Larry the Cable Guy

Biography

Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which included Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Jeff Foxworthy (with whom he has starred on Blue Collar TV).

Whitney has released seven comedy albums, two of which have been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1,000,000 copies and one of which has been certified gold for shipments of 500,000 copies. He has starred in three Blue Collar Comedy Tour related films, alongside Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Delta Farce and Witless Protection, and provides the voice of Mater in Disney/Pixar's Cars franchise. Whitney's catchphrase "Git-R-Done!" is also the title of his book.

Early life

Dan Whitney was born in Nebraska to Tom and Shirley Whitney, and grew up on an 80-acre farm outside Pawnee City, Nebraska. His father was a Christian minister. When he was 16, his family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. Whitney attended high school at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, from the late 1970s through 1980 where his father was the elementary school principal. He graduated from Berean Christian School in West Palm Beach in 1982 where he played football. He went to college at Baptist University of America in Georgia, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He majored in drama and speech. He credits his roommates from Texas and Georgia for inspiring his Southern accent impression. He dropped out after his junior year after trying his hand at comedy.

Radio career

Whitney started his career in radio in the early 1990s when he made regular radio appearances on the nationally syndicated program, The Ron and Ron Show, as well as other radio shows such as The Bob & Tom Show, Wakin' Up with the Wolf on WPDH, The Chris Baker Show on KDGE and KEZO's The Todd and Tyler Radio Empire in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the Kirk, Mark, and Lopez morning show on WIYY in Baltimore, Maryland. He was also a frequent guest on The Johnny Dare Morning Show on 98.9/KQRC, Kansas City, Missouri.
He also appeared on WJRR in Orlando Florida. He was also on the WHTQ 96.5 morning show in Orlando Florida. He was brought to New England on Greg and the Morning Buzz on WHEB 100.3 and WGIR-FM 101.1 in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire, respectively, doing two commentaries a week.

Stand-up career

Initially performing stand-up under his real name with limited success, he became famous after developing the Cable Guy character, a personality that he now maintains throughout his stage act. The Cable Guy character has a stereotypical redneck appearance and a thick Southern accent, recounts stories about his "family", and uses, among other common expressions, his own catchphrase "Git-R-Done!"
He says in interviews and in his autobiographical book GIT-R-DONE that he deliberately "turns on" the accent both on and off stage, because he may forget it if he kept his normal accent intact. He uses catchphrase humor, including "Lord, I apologize for that, there, and be with the starvin' Pygmies in New Guinea. Amen," after telling jokes of questionable taste; and, "I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there," after jokes that evoke raucous laughter.
He became well-known as one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which included Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Jeff Foxworthy (with whom he has starred on Blue Collar TV). The tour also spawned three films and a satellite radio show.
His first two comedy albums, Lord, I Apologize×Lord, I Apologize30 October 2001 · Album · Spokenword,LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1I Made the Bigg Times Now2:522Looking Good at the Flea Market3:163Couldn’t Keep the Pizza Lit2:234No Hair - Just a Red Head3:295Keep the Chips Fresh4:066Jump Up in the Air and Get Stuck3:297Let Me Eat Your Shorts4:088Can’t Understand My Accent1:449The Worst Dentist I’ve Been To1:5410Martians Got a Thing for Redneck Fellers5:0111Going in Circles for Two Hours4:5412People Like My Analogies2:5913Toddler Mail3:2714Lord, I Apologize3:33 (2001) and The Right to Bare Arms×The Right to Bare Arms29 March 2005 · Album · Spokenword,LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Git-R-Done!1:202Midgets and Gay Bars0:493WWJD2:214Las Vegas4:085Hank Williams Jr. High School1:516Hooters and Hooters Airlines4:397Dodge Truck, Retards and Stinkbait1:498NASCAR3:089The Right to Bare Arms!4:0810Family In Sanford4:2011Faith Healers and Weight Problems4:0212Romance and Imported Rubbers (I Seen This on TV... No Lie)6:3613Throwed Outta Penney’s1:0114Shavin’, Waxin’, Primpin’ and Shootin’ Quail! (This Is Funny, I Don’t Care Who Ya Are!)3:2515News Items1:2616Song for a Friend (And Other Things I Think About When I’m Hammered at 4 A.M.)4:1317Toddler Mail7:04 (2005), have both been certified gold by the RIAA. A third album, Morning Constitutions×Morning Constitutions3 April 2007 · Other · Spokenword,LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Bowling Shoes5:342Just Hitched5:233I Like Steak5:144Pie of the Month5:105Terrorist or Toddler4:046Gay Mafia3:567Stool Troubles2:388Shopping at Wal-Mart5:219Bed, Beer and a Blonde2:5010Squeal or No Squeal2:4411A Sue Named Boy4:4512Poop Lasagna3:34, and its accompanying TV special were released in 2007.

