Denis Leary

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Biography

Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking . He is the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me (TV series)|Rescue Me , which ended its seventh and final season on September 7, 2011.

Early life

Leary was born in Worcester, Massachusetts , the son of Irish people|Irish Catholic Church|Catholic immigrants. His mother, Nora (née Sullivan), was a maid, and his father, John Leary, was an auto mechanic. As both of his parents are from Killarney , County Kerry , Ireland , Leary holds both Republic of Ireland|Irish and United States|U.S. citizenship. Our Favorite Irish Imports Through marriage, Leary is a third cousin of talk show host Conan O'Brien . He attended Saint Peter-Marian High School , in Worcester.

Leary is a graduate of Emerson College , in Boston . While at Emerson, he met fellow comic Mario Cantone , whom to this day Leary considers his closest friend. Comedian Steven Wright and actress Gina Gershon also attended Emerson at the same time as Leary. At the school, he founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a troupe that continues on-campus as of 2011. After graduating with the Emerson Class of 1979, he took a job at the school teaching comedy writing classes and maintained the job for five years. Leary received an honorary doctorate and spoke briefly at his alma mater's undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 16, 2005; he is thus credited as "Dr. Denis Leary" on the cover of his 2009 book, Why We Suck .

Career

Leary began working as a comedian in the Boston comedy scene of the 1980s, where he hosted his own show at the underground club "Play It Again Sam's". He also wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, '' Lenny Clarke's Late Show , hosted by his friend Lenny Clarke and written by Boston comedy writer Martin Olson . Leary and Clarke both spoke about their early affiliations and influences in the Boston comedy scene in the documentary film When Standup Stood Out (2006). It was during this time that he developed his stage persona. He also appeared in skits on the MTV game show Remote Control (game show)|Remote Control , playing such characters as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones , the "brother" of co-host Colin Quinn , and artist Andy Warhol .

Leary first earned fame when he ranted about R.E.M. in an early 1990s MTV sketch comedy|sketch . Several other commercials for MTV quickly followed, in which Leary would rant at high speeds about a variety of topics, playing off the then-popular and growing Alternative rock|alternative scene . He released two album (Music)|records of his stand-up comedy : No Cure for Cancer (1993) and '' Lock 'N Load (album)|Lock 'n Load (1997). In late 2004, he released the extended play|EP Merry Fuckin' Christmas|Merry F#%$in' Christmas , which included a mix of new music, previously unreleased recordings, and some tracks from Lock 'n Load .

In 1993, his sarcasm|sardonic song about the stereotypical American male, " Asshole (song)|Asshole ", achieved much notoriety. It was voted #1 in an Australia n youth radio poll (the Triple J Hottest 100 ). The song was used as part of the Holsten Brewery|Holsten Pils series of ads in the UK , in which Leary was participating, with adapted lyrics criticizing a drunk driver.

Leary has appeared as an actor in over 40 movies, including The Sandlot , as Scott's stepfather Bill, Monument Ave. , The Matchmaker (1997 film)|The Matchmaker , The Ref , Suicide Kings , Dawg (film)|Dawg , Wag the Dog , Demolition Man (film)|Demolition Man , Judgment Night (film)|Judgment Night , The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair , and Operation Dumbo Drop . He had a small part in Oliver Stone 's Natural Born Killers , playing a ranting inmate during a prison riot; his part was eventually cut, but can be seen on the Special Edition DVD. He has had the lead role in two television series, The Job (TV series)|The Job and the FX (TV channel)|FX cable-network series Rescue Me (TV series)|Rescue Me , of which he is also co-creator. He plays Tommy Gavin , a New York City firefighter dealing with alcoholism , family dysfunction, and other issues in post- September 11 attacks|9/11 New York City. He received Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Denis Leary was offered the role of Dignam in the 2006 film The Departed but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with his television show, Rescue Me .

In addition, Leary has provided voices for characters in animated films, such as a fire-breathing dragon named Flame in the series The Agents , a prehistoric saber-toothed cat named Diego in the Ice Age (film)|Ice Age film trilogy, and the pugnacious ladybug Francis in '' A Bug's Life ''. He has film producer|produced numerous movies, television shows, and specials through his production company, Apostle; these include Comedy Central 's '' Shorties Watchin' Shorties , the stand-up special Denis Leary's Merry F#$%in' Christmas , and the movie Blow (film)|Blow ''. As a Boston Red Sox fan, he narrated the official 2004 World Series film. In 2006, Leary and Lenny Clarke appeared on television during a Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson 's antisemitic comments. As an ice hockey fan, Leary hosted the National Hockey League video ''NHL's Greatest Goals . In 2003, he was the subject of the Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary .

