Lenny Clarke

Infobox actor
name = Lenny Clarke

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birthdate = September 16, 1953
birthplace = Cambridge, Massachusetts

Lenny Clarke (born September 16, 1953) is an American comedian, famous for his thick Boston accent. Sometime during the 1970s, as related in the Comedy Central roast of Clarke's friend Denis Leary, Clarke ran for mayor of Cambridge, MA. When asked by Leary what his platform was, Clarke replied "Fuck the Kennedys". Clarke had buttons and bumper stickers made with this slogan on them. In an attempt to spark interest in his campaign, Clarke stole a Boston bus and began driving it around until he realized it was just him driving a bus. Clarke then began to pick up random people and drop them at their doors.

Clarke was the most famous "saloon comic" in Boston during the 1980s, the heyday of the Boston comedy scene. The DVD release "When Standup Stood Out" (2006) details Clarke's early career and his affiliations with other famous Boston comics, such as Steven Wright and Denis Leary, his good friends. In 1980, Clarke wrote and starred in a local television show Lenny Clarke's Late Show featuring Wright and Leary, in collaboration with Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Clarke and Olson were roommates, and their apartment, known by comedians as "The Barracks", was a notorious "crash pad" for comics visiting Boston, and the subject of a documentary film as Clarke and Leary explain in When Standup Stood Out.

Since his early days in Boston, Clarke starred in his own short-lived network sitcom Lenny (1990), and in such TV shows as "Contest Searchlight", "The Job", "The John Larroquette Show" and "It's All Relative" and movies like "Monument Ave.", "Fever Pitch" and "Southie". As of 2006, Clarke appears in the recurring role of Uncle Teddy on the FX comedy-drama "Rescue Me".

In 2006, Clarke and Leary appeared on television during a Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox 1st baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson's anti-semitic comments. [ [http://badideabluejeans.blogspot.com/2006/08/rescue-me-from-mel-gibson.html Bad Idea Blue Jeans: Rescue Me (from Mel Gibson) ] ] [ [http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=153220 Error - BostonHerald.com ] ]

In 2007, Clarke played the role of Ron Abbot on the short lived FOX comedy series The Winner. The show was cancelled after six episodes due to low ratings on May 16, 2007.

Clarke has been cast in the US remake of the hit British show "Life on Mars", although it is not known which character he will play.

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External links

*imdb name|id=0164873|name= Lenny Clarke