If you don’t know the famous phrase “Git-R-Done” by now then chances are you aren’t a huge fan of the trailer park comedy that’s currently sweeping the nation. His fans are pouring in by the pickup truckload, and he has truly become one of the modern expert comedians on catchphrase humor. However, the man behind the Larry the Cable Guy character is much different in real life and most fans are surprised to learn that Larry is not his real name at all.
His name is Daniel Lawrence Whitney, and he was born in 1963 in Pawnee City, Nebraska. Whitney grew up in Nebraska and moved to Florida when he was just sixteen years old. His early life showed no signs of comedic genius, nor did he have any influence in the household. His father was surprisingly a preacher and once played guitar with the Everly Brothers. Whitney’s skills were limited to fries and double cheeseburgers until he quit his job at Wendy’s in 1985 to pursue stand-up comedy. After all, with a job like that you have plenty of opportunities to think of material for your act. After several amateur night appearances, he took the advice from friends and decided to take his act on air at the local radio comedy show. His act included prank calls to the stations as fictional characters. The “Larry the Cable Guy” fictional character was one of those prank acts and he decided to adopt this as his on stage persona. Needless to say, he never actually installed cable.
His radio success caught fire. Before long, Whitney or “Larry the Cable Guy” by this time had done stints on Rock 100 WDIZ and Mix 93.3 WJRR in Orlando. He was a regular on the Ron and Ron Show also. This road led him to the Blue Collar Boys and ultimately this was where his success began. This is where I first ran across Larry the Cable Guy. For those of you not familiar, the Blue Collar Comedy tour included some of the south’s best and most creative comedians like Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, and Bill Engvall. This tour was a huge success, and it led to a deal with Comedy Central for a show appropriately titled, Blue Collar TV. He’s also been in a few films including “Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector” and an animated film titled “Cars” where he did voice-overs for a rusty tow truck. Also, his newest addition “Delta Force” will be in theatres soon and this movie was done with fellow Blue Collar co-star, Bill Engvall. He’s also had huge success in Comedy CD’s, picking up where Jeff Foxworthy left off. The Right to Bare Arms has had lots of success and has recently become one of the biggest selling comedy albums of all time. Talk about success; going from Wendy’s to buying large homes.
For those of you not familiar with Larry the Cable Guy, you may be wondering what his act involves. Well, Larry is a master in catchphrase comedy and involves Redneck-style humor delivered in a very thick Southern accent. He mostly discusses his family, and between jokes he’s known to deliver his trademark “Git-R-Done” phrase. Some of the stories he tells about his fictional family include his grandmother with walking farts, a very obese sister that prefers onion rings to belly rings, and a brother who is deaf and has Tourette’s syndrome and often flips the bird while signing.
The most enigmatic thing about Daniel Whitney is his life outside of the Larry the Cable Guy character. In fact, Larry is just Whitney’s shell and he’s a much deeper, sincere person in real life. Daniel Whitney is a very hard-working, confident guy that just happens to be a comedian. And that southern accent that so many people have come to adore from Larry? Though he grew up in Nebraska, Daniel Whitney openly admits that he lays the accent on strong when he hits the stage. Whitney lives in Florida with his wife and son Wyatt. I recently saw in a 60 Minutes interview where Whitney admitted his love for the University of Nebraska football, and in fact he’s been known to where something Nebraska related at each of his appearances. His agent was also featured in the interview and admitted that Larry makes anywhere from $300,000-$500,000 for a 2 hour appearance. He’s made millions from his basic comedy routines.
For those of you not familiar with Larry the Cable Guy you’re probably asking yourself what the big deal is. Why is this guy so popular? I think it says it all in the title of his popular tour, “Blue Collar Comedy.” Larry has touched on a specific niche, something that most comedians tend to overlook; modern hard-working, blue collar, Chevrolet loving American citizens. It’s safe to say that Larry the Cable has “Got-R-Done.”
