- Colin Quinn
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Colin Quinn 
Colin Quinn, July 2005Born June 6, 1959
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.Medium Stand-up, television, film Nationality American Years active 1985–present Genres Observational comedy, black comedy, sketch comedy, satire, political satire, news satire Subject(s) American politics, current events, race relations, embarrassing hangovers Influences Richard Pryor,[1] George Carlin[2] Influenced Dave Attell[3] Notable works and roles Co-host of Remote Control
Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live
Host of Tough Crowd with Colin QuinnColin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian and writer best known for his five years in the cast of Saturday Night Live, as the sidekick/announcer of MTV's late 1980s gameshow Remote Control and as host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central from 2002–2004.
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Early years
Quinn was born in Brooklyn, the son of teachers [4] of Irish descent, and was raised in the Park Slope section of the borough. His natural idiosyncratic mannerisms are trademarks of his stand-up act, headlining at top comedy clubs across the country, including Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City. Before becoming a comedian, Quinn attended Stony Brook University for a year and worked as a bartender. He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several bad experiences with alcohol, including drunken blackouts and nights spent in jail.[5]
After quitting bartending, Quinn began his stand-up career in 1984. He first achieved fame in 1987 as co-host of the MTV game show Remote Control, which he did for three years. In 1989, he hosted A&E stand-up showcase Caroline's Comedy Hour, and acted in and wrote the comedic short/music video Going Back to Brooklyn along with Ben Stiller. Much of his early comedy career focused on stand-up and writing for shows like In Living Color. He later co-wrote the story and was an associate producer for the movie Celtic Pride, starring Damon Wayans and Dan Aykroyd.
Saturday Night Live
In 1995, Quinn was hired by Saturday Night Live as a writer and featured player until 1997–1998 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 did the recurring segment "Colin Quinn Explains the New York Times". Quinn took over as host of the Weekend Update segment in January 1998 after Norm Macdonald's firing, and anchored the segment until departing SNL in 2000. Quinn would often comment on the highly publicized media circuses such as Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal and the Microsoft Anti-Trust Trial. At the end of each Weekend Update segment, he would use the catchphrase, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." He was not thrilled about his run on the show, declaring on an episode of Tough Crowd, "I don't miss it."
During his SNL years, Quinn made his Broadway debut in his one-man show, Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake co-written with fellow comedian Lou DiMaggio, and was offered the role of Scott Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery by Mike Myers, which he turned down to make time for his writing projects.[6] The role was taken by Seth Green.
Recurring characters on SNL
- Gene, an ex-convict who does menial jobs.
- Joe Blow, a blue-collar worker from Queens who complains about the declining quality of his neighborhood.
- Lenny The Lion, a lion, similar to his Joe Blow character, only he talks about trying to better himself.
- Rolf, a racist who always has second thoughts about his behavior.
Celebrity characters
- Dale Jarrett
- Elvis Costello
- Gerry Adams
- Leon Panetta
- Robert De Niro in the "Joe Pesci Show" sketch where the real Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci make surprise appearances.
Post-SNL career
After leaving SNL, Quinn had a sketch comedy show on NBC called The Colin Quinn Show in 2002 that lasted for only three episodes.
Quinn became host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central in December 2002. The show immediately followed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and was one of several attempts to create a companion show for Stewart's program. However, Tough Crowd never managed to keep the majority of its lead-in audience. Although it was renewed through the 2005 television season, Tough Crowd was placed on indefinite hiatus in October 2004, with its "final" episode airing on November 4, 2004. The show featured four comedians (often his friends such as Dave Attell, Jim Norton, and Patrice O'Neal) with Quinn as host, discussing various political issues in conversations that were often heated. Quinn gave many comedians exposure on the show, which ran for roughly 250 episodes over a two-year period. His stand up material was also used in Comedy Central's animated stand up series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. [7]
Colin performs regularly at the Comedy Cellar in New York City, where many top comedians perform when not on the road. In 2004, he was named #56 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. He was also named to the Irish America Magazine list of the "Top 100 Irish Americans of the Year".[8]
Quinn shown during a USO tour in 2005
He would later be heard as the "unofficial co-host" on the Nick DiPaolo show on the now-defunct 92.3 Free FM in New York City, airing Monday-Friday from noon to 3pm. Quinn and DiPaolo were originally slated to host the show together on WJFK-FM, but the station decided not to pick up the show. Nick often referred to Quinn as "the joke fairy", due to his propensity for telling a joke and hanging up the phone before getting a response. Quinn is also a regular guest on The Opie & Anthony Show. Recently Quinn has discussed what he refers to as thousands of pages of "manifestos" that he's written since his departure from Tough Crowd, but never elaborated on the contents.
More recently, Quinn played Dickie Bailey, the childhood town rival to Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler's character) in Sandler's movie Grown Ups, released in the summer of 2010.
In 2010, Quinn premiered his one-man show "Colin Quinn Long Story Short" on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre, directed by Jerry Seinfeld. Comically channeling the demise of various world empires, Quinn takes a satirical look at the history of the world in 75 minutes. Quinn recorded a special performance of the show that aired on HBO on April 9, 2011. He explores the attitudes, appetites and habits that toppled some of the world's most powerful nations.[9]
In summer 2011, Quinn will tour "Colin Quinn Long Story Short" to Guild Hall in East Hampton, Philadelphia Theatre Company in Philadelphia, and other cities including Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1987 Three Men and a Baby Gift shop Clerk 1988 The Cosby Show Davey Herbeck Television series
1 episode1988 Crocodile Dundee II Onlooker at mansion 1988 Married to the Mob Homicide detective 1988 2 Hip 4 TV Television series 1989 Caroline's Comedy Hour Host Television series 1990 Manly World Television series 1990 True Blue Television series
1 episode1992 The Ben Stiller Show Guest Television series
1 episode1993 Who's the Man? Frankie Flynn 1995 The Larry Sanders Show Cully Television series
1 episode1995-2000 Saturday Night Live Various Television series
97 episodes1996 The Christmas Tree Tom Television film 1997 Pulp Comics: Jim Breuer Cop Television film 1998 A Night at the Roxbury Dooey 2002-2004 Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Himself/Host Television series 2003 Crooked Lines Annoying customer 2003 Windy City Heat Talk show guest Television film 2005 Inked Himself Television series 2006 Home Himself 2008 Harold Reedy 2010 Grown Ups Dickie Bailey 2011 Colin Quinn Long Story Short Himself Television film References
- ^ "Colin Quinn". Popentertainment.com. http://www.popentertainment.com/quinn.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Colin Quinn: Tough Guy
- ^ Interview with Dave Attell
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Colin-Quinn.html
- ^ http://www.askmen.com/toys/interview_60/99_colin_quinn_interview.html
- ^ www.theonionavclub.com
- ^ comedycentral.com
- ^ www.irishabroad.com
- ^ Broadway World
External links
- Colin Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
- Colin Quinn on National Public Radio in 2003
- Comedy Cellar - a Comedy Club in New York and one at which Colin always performs.
- SNL Transcripts: Colin Quinn - contains searchable database of almost all of Quinn's SNL works
- ColinQuinn.com - Website for Colin Quinn's Broadway show "Long Story Short" directed by Jerry Seinfeld.
- [1]
Media offices Preceded by
Norm MacdonaldWeekend Anchor
1998–2000Succeeded by
Tina Fey and Jimmy FallonCategories:- 1959 births
- Living people
- American film actors
- American game show hosts
- American people of Irish descent
- American screenwriters
- American stand-up comedians
- American television actors
- American television talk show hosts
- American television writers
- People from Brooklyn
- People self-identifying as alcoholics
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