Before Larry the Cable Guy, There was Dan Whitney.
Filed Under Stand-Up Comedy
Incredibly fascinating video found on the site Lafflink of Dan Whitney, a.k.a. Larry the Cable Guy, back before he found his blue collar persona. Looks a lot like many other 80s comics - khakis, sneaks and brightly-colored shirt. And check out the mullet.
I guess you might chalk up the “Larry” persona to the evolution of a comic, although “Larry” probably doesn’t believe in evolution. (But maybe Dan does?) Plus, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him deliver the same joke as “Larry.”
Some might say this gives ammunition for the arguments in David Cross’s letter from late last year, specifically the “blatant and gross marketing and selling of (a) bullshit character to (Larry’s) beloved fans.” I’ve come to the conclusion that most of “Larry’s” fans probably think of “Larry” like they think of wrestlers like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or “Triple H” - as characters. They know it’s not real, but it’s kinda fun to pretend it is. Of course once they know how unreal… does it matter? Probably not. But “Larry” has been pretty good of keeping Dan a mystery. Until now.
(Dan Whitney video originally found through A Special Thing - best comedy message board eva!)
I have to disagree. I find Larry the Cable Guy funny in a “meh” kind of way, but his popularity scares me. And the way culture is today, I don’t know if most of his fans know that it is a character. I understand the wrestling analogy, but characters as stand-ups isn’t as well-known as wrestling yet so I don’t think his fans really think “Hey, this is a fictional character.” And I don’t think they understand that what he says on stage might not be what he really thinks. And that is what scares me.