Leary did the TV voiceover for MLB 2K8 advertisements, where he used his trademark rant style in baseball terms, and ads for the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck. He has also appeared in commercials for Hulu and DirecTV 's NFL Sunday Ticket package. Leary was a producer of the Fox Broadcasting series '' Canterbury's Law , and wrote and directed its pilot episode. Canterbury's Law aired in the spring of 2008 and was canceled after eight episodes.

On September 9, 2008, Leary hosted the sixth annual Fashion Rocks event, which aired on CBS . In December of the year, he appeared in a video on funnyordie.com critiquing a list of some of his "best" films, titled "Denis Leary Remembers Denis Leary Movies". Also in in 2008, Leary voiced a guest role as himself on the "Lost Verizon" episode of The Simpsons .

On March 21, 2009 Leary began the "Rescue Me Comedy Tour" in Atlantic City, New Jersey . The 11-date tour, featuring Rescue Me co-stars Lenny Clarke and Adam Ferrara, was Leary's first stand-up comedy tour in 12 years. The Comedy Central special Douchebags and Donuts , filmed during the tour, debuted on American television January 16, 2011, with a DVD release on January 18, 2011.

On January 1, 2010, both Leary and Lenny Clarke sang the Neil Diamond song " Sweet Caroline " at the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park , flanked by members of the Boston and Worcester Fire Departments. Nine days later, Leary sang at Road Recovery , on New York City's The Bowery , along with Peter Frampton , John Varvatos and Leary's band The Enablers.
He is currently working as Captain George Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man movie set to be released in July 2012 and is writing the American adaptation of British comedy Sirens (UK TV series)|Sirens .

Leary is one of the executive producers of the documentary BURN , which chronicles the struggles of the Detroit Fire Department. BURN made its debut on April 23, 2012, at the Tribeca Film Festival .

Personal life

Leary has been married to writer Ann Lembeck Leary since 1989. They met when he was her instructor in an English class at Emerson College . They have two children, son John Joseph "Jack" (born 1990) and daughter Devin (born 1992). Ann Leary published a memoir, An Innocent, a Broad, about the premature birth of their son on an overseas visit to London . She has also written a novel, Outtakes From a Marriage, which was published in 2008.

Leary is an ice hockey fan and has his own backyard hockey rink at his home in Connecticut , with piping installed under the ice surface to help the ice stay frozen. His favorite National Hockey League team is the Boston Bruins . He is also a Boston Red Sox fan, as well as a fan of the Green Bay Packers .

Leary describes himself as a Jack Kennedy Democrat with some conservative ideologies, such as support for the military. Leary told Glenn Beck , "I was a life-long Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat , but now at my age, I've come to realize that the Democrats suck, and the Republican Party (United States)|Republicans suck, and basically the entire system sucks. But you have to go within the system to find what you want." Leary supported Barack Obama in the United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election .
Leary has said of his religious beliefs, "I'm a lapsed Catholic in the best sense of the word. You know, I was raised with Irish parents, Irish immigrant parents. My parents, you know, prayed all the time, took us to Mass. And my father would sometimes swear in Irish language|Gaelic . It doesn't get more religious than that. But, no, after a while, they taught us wrong. I didn't raise my kids with the fear of God. I raised my kids with the sense of, you know, to me, Jesus was this great guy...."

Leary Firefighters Foundation

On December 3, 1999, six firefighter s from Leary's hometown of Worcester were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire . Among the dead were Leary's cousin Jerry Lucey and his close childhood friend Lt. Tommy Spencer. In response, the comedian founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation . Since its creation in the year 2000, the foundation has distributed over $2.5 million ( United States dollar|USD ) to fire departments in the Worcester, Boston, and New York City areas for equipment, training materials, new vehicles, and new facilities. Leary won $125,000 for the foundation on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)#Special editions|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire . Leary has close ties with 107.3 WAAF-FM , which in 2000 released the station album Survive This! Part of the proceeds from this album were donated to the Leary Firefighters Foundation.

A separate fund run by Leary's foundation, the Fund for New York's Bravest , has distributed over $2 million to the families of the 343 firemen killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001 in addition to providing funding for necessities such as a new mobile command center, first responder training, and a high-rise simulator for the New York City Fire Department 's training campus. This new fund was established because the families of the Worcester fire did not want to include New York families into the fund. As a result, Leary created a separate fund for New York.

As the foundation's president, Leary has been active in all of the fundraising, usually presenting large checks and donated equipment personally. The close relationship he has developed with the FDNY as well as with individual firefighters across the New York/ New England area has resulted in Leary's most recent television show, Rescue Me (TV series)|Rescue Me , a comedy-drama on FX Networks|FX . In the television pilot|pilot episode of the show, he is seen wearing a Leary Firefighter Foundation 9-11 Memorial T-shirt.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Leary donated over a dozen boats to the New Orleans Fire Department to aid in rescue efforts in future disasters. The foundation also rebuilt entire NOLA firehouses.

