Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963 in Pawnee City, Nebraska), better known by the stage name Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and one of the co-stars of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Whitney grew up in Pawnee City, Nebraska; he moved to Palm Beach County, Florida with his family when he was 16, where he attended The King's Academy. His father, a preacher who once played guitar with the Everly Brothers, worked at The King's Academy. Whitney worked at Wendy's until 1985, when he began doing stand-up comedy with other West Palm Beach locals (such as his friend Jamie Porter). At the encouragement of friends and coworkers, he continued his standup work during amateur nights at the Comedy Club in Blue Springs, Missouri. In 1991, he began doing radio comedy, in which he would call into stations as fictional characters. The "Larry" character was created after a friend from one of the stations asked him to call in as a cable installer.
Whitney started a career in radio as a disc jockey in Blue Springs, Missouri. He moved to Omaha, where he was a personality on the short lived alternative station 101.9 The Edge KGDE. This followed by stints at Rock 100 WDIZ and 101.1 WJRR in Orlando before meeting the Blue Collar Boys. He became known in the South in the early 90s when he made regular radio appearances via phone on programs such as the Ron and Ron Show. He was also a regular via phone during the late 90s on Z-92's The Todd and Tyler Show in Omaha, Nebraska, on the nationally Chris Baker Show Friday mornings, as well as the Kirk, Mark, and Lopez morning show on 98 Rock in Baltimore, MD. He was also a frequent guest on the Johnny Dare and Murphy show on 98.9, KQRC, Kansas City. Larry's trademarks are Redneck-style humor, recounting bizarre stories about his "family," delivered in an affected thick Southern dialect, and using, among other common expressions, his own catchphrase "Git-R-Done!"
He also sings Christmas sons like "Donny the Retard," "Titty Bars Christmas," and "I Pissed My Pants." He uses "madder than" jokes like "Madder than a queer with on Valentine's Day",or,"Madder than a skinhead watching The Jeffersons," Madder than an legless Ethiopian watching a donut roll down a hill", "Madder than a carload of queers getting pulled over for doin' a 69 in a 55," "Madder than a one-legged waitress at the IHOP", "Scarier than Janet Reno coming at you in a neglige with a box of rubbers." or "Happier than Jim Nabors with a wheelbarrow full of buttholes," and possibly his most famous, "Happier than a tornado in a trailer park," from his character in the film Cars.
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In 2005, he was featured in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up," playing dual roles as himself and a transvestite bar patron. In 2006, he starred in the film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, was the voice of Mater, the tow truck, in Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-nominated animated film Cars, as well as the voice of Ryder, a crazy cat in the Walt Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound 2. Whitney's character was mocked with a character known as "Plumber Bubba" on the Cartoon Network show Squidbillies in the 2007 episode "Bubba Tubba." His catchphrase involved leaning over in his plumber pants coquettishly and inquiring, "Have you seen my butthole?" The episode also makes fun of his status as a millionaire who pretends to be a simple man with his story about the foreigner whom he couldn't understand while he was at "Martha's Vineyard to launch my new zeppelin fleet."
Whitney has also seen considerable success from his comedic recordings. His first two comedy albums, Lord, I Apologize (2001), and The Right To Bare Arms (2005), have both been certified gold by the RIAA. A third album, Morning Constitutions, and its accompanying TV special were released in 2007.
He has also been approached by Comedy Central to voice a character for an as-yet-unnamed animated series. The show would involve his character as one of two owners of a small cable channel (the other, a high-classed, high-attitude woman) who butt heads at the type of programming they feel appropriate for air. A half-hour pilot has been ordered by the network.
The real Dan Whitney himself is somewhat of an unknown. A few biographies of him describe only the fictional life of Larry the Cable Guy, as he rarely speaks out of character when in public. Residents of Pawnee County confirm the existence of his father and one brother. He has a nephew, Christopher Luly, who attends Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska.
In a 60 Minutes report, correspondent Bob Simon reveals Whitney's "happy-go-lucky" lifestyle: "Unlike many comedians the 60 Minutes team has met, Larry is not angry, he's not depressed, he's not paranoid. He's a hard-working, supremely confident, happy-go-lucky funnyman."
Whitney lives on a rural parcel of land in Seminole County, Florida, just north of Orlando called Sanford and has a home in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is a dedicated supporter of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. He frequently attends Nebraska football games in his luxury box above Memorial Stadium, Lincoln. Whitney is married to a former radio personality from KOMP in Las Vegas, NV.
Dan and his wife, Cara have two children together: Wyatt and Reagan. His wife Cara gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Reagan, born October 29, 2007
