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 . Retaliation became the highest charting comedy album in 28 years and went double platinum. [1] Cook performed an HBO special in the Fall of 2006, Vicious Circle , a straight to DVD special entitled Rough Around The Edges (which is included in the album of the same name), and has made numerous television appearances. As an actor, Cook has appeared in 15 films since 1997, including Mystery Men and Waiting... . He also starred in major movie roles since 2006 including Employee of the Month and Good Luck Chuck . He also had supporting roles in the very dark Mr. Brooks (a departure from his standard comedic roles) and Dan in Real Life . Most recently, Cook starred in My Best Friend's Girl .

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Early life

Dane Cook was born in Boston, Massachusetts ^[2] the second son of George and Donna Cook. Cook has an older brother, Darryl, and five sisters. He was raised in Arlington, where he attended Arlington High School. ^[3] His father worked at a golf course before managing a lumber yard, a window business and a rock club in Cambridge, Massachusetts while his mother was a homemaker. Both of his parents recently died of cancer.

Career

Stand-up

thumb In 1994, Cook moved to New York City and began performing. He also spent that time working the Comedy Club and College circuits. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles, where he still lives today. ^[4]

Cook's big comedy break came in 1998 when he appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend . This started a relationship between Cook and Comedy Central that has lasted many years. 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. ^[5]

In 2003, Cook released his first CD/DVD, Harmful If Swallowed . The success of the album landed him a recording 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. This earned him a place alongside best-selling comedy vets Bill Cosby, George Carlin, and Steve Martin. The success of the album also landed him a comedy performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and then afterwards he joined Snoop Dogg (who introduced him) in presenting the award for Best New Artist.

On April 15, 2005 Cook performed his first HBO Special entitled Vicious Circle filmed "in the round" at the TD Banknorth 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 long time 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 performed the longest monologue in the show's history and it was one of the highest-rated SNL s of the season". ^[6] 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, Cook released his third CD/DVD entitled Rough Around The Edges , which was filmed live at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart. 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) ^[7] by performing on stage for 3 hours and 50 minutes. Dave Chappelle would break the record five days later. ^[8] On January 1, 2008, Cook broke Chapelle's record, by performing on stage for 7 hours. ^[9]

From May 23, 2008 to May 25, 2008 Cook reunited with Robert Kelly and Al Del Bene for 3 shows at The Coliseum in Caesars Palace. From May 29, 2008 to June 4, 2008, the Trio went to Iraq to perform for the troops. During all of these shows Bene was the Emcee, Kelly was the Feature, and Cook was the headliner.

Cook recently finished his fifth album, "ISolated INcident"; it was also a special that aired on Comedy Central on May 17, 2009, with the release of the record following two days later. He kicked off that tour at Mohegan Sun, 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. He came unannounced to the Factory and performed his jokes in front of a crowd smaller than 30 people. His material was reportedly "edgy" and more graphic than usual.

Comedy style

Dane Cook's style is principally energetic physical comedy. He combines observational humor and wordplay with a casual attitude. 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." ^[10]

He explains:

“	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 an idiot until it becomes apparent that I'm telling a joke and that the audience should laugh.	”

Criticism

Numerous commentators have characterized Dane Cook's humor as unfunny and banal. ^{[11] [12] [13]} 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." ^[14] 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." ^[15] On Boston's WBCN, 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. ^[16] In the Michigan Daily , Elie Zwiebel wrote that "he's managed to become one of the most overrated comics ever" and that Cook's act is "boringly stagnant". ^[17]

Accusations of plagiarism

In 2005, on the message boards of comedy web site 'A Special Thing', Louis C.K. posted a response to his fans who accused Cook of stealing jokes from him, writing, "Okay, this kid is stealing from me. And making lots of money. Three bits on one CD." Later, C.K. wrote "Just so you know, guys, I'm not going to do anything about this.... I'm not going to court over a bit called 'Itchy Asshole.'" ^[18] In an interview on the Free Beer & Hot Wings Morning Show in February 2007, C.K. stated that while the jokes are similar, the issue was "overblown" and may stem from a backlash against Cook's popularity. However, C.K. accused Cook of being "bullyish" and litigious towards comedians for having similar material to his despite Cook claiming elsewhere that comedians often have similar material and it is not a big issue to him. C.K. also stated "Too bad the guy [Cook] can't write enough to fill up his material..." After pressure by the hosts (Opie and Anthony Xm 202) for a statement, C.K. ended the interview by finally adding (as a joke): "Fuck Dane Cook, he's a cunt." ^[19]

Comedian Joe Rogan has spoken on many occasions about Cook performing a bit on an episode of Premium Blend that Rogan had developed on I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (sketch titled "Tigers Fucking"), and claims to have performed the routine earlier in clubs with Cook present. ^[20]

