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Famous Like Me > Actor > Q > Colin Quinn

Profile of Colin Quinn on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Colin Quinn  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 6th June 1959
   
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA
   
Profession: Actor
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

Colin Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an Irish-American comedian. He was born in Brooklyn and was raised in the Park Slope section of the borough. His gravelly Brooklyn accent and mannerisms are a trademark of his performances, as are his political and social commentaries, right-wing humor, and bumbling delivery.

Prior to becoming a comedian, Quinn worked as a bartender. He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several bad experiences while drunk, including nights spent in jail and blackouts that led to him not knowing where he was. In 2004, stand-up Dom Irrera said Quinn used to be a "fat, bloated, alcoholic bartender"; he himself has used the term "blackout drunk" to describe his previous drinking habits.

After leaving bartending, Quinn got his start in stand-up comedy in 1984. Although some people believe Jon Stewart wrote the jokes for Quinn's stand-up act, this is false; Stewart only wrote jokes for a television show Quinn hosted in 1989 called Caroline's Comedy Hour, which aired on the A&E network.

He first achieved fame in 1987 as co-host of the MTV game show Remote Control, which also featured performances by Adam Sandler and Denis Leary. He remained co-host of the show for three years, and in 1989 wrote and performed in the comedic short Going Back to Brooklyn along with Ben Stiller.

Much of his early comedic career focused on writing in addition to stand-up, including a stint as a writer for the popular show In Living Color. He also co-wrote the storyline and was an associate producer for the unsucessful movie Celtic Pride, starring Damon Wayans and Dan Aykroyd.

In 1995, Quinn was hired by Saturday Night Live, working as a writer and featured player until the beginning of the 1998 season, when he became a full cast member. He established himself on the show with characters such as "Lenny the Lion" and "Joe Blow", and as well as the recurring segment "Colin Quinn Explains the New York Times". Quinn took over as host of the "Weekend Update" segment in January, 1998 after the firing of Norm MacDonald; he remained the anchor until his departure from SNL in 2000.

Also during his SNL period, Quinn made his Broadway debut in his one-man show, Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake, and was offered the role of Scott Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery by Mike Myers, though he turned down the role to work on his writing projects . Fans of the series generally express relief that the role was taken up by Seth Green.

After leaving SNL, Quinn had a sketch comedy show on NBC called The Colin Quinn Show that lasted for only three episodes in 2002, after being cancelled due to mediocre ratings.

In 2003, Quinn became host of the program Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central, which had immediately followed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Its time slot, a veritable shot in the arm, could not prevent the show's inevitable demise. "Tough Crowd", although having been renewed through the 2005 television season, was put on an indefinite hiatus in October, 2004, having its "final" episode on November 4, 2004. The show was derided because of the racist jokes told by the show's regular line-up of guest comedians.

Colin performs regularly at the Comedy Cellar in New York City.

Some of have said that Colin Quinn couldn't deliver a joke to save his life, or alternately, that he couldn't joke his way out of a paper bag. These critics point toward the bumbling, often incoherent opening monologues on the short-lived and much-maligned "Tough Crowd" as an example.

During his time on "SNL" and "Tough Crowd," Quinn was criticised for his inability to properly read from cue cards or a teleprompter.

In 2004, Comedy Central named Quinn to its list of the "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time", placing him at #56. He was also named to the Irish America Magazine list of the "Top 100 Irish Americans of the Year".

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Colin Quinn