Daniel Lawrence Whitney (Larry the Cable Guy)

Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born in 1963) is a stand-up comedian, actor, country music artist, and producer. He has also been a radio personality. He is chiefly known for his stage persona Larry the Cable Guy.

As Larry the Cable Guy, he was one of the founding members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a troupe that also included Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ron White. Together with Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy starred on the subsequent Blue Collar TV.

Larry the Cable Guy has released 7 comedy albums, including three that sold Gold (certified by RIAA). He has also starred in 3 films related to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, as well as the movie Delta Farce (2007) which starred him and his Blue Collar-college Bill Engvall + DJ Qualls and Danny Trejo.

Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is a 2006 comedy film where Larry is a municipal restaurant health inspector who gets assigned a rookie partner (Irish Bahr) and embarks on a journey to solve a series of suspicious food poisonings.

In the 2008 movie Witless Protection, he plays the small-town deputy Larry Stadler who dreams of becoming an FBI agent.

As a voice actor, Whitney has been doin the character Mater in the Cars franchise ever since its beginnings.

Background

Daniel Lawrence Whitney was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, in 1963 to Tom and Shirley Whitney, who raised him on a pig farm. His father is an entertainer, guitarist and Christian minister, and used to be an elementary school principal.

Whitney attended high school at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, where his father was the principal of the King’s Academy elementary school.

Whitney also attended Berean Christian School in West Palm Beach, and graduated from this school in 1982.

He went to college at Baptist University of America in Georgia and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He majored in drama and speech, and dropped out after his junior year since he wanted to focus on a professional comedy career. Later on, he would list his college roomates from Texas and Georgia as inspiration for his imitation Southern accent.

Career

Radio career

In the early 1990s, Whitney became a recurring guest on the nationally syndicated The Ron and Ron Show, and he also appeared on the The Todd and Tyler Show in his native Nebraska, as well as on shows such as The Bob and Tom Show, The Christ Baker Show, The Johnny Dare morning show, and the Kirk, Mark and Lopez morning show.

In New England, he worked with Greg and the Morning Buzz on WHEB 100.3 and WGIR-FM 101.1 in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire, respectively.

Stand-up career with Larry the Cable Guy

Whitney didn’t have any major success with his stand-up career until he invented the Larry the Cable Guy persona.

Larry the Cable Guy has a thick Southern accent and a cliché redneck appearance.

Example of his catchphrases:

• “Git-R-Done!”
• “I don’t care who ya are, that’s funny right there.”
• “Lord, I apologize, and be with the starvin’ Pygmies in New Guinea. Amen.” (Said after telling ribald jokes.)

His jokes are often self-depreciating. Common themes are Southern United States culture, obesity, sexuality, U.S. Politics, political correctness, and personal hygiene.

Comedy albums

Larry the Cable Guy’s first two albums “Lord, I Apologize” (2001) and “A Very Larry Christmas” (2004) both sold gold. “The Right to Bare Arms” (2005) sold platinum. His fourth album, “Morning Constitutions” (2007) was accompanied by a TV special.

For more information, see the discography for Whitney and Larry farther down on this page.

Grammy Award Nominations in the category Best Comedy Album:

• 2006: The Right to Bare Arms
• 2007: Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road

Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Larry the Cable Guy was one of the founding members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with fellow comedians Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ron White. The tour was highly successful throughout the United Stats and sold-out in over 90 cities.

Together with Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy starred on the subsequent Blue Collar TV.

Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy

The travelogue series Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy aired for three season on History Channel in 2011-2013. In the episode “Larry Goes To Washington”, Larry the Cable Guy became the first on-air talent ever from a non-news crew to visit the War Room (Command Center).

Autobiography

Whitney’s autobiography is titled GIT-R-DONE, after Larry the Cable Guy’s catchphrase.

Discography

Disneyland

Since 2012, the theme park “Cars Land” in Disneyland’s California Adventure has a ride called Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, which features Whitney’s voice as his character Mater from the Cars movies.

Food

To raise money for the Git-R-Done Foundation, Bektrom Foods in North Dakota sells a line of Larry the Cable Guy food products.

Personal life

Daniel Whitney has been married to his wife Cara since 2005. They have a son named Wayatt (b. 2006) and a daughter named Reagan (b. 2007).

His hometown of Pawnee City has a street named after him.