Dane Cook

Dane Cook

Dane Cook is an American stand-up comedian and screen actor from Boston, with an early life in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he attends Arlington High School and is raised Roman Catholic. He starts performing stand-up in 1990 and builds a large following through club work, television appearances, albums, films, and a strong online presence.

Comedy style and material

Cook’s material is mainly observational, with routines that cover subjects such as car accidents, his time working at Burger King, and geek-related humour. He often uses his own slang terms for everyday things: Burger King becomes the “BK Lounge”, Walgreens becomes “The Wall”, and a sandwich becomes a “sangwich”. He also helps popularise the acronym BAMF, which he uses as a variation on “BMF”.

Early career and television

As a teenager, Cook discovers his comedic ability after his father, former radio personality George Cook, gives him a tape recorder and microphone. He cites comedians and presenters including Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, George Carlin and Red Skelton among his influences, and later says that seeing Martin Short’s Ed Grimley on Saturday Night Live gives him the ambition to appear on the show himself. He makes his television debut in 1995 as Kyle in five episodes of the short-lived ABC series Maybe This Time. His early stand-up exposure includes appearances on Premium Blend in 1998 and Comics Come Home the following year, and he later appears on Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Bar Mitzvah Bash.

Albums, website and wider profile

Cook releases his first comedy album, Harmful If Swallowed, in 2003, and also issues 8 Guys, a film he writes, directs and stars in. In 2001, he funds and launches DaneCook.com with $25,000 from his own savings and retirement accounts, using it to connect directly with fans. His online presence, together with his MySpace activity, helps raise his profile.

His second album, Retaliation, becomes a major breakthrough and reaches number 4 on Billboard’s Top Albums chart. The album leads to broader attention, including a nationwide tour called “Tourgasm”, a subsequent HBO programme based on the tour, and a high-profile set of television and public appearances. He later performs a three-minute routine at the MTV Video Music Awards and hosts Saturday Night Live, where he delivers the show’s longest monologue and does so with a handheld microphone.

Film work and other projects

Cook’s film roles include “The Waffler” in Mystery Men and Nick Miranda in the straight-to-video Simon Sez. He also appears in Employee of the Month and Mr. Brooks. Beyond performance, he starts his own production company, Superfinger Entertainment, to produce his albums and videos. He is also associated with the “Super Finger” or “Su-Fi” hand gesture, which he adopts and discusses on his website.

Recognition and controversy

Cook is named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2006. His work also attracts criticism over similarities between some of his routines and material previously performed by other comedians. He remains a notable figure in American stand-up for combining observational comedy, internet promotion and mainstream television and film work.