Other work

Whitney starred in the films Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006), Delta Farce (2007) and Witless Protection (2008). He provided the voice of Tow Mater, a rusty blue tow truck, in the Disney/Pixar film Cars (2006) and its sequels, Cars 2 (2011), and Cars 3 (2017), as well as the short-form Cars series Tales from Radiator Springs and Cars on the Road, and several video games in the franchise.
Whitney was roasted in a Comedy Central special on March 15, 2009.
On February 8, 2011, the premiere of his newest travelogue series, Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy, was broadcast on the History Channel. A total of 4.1 million viewers, 1.7 million adults 25–54, tuned in, nearly doubling the total for the "Top Shot" season 2 opener. During season two in the episode "Larry Goes To Washington", Whitney was the first on-air talent from a non-news crew allowed in the War Room, also known as the Command Center, as he explained during the program. The series finale aired August 28, 2013.
In June 2012, Disneyland's California Adventure theme park's "Cars Land" opened a ride called "Mater's Junkyard Jamboree" that features Whitney's voice as his character Mater from the Disney/Pixar Cars films.
Bektrom Foods of North Dakota developed a line of Larry the Cable Guy food products, such as boxed hamburger dinners, with some of the proceeds from its sales benefiting the "Git-R-Done Foundation".
Whitney's later films include Tooth Fairy 2 (2012), A Madea Christmas (2013), and Jingle All the Way 2 (2014). He competed in season six of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Baby" which was the show's first human character.

Personal life

Whitney and his wife Cara married in 2005. They have a son, Wyatt, and a daughter, Reagan. The Whitney family resides in Lincoln, Nebraska, on a 180-acre (73 ha) farm. The couple started the Git-R-Done Foundation in 2009 to provide assistance to those that have experienced hardships beyond their control. Whitney is a Christian who re-committed to his faith in 2014.
Whitney's hometown of Pawnee City, Nebraska, has a street named after him. Whitney also donated money to buy new theatrical equipment for the local high school.
Whitney is a fan of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit and has co-owned some bucking bulls over the years. Among them was Chicken on a Chain, who was the 2007 PBR World Champion Bull.
Whitney is also an avid Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan. His signature camouflage hat has the University of Nebraska–Lincoln nickname "HUSKERS" emblazoned on it, as seen in the 2007 film Delta Farce. He is also frequently seen with a gold Nebraska "N" on a chain around his neck. On October 1, 2016, in his luxury suite at Memorial Stadium during the Nebraska vs. Illinois football game, Whitney was challenged to an arm wrestling match by an Army veteran and Nebraska Army National Guard member, John O'Connell, who lost the match in less than one minute with his arm (humerus) broken by Whitney.
In September 2010, Whitney donated $5 million to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida. The gift was for further development of the International Hip Dysplasia Institute at the Orlando hospital. After Dr. Chad Price at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children helped cure their son, Wyatt, of his dysplasia when he was an infant, Whitney and his wife, Cara, made private donations to the hospital and Whitney raised money through appearances on Family Feud and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. The hospital opened a new wing called the Wyatt Whitney Wing in May 2012.
Whitney is also an avid REO Speedwagon fan. In 2013, he appeared with the band, including a benefit concert in Bloomington, Illinois, for tornado disaster relief.
Whitney owns a George Strait neon sign that he bought backstage at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, Texas.
Whitney endorsed Donald Trump for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Radio shows

Whitney currently works as a radio personality for SiriusXM's Jeff & Larry's Comedy Roundup channel.

Book

Git-R-Done. Crown Publishing Group. 2005. ISBN 9780307237422.