Doug Stanhope is a stand-up comic. He was briefly the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and ABC's The View.

Stanhope's material is often described as offensive, yet his continually invoked dedication to personal freedom and libertarian politics sets him apart from other entertainers. He is a self-confident atheist and alcoholic, and his humor can border on nihilism, despite an evident life-celebrating enthusiasm. With his irate opposition to American puritanical hysteria, Stanhope's work frequently invites comparison with the late Bill Hicks. He frankly describes 'deviant' copulatory activity and sometimes gruesome personal stories gleefully, blurring the lines between an "adventurous spirit" and full-blown "sicko". Stanhope violently opposes the gradual erosion of American civil liberties, particularly in his recent performances such as 'Deadbeat Hero'.

Often subject to large-scale walk-outs by his American audiences, Stanhope himself admits 'It's not unusual in of itself. People will leave. I go on stage, it's like I'm leading you into battle - you're not all going to be here at the end.'

Critics of Stanhope say that his on-stage persona conflicts with his side-projects like Girls Gone Wild and The Man Show. These mainstream "jock" products play to the horny everyman, while Stanhope on-stage defines himself not just as the "crazy" drunken friend, but a full-blown social outsider. Stanhope himself has claimed that the shows attract the wrong audiences for his comic fare. In a show in Houston, Texas Stanhope described one of the "juggies" on The Man Show as being a transvestite and not caring if she was really a dude because he would just "want to poon her in the ass anyway." This was followed by a stereotypical reaction by jocks in the audience.

Others suggest his comedy is base at best, or even self-justifyingly iconoclastic for shock effect -- similar to knee-jerk complaints against Bill Hicks and many other comedians and writers, whose work was initially considered less for meaning and value than for superficial "offensiveness." Of course, users of some psychoactive drugs tend to find humor in many more situations and events than one normally would, especially if the situation involves feces and urine. Under the right circumstances, even vomit can be funny. (See Illustration #3 at right.)

Stanhope was the winner of the San Francisco Comedy Competition and the Strathmore Press Award in Edinburgh for his 2002 British debut. He's released several CDs, Sicko, A Little Something to Take the Edge Off, and Die Laughing. His DVD Word of Mouth was released in 2003 and his most recent DVD/CD is 2004's Deadbeat Hero. He is currently working to establish a tour of little-known but talented, socially relevant and edgy comedians called The Unbookables featuring artists such as Andy Andrist, Sean Rouse, Brett Erickson, Travis Lipski, Norman Wilkerson and others using Father Luke as the official Journalist.