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." He went on to explain that a lot of comedians "are upset because they really feel this guy has snatched a lot of material". Breuer went on to say that he personally thinks Cook is a "tremendous performer". ^[21]

Internet broadcasters Keith and the Girl have repeatedly made accusations of plagiarism, calling him a "Joke Thief" and will often times ask comic guests their feelings on Cook and his alleged plagiarism. ^[22]

Controversy

On July 24, 2006, Cook asked for a guest spot at the Yuk-Yuks comedy club in Vancouver. Initially he was set to go up at the end of the night, but upon arriving at the club he requested to go up before the headliner, Peter Kelamis. Cook went over his allotted time, and after several minutes of the "wrap it up" light flashing, the club cut his microphone and attempted to "play him off" with music. Cook acted as though it was a mistake and continued his set for another five minutes until the process was repeated. Cook then dropped the mic and walked off-stage, furious. Kelamis then refused to take the stage, and later referred to Cook's actions as "the most arrogant thing that I've ever seen in my life". ^[23] Mark Breslin, the founder of the comedy club chain, quickly apologized and blamed the club's manager. Breslin stated in support of Cook, "I'm on Dane's side totally, 100 percent." Breslin added that Kelamis was the last show that evening and there was no reason he could not have gone on late, stating "the tradition is that stardom trumps everything".

When asked by People magazine "What's something you did recently you wish you could take back?" Cook responded, "I went onstage and was the rudest, most obnoxious version of myself. Women came up to me after and said, 'Don't ever say those things again. That was horrible!'". ^[24]

Film

Cook appeared in Waiting... , and next starred in his first leading role as the slacker boxboy Zach Bradley in Employee of the Month , with Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard.

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, just behind Shrek The Third . The movie grossed $10,017,067 in the opening weekend. ^[25]

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 and debuted at #3 at the box office, just behind Burn After Reading , and got a 50-50 rating on fandango.com. ^[26] Cook had a small role in Mystery Men as "The Waffler". He also appeared opposite Dennis Rodman in 1999's Simon Sez. ^[27]

Tours

• Tourgasm 2006 (w/ Robert Kelly, Gary Gulman, Jay Davis)
• The Insomniac Tour 2006 (w/ Dave Attell, Greg Giraldo, Sean Rouse)
• Rough Around The Edges Tour 2007
• Globo Thermo Tour 2009

Discography

Albums

• 2003: Harmful If Swallowed (CD/DVD) Comedy Central. #67 US; Platinum
• 2005: Retaliation (2CD/DVD) Comedy Central. #4 US; Double Platinum
• 2006: Dane Cook: Vicious Circle (CD/2DVD) Comedy Central.
• 2007: Rough Around The Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden (CD/DVD) Comedy Central. #11 US; Gold
• 2009: Isolated Incident (CD/DVD) Comedy Central.

Other releases

• 2006: Dane Cook's Tourgasm (3DVD)
• 2007: The Lost Pilots (DVD) Sony Pictures Television.

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions						Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	US Pop 100	UK Singles Chart	Germany
2006	"I'll Never Be You"	-	-	-	100	-	4	-
2007	"Forward"	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Cook co-wrote and performed the song "Ruthie Pigface Draper" for the Dan In Real Life movie with Norbert Leo Butz. ^[28]

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	TV Movie
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

References

1. Time's 100 Most Influential People
2. Biography for Dane Cook
3. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176981/bio
4. Punchline Magazine interview
5. Comedy Central.com biodata on Cook
6. TF.org
7. Dane Cook breaks comedy endurance record
8. Dave Chappelle's standup marathon: 6 hours, 12 minutes
9. Dane Cook breaks Dave Chappelle's endurance record
10. Dane Cook: All Aboard the Dane Train, ''Punchline'' magazine
11. "Dane Cook - Not Funny?"
12. "Overcooked", Salon.com
13. "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.
14. "Ron White Interview" by David Medsker.
15. Scott the emotional engineer - The Howard Stern Show
16. ''New York Post'' article on Cook
17. Title Unavailable
18. Take the Funny and Run
19. Louis C.K. interview, accessed February 3, 2007
20. "Joe Rogan Exposes Dane Cook"
21. "Comics Question the Rise of Dane Cook", ''Free Press Release'', November 9, 2006.
22. "F**k Dane Cook", ''Keith and the Girl'', November 9, 2006.
23. Guy Macpherson, "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's". ''The Province'', July 25, 2006.
24. People magazine, November 17, 2008, page 142
25. ''Mr. Brooks'' gross earnings
26. ''My Best Friend's Girl'' Fandango rating
27. IMDb
28. Dan in Real Life (2007) - Soundtracks