Controversies

Statements concerning autism

In his 2008 book Why We Suck|Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid , Leary said:

In response to the controversy, Leary stated that the quote was taken out of context and that in that paragraph he had been talking about the trend of overdiagnosis of autism, which he attributed to American parents seeking an excuse for behavioral problems and underperformance. Later, he apologized to parents with autistic children whom he had offended.

Allegations of plagiarism

For many years, Leary had been friends with fellow comedian Bill Hicks . When Leary's comedy album No Cure for Cancer was released, many people believed Leary had stolen Hicks' act and material. The friendship ended abruptly as a result. Hicks once told an interviewer: "I have a scoop for you. I stole his act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did".

At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks' material, comedic persona and attitude. One similar routine was about the band Judas Priest , during which Hicks says, "I don’t think we lost a cancer cure."
During a 2003 Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke , a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast. (dead link as of at least March 26, 2009)

The feud is also mentioned in Cynthia True 's biography American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story :

According to the book, True said upon hearing a tape of Leary's album No Cure for Cancer , "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it."

In a 2008 appearance on The Opie and Anthony Show , comedian Louis CK claimed that Leary stole his "I'm an asshole" routine, which was then expanded upon and turned into a hit song by Leary. (Flash). On a later episode of the same show, Leary challenged this assertion by claiming that he (Leary) co-wrote the song with Chris Phillips. (Flash).

Awards

Year	Result	Award	Category	Film/ Show
2009	nom	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Recount (2008)
2008	nom	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Recount (2008)
2007	nom	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Rescue Me
2007	nom	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Series, Drama	Rescue Me
2007	nom	Prism Awards	Performance in a Drama Series, Multi-Episode Storyline	Rescue Me
2006	nom	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Rescue Me
2006	nom	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Series, Drama	Rescue Me
2006	nom	Prism Awards	Performance in a Drama Series, Multi-Episode Storyline	Rescue Me
2005	nom	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Rescue Me
2005	nom	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama	Rescue Me
2005	nom	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Series, Drama	Rescue Me
2003	nom	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie	Ice Age (film)>Ice Age
2003	nom	DVD Exclusive Awards	Best Actor	Double Whammy (2001)
2002	nom	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy	The Job
2000	won	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama/ Romance	The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
1996	won	CableACE Awards	Best Directing: Comedy	'' National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins (1995)
1992	won	Edinburgh International Arts Festival	Critic's Award	No Cure for Cancer (1992)
1992	won	BBC Festival	Recommendation Award	No Cure for Cancer (1992)

Filmography

Films

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1987
1991
1993
	'' Who's the Man?
	Demolition Man
	Loaded Weapon 1>National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
	Judgment Night
1994
	Gunmen
	Natural Born Killers
1995
	Operation Dumbo Drop
	The Neon Bible
1996
1996	Two If by Sea
1997
	Love Walked In
	Subway Stories
	Wag the Dog
	Suicide Kings
	The Real Blonde
	The MatchMaker
1998
	Wide Awake
	Small Soldiers
	'' A Bug's Life
1999
	'' Jesus' Son
	Do Not Disturb
	The Thomas Crown Affair
2000
	Lakeboat
	Company Man
2001
2001	Final
2002
	Ice Age (film)>Ice Age
	The Secret Lives of Dentists
2003
	The Curse of the Bambino
	Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino
2006
2008
2009
2012
2012	Ice Age: Continental Drift

TV shows

Year
1987
1990
1992
1994
1995
1995	Mike & Spike
1998
1998
1998
2001–2002
2001–2002
2002
2002
2004–2011
2005
	Last Call with Carson Daly
	The Tony Danza Show
	The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
2006
	Late Show with David Letterman
	'' Late Night with Conan O'Brien
	Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
	Jay Leno (1992 TV series)>The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2007
	The Ellen DeGeneres Show
	The View (U.S. TV series)>The View
2008
	The Simpsons
	Family Guy
	The Bonnie Hunt Show
	Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2009
2009	'' The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
2010
2011

TV commercials

Quaker State (make of oil)|Quaker State Motor Oil

MTV promos (1991–93)

Lotus Notes

Holsten O'Pils beer

Ford F-150 (voice only) (2009–2011)

Hulu (2009)

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket (2009)

Discography

1993: No Cure for Cancer

1997: '' Lock 'N Load (album)|Lock 'n Load

2004: '' Merry F %$in' Christmas|Merry F#%$in' Christmas

Bibliography

2008: Why We Suck|Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid , Viking ISBN 978-0-670-03160-3

2010: Suck On This Year : LYFAO @ 140 Characters or Less , Viking ISBN 978-0-670-02289-2

Copyright Citations

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