Steven Wright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steven Wright | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Wright at Tufts University, 1994 | |
| Birth name | Steven Alexander Wright |
| Born | December 6, 1955 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Medium | stand-up, film, television |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1979 - present |
| Genres | Surreal humor, post-modernism, Wit/Word play, Observational comedy, Musical comedy, Deadpan |
| Influences | Woody Allen, George Carlin[1] |
| Influenced | Mitch Hedberg, Demetri Martin, Jimmy Carr |
| Notable works and roles | I Have a Pony K-Billy DJ in Reservoir Dogs Speed in The Swan Princess Guy on the Couch in Half Baked I Still Have a Pony |
| Website | StevenWright.com |
| Academy Awards | |
| Best Short Film, Live Action 1988 The Appointments of Dennis Jennings |
|
Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, witty, philosophical and sometimes confusing or nonsensical jokes and one-liners with intentionally overly-contrived situations.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Wright was born in Burlington, Massachusetts, the son of Dolly Wright. His father was an electronics company executive.[2] Wright attended Emerson College and began performing stand-up comedy in 1982.[3]
[edit] Career
Wright's 1985 comedy album entitled I Have a Pony, released on Warner Bros. Records, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 1989, he won an Academy Award for his short film, The Appointments of Dennis Jennings. In 1992, Wright had a recurring role on the television sitcom Mad About You. He also supplied the voice of the radio DJ in the film Reservoir Dogs.
Numerous lists of jokes attributed to Wright circulate on the Internet, sometimes of dubious origin. Wright has stated
"Someone showed me a site, and half of it that said I wrote it, I didn't write. Recently, I saw one, and I didn't write any of it. What's disturbing is that with a few of these jokes, I wish I had thought of them. A giant amount of them, I'm embarrassed that people think I thought of them, because some are really bad."[4]
After his 1990 comedy special Wicker Chairs and Gravity, Wright continued to do live stand-up performances, but was largely absent from television, only doing occasional guest spots on late night talk shows. In 2006, Wright noticed that much of his audience in recent years was getting older and wanted to reach out to a generation that only knew him from films like Half Baked. He produced his first stand-up special in 16 years, Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away, originally aired on Comedy Central on October 21st, 2006 and again a day after its DVD release date, Wednesday, April 24.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was named #23 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
On September 25, 2007, Wright released a follow-up to I Have a Pony, titled I Still Have a Pony (a CD release of the material from When the Leaves Blow Away). It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
[edit] Filmography
- Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) as Larry Stillman D.D.S.
- The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1988) (short film) (Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film)
- Stars and Bars (1988) as Pruitt
- Reservoir Dogs (1992) (voice only) as K-Billy DJ
- So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) as Pilot
- Natural Born Killers (1994) as Dr. Emil Reingold
- The Swan Princess (1994) as Speed (voice)
- Mixed Nuts (1994) as Suicidal man at pay phone
- Canadian Bacon (1995) as Canadian Mounted Police Officer
- Half Baked (1998) as The Guy on the Couch (uncredited)
- Babe: Pig in the City (1998) as Bob (voice)
- One Soldier (1999) (short film)
- The Muse (1999)
- Loser (2000) as Man in Bar
- Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) as Steven
- The Aristocrats (2005) as himself
- When Stand Up Stood Out (2005) as himself
- Son of the Mask (2005) as The Boss
[edit] Discography
- I Have a Pony, Warner Bros. Records CD (1985)
- A Steven Wright Special, HBO DVD (1985)
- The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, DVD (1989)
- One Soldier, DVD (1999)
- When the Leaves Blow Away, DVD (2006)
- I Still Have a Pony, Comedy Central Records CD (2007)
[edit] References
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Steven Wright |
[edit] External links
- Official site
- MySpace profile: myspace.com/comedianstevenwright
- Steven Wright at the Internet Movie Database
- Jokes attributed to Steven Wright with actual authors identified
- Video of Steven Wright performing stand-up on his most recent comedy special "When the Leaves Blow Away"
- The Onion A.V. Club interview
- Interview: Steven Wright Riverfront Times. October 2008.
