Rick Shapiro (born April 13, 1959) is a Los Angeles–based comedian and actor.
Life and career
Shapiro was born in
New Jersey. Spending his early years in New York City and New Jersey, Shapiro started his career in the early 1980s as a comedian at Catch A Rising Star on Broadway.
Besides performing regularly on stage,
throughout the 1990s he acted and starred in multiple films by
Louis CK, including
Ice Cream (1993) and
Tomorrow Night (1998).
[See filmography below] Additionally, he portrayed the re-occurring character "Angry Poet" in
Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In 1998, Shapiro released his first comedy CD called
Unconditional Love, which Billboard called "hard-edged and uncompromising".
In the 2000s, Shapiro's career continues in multiple fields. He is performing stand-up comedy nationally and internationally, debuting a one-man show in 2007 in the Edinburgh Festival,[Produced by Calvin Wynter at The Green Room.]
Shapiro has an active acting career, appearing in numerous film and television productions. In film, his most recent roles are in Top Five by Chris Rock, portraying T-Rick in the movie Project X, and acting in the German comedy Timeless.[.] His television credits include Jerry in Lucky Louie by Louis C.K. on HBO. Additionally, he appears in a scene originally filmed for the pilot of Louie.
Shapiro's first book Unfiltered,[Published by Paradisiac Publishing, ] containing over 200 previously unreleased writings, was released in 2012 along with his second CD, Catalyst for Change.[Produced by Stand-Up Records]
In 2013, Rick Shapiro was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Style
Shapiro is mainly known for his stream-of-consciousness monologues on stage that can run for more than an hour, in which he addresses many topics that are controversial or considered taboo by most comedians.
His comedic style has been described as "explosive".
[.]
Filmography (excerpt)
-
Joey (1986) as Larry
-
True Love as Kevin
-
Caesar's Salad (1990) (short film)
[.]
-
Ice Cream (1993) as Man's Brother (short film)
[.]
-
Brunch (1995) as Old Woman (short film)
[.][.]
-
Highjacker (1998) as Highjacker (short film)
[ Please note: Although the upload is titled "Hijacker" in the youtube-description, the film is clearly called "Highjacker" in the actual film's opening credits.]
-
Tomorrow Night (1998) as Tina
-
Pootie Tang (2001) as Shakey
-
Lucky Louie (2006–2007) as Jerry
-
Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) as Waylon Mason
-
Louie (2010) uncredited
-
The League (2011) as Bum
-
Project X (2012) as T-Rick
-
Top Five (2014)
[ Please note: IMDB refers to the film as "Finally Famous". According to the film's wikipedia-page, its title has officially been changed to "Top Five". In the filmography it is therefore listed as "Top Five"] as Biker AA Guy; Uncredited
-
Maron (2014–2016) as Bernie
-
Timeless (2016) as State's Attorney / Special Agent / Paratrooper / Repairman
-
Heart, Baby (2017) as Shaky J
External links
