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Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and film producer. He is known for his distinctive lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of irony, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical , , non sequiturs, anti-humor, and One-line joke with contrived situations.
Wright was ranked as the 15th Greatest Comedian by Rolling Stone in its 2017 list of the 50 Greatest Stand-up Comics. His accolades include the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for starring in, writing, and producing the short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1988) and two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations as a producer of Louie (2010–2015). He had a supporting role as Leon in the Peabody Award–winning tragicomedy web series Horace and Pete.
Wright attended Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts, for two years to earn his associate degree, then continued his education at Emerson College. He graduated from Emerson in 1978.
By then Wright had developed a new brand of relaxed performing and was building a cultlike following. His onstage persona was characterized by an aura of obscurity and his penchant for non sequiturs added to his mystique. The performance became one of HBO's longest-running and most requested comedy specials and propelled him to great success on the college-arena concert circuit.
In 1995, Wright provided voiceover work for TBS's Disaster Area cartoon block.
Numerous lists of jokes attributed to Wright circulate on the Internet, sometimes of dubious origin. Wright has said, "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."
After his 1990 comedy special Wicker Chairs and Gravity, Wright continued to do stand-up performances, but these were largely absent from television, and he only occasionally made guest spots on late-night talk shows. In 1999, he wrote and directed the 30-minute short One Soldier, saying it's "about a soldier who was in the Civil War, right after the war, with all these existentialist thoughts and wondering if there is a God and all that stuff."
In May 2000, Wright and other Ding Ho alumni, including Lenny Clarke, Barry Crimmins, Steve Sweeney, Bill Sohonage and Jimmy Tingle, appeared at a reunion benefit for comic Bob Lazarus, who was diagnosed with leukemia.Baltrusis, Sam (April 8, 2008). "Steven Wright headlines Ding Ho reunion benefit" . LoadedGunBoston.com; accessed April 5, 2022.
In 2006, Wright produced his first stand-up special in 16 years, Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away, originally aired on Comedy Central on October 21, 2006. On September 25, 2007, Wright released his second album, I Still Have a Pony, a CD release of the material from When The Leaves Blow Away. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Beginning in 2008, Wright occasionally appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as a visiting celebrity, often dropping by to help with the fan-mail segment. He joined a small cadre of Hollywood comedy celebrities who supported the show.
On December 15, 2008, Wright became the first inductee to the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame.Miller, Jay, N. (December 15, 2008). "The Wright stuff; Boston comedian is the first inductee into the hall of fame". The Patriot Ledger. (Quincy, Massachusetts), Features; pg. 23.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was named No. 23 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics. Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of all Time, Everything2.com
Career
Wright began performing stand-up comedy in 1979 at the Comedy Connection in Boston. Wright cites stand-up comic George Carlin and director and former stand-up comic Woody Allen as comedic influences. In 1982, Peter Lassally, executive producer of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, saw Wright performing on a bill with other local comics at the Ding Ho comedy club in Cambridge, a venue Wright described as "half Chinese restaurant and half comedy club. It was a pretty weird place." Lassally booked Wright on The Tonight Show, and Wright so impressed host Johnny Carson and the studio audience that less than a week later he was invited to appear on the show again.
Stand-up success
Wright's 1985 comedy album I Have a Pony was released on Warner Bros. Records, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. The album's success landed him an HBO special, in the On Location: series, taped at Wolfgang's in San Francisco. It was broadcast as A Steven Wright Special.
Continued success beyond stand-up
In 1989, Wright and fellow producer Dean Parisot won an Academy Awards for their 30-minute short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, directed by Parisot, written by Mike Armstrong and Wright, and starring Wright and Rowan Atkinson. Upon accepting the Oscar, Wright said, "We're really glad that we cut out the other sixty minutes." In 1992, Wright had a recurring role on the television sitcom Mad About You. He also supplied the voice of the radio DJ in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs that year. "Dean Parisot's wife Sally Menke is Quentin Tarantino's film Film editing, so when she was editing the movie and it was getting down toward the end where they didn't have the radio DJ yet, she thought of me and told Quentin and he liked the idea," Wright explained in 2009.
