Colin Quinn
| Colin Quinn | |
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Colin Quinn in 2010
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| Birth name | Colin Edward Quinn |
| Born | June 6, 1959 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, black comedy, sketch comedy, satire, political satire, news satire |
| Subject(s) | American politics, American culture, current events, race relations, world history, drinking culture |
| Influences | Richard Pryor,[1] George Carlin[2] |
| Notable works and roles | Co-host of Remote Control Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live Host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn |
Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959)[3] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. On television, he is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, where he anchored Weekend Update, on MTV's 1980's game show Remote Control, where he served as the announcer/sidekick, and as host of Comedy Central's late-night panel show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Notable film work includes his role as Dickey Bailey in the Grown Ups films.
Quinn has also become known for his comedic one-man shows that offer his unique takes on history and growing up in New York City. As of 2015, he has written and starred in five shows: Irish Wake, My Two Cents, Long Story Short, Unconstitutional, and The New York Story, two of which he collaborated on with Jerry Seinfeld as director. Long Story Short was also filmed as an HBO special that aired on April 9, 2011 and Unconstitutional was released as a Netflix special in 2015.
Contents
Early life
Quinn was born and raised in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of teachers.[3][4] He attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook, in Stony Brook, Long Island, but did not graduate.[5] He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several bad experiences with alcohol, including blackouts and arrests.[6]
Early career
Quinn began performing stand-up comedy in 1984, and first achieved fame in 1987 as the sidekick announcer of the MTV game show Remote Control, which lasted five seasons. In 1989, he hosted the A&E stand-up showcase Caroline's Comedy Hour, and wrote and acted in the comedic short/music video "Going Back to Brooklyn" (a parody of LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali") with Ben Stiller. He wrote for In Living Color, and co-wrote and produced the movie Celtic Pride, which starred Damon Wayans and Dan Aykroyd.
Saturday Night Live
In 1995, Quinn was hired by Saturday Night Live as a writer and featured player. He became a full cast member during the 1997–1998 season. 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".[7]
He began hosting Weekend Update in January 1998 after Norm Macdonald's firing, and anchored the segment until his departure in 2000. Quinn commented on a number of highly publicized media circuses, including the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal and the Microsoft Anti-Trust Trial.[citation needed]
During his SNL tenure, Quinn was offered the role of Scott Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery by Mike Myers, which he turned down. The role was accepted by Seth Green. Quinn has called it the only project he has regretted turning down.[8]
Television and film work and stand-up
After leaving SNL, Quinn hosted the short-lived The Colin Quinn Show on NBC in the Spring of 2002. The show combined sketch comedy and stand-up in a live-to-tape format. Despite mostly positive reviews from critics, it was cancelled after three episodes.
Quinn had greater success with his subsequent show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, which ran on weekdays on Comedy Central from 2002 to 2004. The show featured a panel of four comedians, with Quinn as host, discussing the social and political issues of the day. The show ran for over 200 episodes.
His stand-up was also used in the animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.
He was 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 three. Quinn and DiPaolo were originally slated to host the show together on WJFK-FM, but the station decided not to pick up the show. Quinn was also a regular guest on The Opie & Anthony Show until its run ended in 2014.
Quinn played Dickie Bailey, the childhood rival to Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler's character) in both Grown Ups films. He also currently recurs as Hermie on the HBO series Girls.
Quinn wrote and starred in the L/Studio web series Cop Show, which premiered in February 2015. The series stars Quinn as a satirical, pompous version of himself, starring in a New York City-based crime drama. The show's guest stars have included Jerry Seinfield, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Che, Jim Norton, Pat Cooper, and Amy Schumer.[9]
Quinn had a supporting role in Amy Schumer's film debut, Trainwreck, as her character's father. He was critically praised for his performance.[10]
One-man shows
Quinn made his Broadway debut in 1998 in a one-man show, Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake, co-written with Lou DiMaggio. The show reflected Quinn's upbringing within the Irish-American community of Brooklyn; it was set at a wake in 1976, with Quinn portraying family members and acquaintances who show up for the event.
