Colin Quinn is an American comedian.
He was born in Brooklyn and was raised in the Park
Slope section of the borough. His gravelly Brooklyn
accent and mannerisms are a trademark of his performances,
as are his political commentaries, working-class humor,
and cynical delivery.
Prior to becoming a comedian, Quinn worked as a bartender.
He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several
bad experiences while drunk, including nights spent
in jail and blackouts that led to him not knowing where
he was. In 2004, stand-up Dom Irrera said Quinn used
to be a "fat, bloated, alcoholic bartender";
he himself has used the term "blackout drunk" to
describe his previous drinking habits.
After leaving bartending, Quinn got his start in
stand-up comedy in 1984. Although some people believe
Jon Stewart wrote the jokes for Quinn's stand-up act,
this is false; Stewart only wrote jokes for a television
show Quinn hosted in 1989 called Caroline's Comedy
Hour, which aired on the A&E network.
He first achieved fame in 1987 as co-host of the
MTV game show Remote Control, which also featured performances
by Adam Sandler and Denis Leary. He remained co-host
of the show for three years, and in 1989 wrote and
performed in the popular comedic short Going Back to
Brooklyn along with Ben Stiller.
Much of his early comedic career focused on writing
in addition to stand-up, including a stint as a writer
for the popular show In Living Color. He also co-wrote
the storyline and was an associate producer for the
movie Celtic Pride, starring Damon Wayans and Dan Aykroyd.
In 1995, Quinn was hired by Saturday Night Live,
working as a writer and featured player until the beginning
of the 1998 season, when he became a full cast member.
He established himself on the show with characters
such as "Lenny the Lion" and "Joe Blow",
and as well as the recurring segment "Colin Quinn
Explains the New York Times". Quinn took over
as host of the "Weekend Update" segment in
January, 1998 after the firing of Norm MacDonald; he
remained the anchor until his departure from SNL in
2000.
Also during his SNL period, Quinn made his Broadway
debut in his acclaimed one-man show, Colin Quinn: An
Irish Wake, and was offered the role of Scott Evil
in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery by Mike
Myers, though he turned down the role to work on his
writing projects.
After leaving SNL, Quinn had a sketch comedy show
on NBC called The Colin Quinn Show that lasted for
only three episodes in 2002, after being cancelled
due to its provocative racial content and mediocre
ratings.
Since 2003, Quinn has found success with Tough Crowd
with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central, which has received
solid television ratings and immediately follows The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart. "Tough Crowd",
although having been renewed through the 2005 television
season, was put on an "indefinite hiatus" in
October, 2004, having its "final" episode
on November 4, 2004. |
