Dane Cook

From LoveToKnow Celebrity

Dane Cook
Born As:	Dane Jeffrey Cook
Birthdate:	March 18, 1972
Best Known As:	Comedian/Actor
Website:	DaneCook.com

Dane Cook is hot. His talents have burned up comedy club stages, airwaves and the silver screen for the last few years and if you blink, you just might miss what he's doing next.

Comedian and actor Dane Cook

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Getting Personal

Dane Cook was born March 18,1972 in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Donna Cook. He has five sisters and one brother. His goal in life was to host Saturday Night Live, which he finally did in 2005. He started performing stand-up at 18 and within five years, he moved from Boston to Los Angeles. His mother died from cancer in 2005. He said his influences include comedians Bill Cosby, Red Skelton, George Carlin and Johnny Carson. He lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Raquel Houghton, lead singer of the Valli Girls.

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Rise to Fame

Within two years of coming to the West Coast, he made his stand-up television debut on Late Night with David Letterman. In 2000, Cook appeared on Comedy Central Presents. By that time, he had already co-starred in five movies, one of which -- Spiral -- garnered him the coveted Internet Pixie award for Best Actor in an i-Feature Film.

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Making History

Fame for Dane Cook came via the Internet in 2000 when, in a bold move, he spent $25,000 to launch DaneCook.com. Although criticized by his peers, he used this as the only venue to publicize and sell out his comedy showcases. His Web site receives roughly 250,000 hits a month.

Cook also made history in 2005 when his second album, Retaliation, debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 -- making him the highest-charting comedian in 25 years. That same year he founded Superfinger Entertainment to produce his own albums and videos.

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Comedy Career

Dane Cook at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards

From small, dingy comedy clubs to headlining Carnegie Hall, Dane Cook has paid his dues to become one of the most influential comics of his time. His observational humor at warp-speed pace landed him appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (1999), as well as:

Comic Relief (2006)
The Tonight Show (2001-2006)
Crank Yankers (2002-2003)
The Man Show (2001)
Comics Come Home hosted by Denis Leary (1999)
Suddenly Susan (1998)
Premium Blend (1998)

He was a presenter at the 2005 and 2006 MTV Music Video Awards and hosted the 2006 Teen Choice Awards.

In 2003, he released his debut album Harmful if Swallowed on the Comedy Central label, which included a DVD of his appearances on Comedy Central. It has sold more than 450,000 copies.

In June 2006, he directed and starred in the six-episode HBO series Tourgasm, a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road as a comedian. It also starred funny men Jay Cook, Gary Gulman and Robert Kelly. Critics were never totally taken with the show, claiming it was boring and not very funny. The series is now available on DVD.

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Film Career

Early in his career, Dane Cook took the leap from comedian to actor -- a gutsy move that helped skyrocket the livelihoods of fellow comedians Ray Romano, George Lopez and Denis Leary. He has acted in more than a dozen movies, including:

London (2005)
Waiting (2005)
Stuck on You (2003)
8 Guys (2003)
Mystery Men (1999)

Dane Cook's latest film, Employee of the Month (October 2006), with Jessica Simpson received only mediocre reviews. Critics claimed it borrowed from other successful films including Office Space, Empire Records and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. While reviewers said it had its funny moments, Cook's comedic talents just didn't shine. This was his first starring role in a movie.

Cook has three films expected for release in 2007:

Dan in Real Life, co-starring Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche and John Mahoney
Good Luck Chuck, co-starring Dan Fogler, Michael Teigen and Michelle Harrison
Mr. Brooks, co-starring Kevin Costner, William Hurt and Demi Moore

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Awards

Dane Cook, right, with the cast of London -- Chris Evans, Joy Bryant and Jessica Biel

Dane Cook has won several awards for his acting and stand-up comedy, including:

Winner (2006), Comedy Central's Stand-Up Showdown
Big Entertainer Award (2006), VH1 Big in '06 Awards
Rolling Stone magazine (2006), Hot Comic of the Year
Coolest Comic of the Year (2006), Stuff magazine
Pixie Award (2000), Best Actor in an i-Feature Film, Spiral

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The Controversy

What celebrity doesn't have a little controversy following him? In July 2006, Cook appeared at the Vancouver Yuk-Yuks comedy club and asked to go on before the headliner because he had to work on Employee of the Month the next morning. Management agreed, but Cook went overboard and over time, ignoring the club's red light, which meant his routine had to finish. His microphone was cut off and Cook walked off stage angry, leaving his fans confused. Because of this, the headliner, Peter Kelamis, never took the stage and claimed Cook was "arrogant" for not giving up the mike when he was supposed to. Cook has refused to step foot on a Yuk-Yuks stage again.

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Dane Cook Trivia

He is of Italian and Irish heritage.
He worked at Burger King (which he now calls the BK Lounge) where his brother was a manager.
He shares a birthday with singer/actress Queen Latifah.
The Boston Red Sox are his favorite baseball team.
Cook was on Time magazine's list of 100 influential people of 2006.
He is looking for fans to take pictures of the infamous SUperFInger hand gesture and e-mail them to his MySpace site.

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