In 2009, Quinn premiered his second one-man show My Two Cents, which covers the economic crumbling of the American empire.[11]
In 2010, Quinn premiered his third one-man show Colin Quinn Long Story Short on Broadway, directed by Jerry Seinfeld. The show covered world history from prehistoric times to the present, offering satirical takes on the rise and fall of various world empires. Quinn recorded a special performance of the show that aired on HBO on April 9, 2011.[12]
In 2013, Quinn premiered another one-man show on historical themes, Unconstitutional, which covers the United States Constitution, its creation, and its impact on the American psyche.[13]
Quinn starred in his fifth one-man show, The New York Story, in July and August 2015 at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The show is based upon the experiences chronicled in his book, The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America. It delves into his growing up in the ethnically diverse Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and how it has changed over the years into its current state.[14] Jerry Seinfeld, who directed Long Story Short, returned as director.
Social media
Quinn has gained attention for his account on the social network Twitter, where he usually posts deliberately vacuous statements, often in the form of either inspirational statements or boasts about his celebrity status, that are intended to provoke his readers.[13]
Awards and honors
In 2004, Quinn was named No. 56 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all-time.
He was named one the Top 100 Irish Americans of the year in 2004 and 2011 by the magazine Irish America.[7][15]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Rock 'n' Roll Hotel | DJ | Aired on HBO |
| 1987 | Three Men and a Baby | Gift Shop Clerk | |
| 1988 | Crocodile Dundee II | Onlooker at Mansion | |
| 1988 | Married to the Mob | Homicide Detective | |
| 1993 | Who's the Man? | Frankie Flynn | |
| 1998 | A Night at the Roxbury | Dooey | |
| 2003 | Crooked Lines | Annoying Customer | |
| 2006 | Home | Himself | Documentary Film |
| 2008 | Harold | Reedy | |
| 2009 | Paper Boys | TV Voiceover | |
| 2010 | Grown Ups | Dickie Bailey | |
| 2012 | That's My Boy | Strip Club DJ | |
| 2013 | Grown Ups 2 | Dickie Bailey | |
| 2015 | Trainwreck | Gordon | |
| 2016 | Booted | Debt Collector | Completed |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-1990 | Remote Control | Sidekick/Announcer and writer | 9 episodes |
| 1988 | The Cosby Show | Davey Herbeck | 1 episode |
| 1988 | 2 Hip 4 TV | Co-host with Ahmet Zappa | unknown episodes |
| 1989 | Men | Baltimore | 1 episode |
| 1989 | Caroline's Comedy Hour | Host | 2 episodes |
| 1989-1990 | True Blue | 2 episodes | |
| 1990 | Manly World | Also writer | |
| 1992 | The Ben Stiller Show | 1 episode | |
| 1992 | Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue | Mulligan | TV Movie |
| 1995 | The Larry Sanders Show | Cully | 1 episode |
| 1995-2000 | Saturday Night Live | Cast Member | 97 episodes |
| 1996 | The Christmas Tree | Tom | TV Movie |
| 1997 | Pulp Comics: Jim Breuer | Cop | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2002-2004 | Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn | Host and writer | 15 episodes |
| 2003 | Windy City Heat | Talk Show Guest | TV Movie |
| 2008 | What About Sal? | O'Brien | TV Short |
| 2011 | Cheat | Delivery Boy | TV Short |
| 2013-2015 | Girls | Hermie | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | The Awesomes | Jeff Apelstein | 7 episodes |
| 2014-2015 | Inside Amy Schumer | Judge / Elevator Passenger From Hell | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore | Pinocchio | 1 episode |
| 2015 | The Jim Gaffigan Show | Himself | 1 episode |
Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | In Living Color | TV Series (8 episodes) |
| 1996 | Celtic Pride | Film written with Judd Apatow |
| 2014 | Cop Show | 8 episodes |
References
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- ↑ Colin Quinn: Tough Guy
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- ↑ Quinn interview, AskMen.com, p. 1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Top 100 - 2011: Colin Quinn, Irish America
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- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Broadway World
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ https://thenew-yorkstory.squarespace.com/
- ↑ www.irishabroad.com
External links
- Colin Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
- Colin Quinn on National Public Radio in 2003
- ColinQuinn.com – official website
- Colin Quinn at the Comedy Hall of Fame
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Weekend Update anchor 1998–2000 |
Succeeded by Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon |
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- Use mdy dates from December 2013
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014
- 1959 births
- Living people
- American male film actors
- American game show hosts
- American people of Irish descent
- American male screenwriters
- American stand-up comedians
- Irish male comedians
- American male television actors
- American television talk show hosts
- American television writers
- People from Brooklyn
- Male actors from New York City
- Stony Brook University alumni
- American sketch comedians
- Male television writers
