1992
Ordained by the Universal Life Church Minister (1998), gift from a friend
Irish Ancestry
Risk Factors: Smoking
TELEVISION
Rescue Me Tommy Gavin (2004-06)
The Job Mike McNeil (2001-02)
Remote Control (1987-90)
FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
Favorite Deadly Sins (12-Nov-1995)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Ice Age: The Meltdown (1-Mar-2006) [VOICE]
The Secret Lives of Dentists (09-Sep-2002)
Ice Age (12-Mar-2002) [VOICE]
Dawg (21-Feb-2002)
Final (08-Jun-2001)
Lakeboat (13-Apr-2001)
Double Whammy (20-Jan-2001)
Sand (27-Nov-2000)
Company Man (3-May-2000)
Do Not Disturb (4-Nov-1999)
Jesus' Son (5-Sep-1999)
The Thomas Crown Affair (27-Jul-1999)
True Crime (19-Mar-1999)
A Bug's Life (14-Nov-1998) [VOICE]
Small Soldiers (10-Jul-1998)
Wide Awake (20-Mar-1998)
Snitch (20-Jan-1998)
Wag the Dog (25-Dec-1997)
Denis Leary: Lock 'N Load (15-Nov-1997) Himself
The MatchMaker (3-Oct-1997)
The Real Blonde (14-Sep-1997)
Suicide Kings (6-Sep-1997)
Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground (17-Aug-1997)
The Second Civil War (15-Mar-1997)
Love Walked In (18-Jan-1997)
Underworld (Jun-1996)
Two If By Sea (12-Jan-1996)
Favorite Deadly Sins (12-Nov-1995)
The Neon Bible (23-Aug-1995)
Operation Dumbo Drop (28-Jul-1995)
The Ref (9-Mar-1994)
Gunmen (4-Feb-1994)
Judgment Night (15-Oct-1993)
Demolition Man (8-Oct-1993)
Who's the Man? (23-Apr-1993)
The Sandlot (7-Apr-1993)
Loaded Weapon 1 (5-Feb-1993)
No Cure for Cancer (1992) Himself
Strictly Business (8-Nov-1991)
Official Website:
http://www.oringe.com/dl/
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