Awards and honors
Wright was awarded an Oscar in 1989 for Best Short Live-Action Film for The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, which he co-wrote (with Michael Armstrong) and starred in.Nathan Rabin, "Interview: Steven Wright," The A.V. Club, November 9, 2006. He received two Emmy Awards nominations as part of the producing team of Louie, first in 2014 and again in 2015.
Other interests
Wright is a musician and has recorded several non-comedy songs with his friend and occasional actor Mark Wuerthner. He also has an interest in painting.
Filmography
Film
1979 The Last Word Man in Crowd 1985 Desperately Seeking Susan Larry Stillman D.D.S. 1986 Coffee and Cigarettes Steven Short film; also writer 1988 The Appointments of Dennis Jennings Dennis Jennings Also writer and producer Stars and Bars Pruitt 1990 Men of Respect Sterling 1992 Reservoir Dogs K-Billy DJ (voice) 1993 So I Married an Axe Murderer Pilot 1994 The Swan Princess Speed (voice) Natural Born Killers Dr. Emil Reingold Speechless Eddie Mixed Nuts Man at Pay Phone 1995 For Better or Worse Cabbie Canadian Bacon Niagara Mountie 1998 Half Baked The Guy on the Couch Uncredited Bob (voice) 1999 Goatman 1999 One Soldier Soldier Short; director, writer, producer The Muse Stan Spielberg 2000 Loser Panty Hose Customer 2003 Coffee and Cigarettes Steven Segment: "Strange to Meet You" 2005 Son of the Mask Daniel Moss The Aristocrats Himself When Stand Up Stood Out Himself 2017 The Emoji Movie Mel (voice)
Television
1979 WKRP in Cincinnati Security Officer Episode: "Fish Story" 1980 Lenny Clarke's Late Show Various Series regular 1985 A Steven Wright Special Himself Stand-up special; also writer 1987 Trying Times Dwight Harper Episode: "Get a Job" 1991 Wicker Chairs and Gravity Himself HBO stand-up special;also writer and producer 1992 Bob Noah the Cab Driver Episode: "Mad Dog on 34th Street" 1993 Mad About You Warren Mermelman 5 episodes 1993–1998 The Larry Sanders Show Himself 3 episodes 1995, 1997 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Steven (voice) 2 episodes 1997 Bogeyman (voice) Episode: "Mother Goose" Almost Perfect Ray Whitestone Episode: "Dating for Ratings" 1998 The Simpsons Himself (voice) Episode: "The Last Temptation of Krust" 1998–1999 Hercules Bootes (voice) 2 episodes 1999 Becker Boyd Crossman Episode: "Larry Spoke" Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "Snatch" 2001 The Downer Channel Walter Episode: "#1.2" Disease Hotline (voice) Pilot episode 2006 When the Leaves Blow Away Himself Comedy Central stand-up special; also writer and executive producer 2011 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Danny (voice) Episode: "Allen Part One" 2011–2015 Louie Comic Strip MC / Himself Actor: 2 episodes, story by: "The Road: Part 2", producer: 8 episodes 2015 The Flaming C R.A.N.D.Y. (voice) 2 episodes 2016 Horace and Pete Leon Web series
Discography
Albums
Specials
1985 A Steven Wright Special HBO/Warner Bros. Records Broadcast, DVD (2009) 1990 Wicker Chairs and Gravity HBO Broadcast 2006 When the Leaves Blow Away Comedy Central/RLJE Films Broadcast, DVD (2007), streaming
Appearances
1992 MCA Records 6 tracks of DJ dialogue
Books
(2023). 9781668022696, Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781668022696
External links
Categories: Www.stevenwright.com Official Website, 1955 Births, 20th-century American Comedians, 21st-century American Comedians, 20th-century American Male Actors, 21st-century American Male Actors, American Humorists, American Male Comedians, American Male Film Actors, American Male Television Actors, American Male Voice Actors, American People Of Italian Descent, American People Of Scottish Descent, American Stand-up Comedians, Comedians From Cambridge, Massachusetts, Directors Of Live Action Short Film Academy Award Winners, Emerson College Alumni, Living People, Male Actors From Cambridge, Massachusetts, Middlesex Community College Alumni, People From Burlington, Massachusetts, Warner Records Artists
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