Colin Quinn
(born June 6, 1959) is an Irish-American comedian, best known for his five years in the cast of Saturday Night Live
, and as an MTV personality in the late 1980s.
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Early years
Colin Quinn was born in
Brooklyn to an
Irish-American family and was raised in the
Windsor Terrace section of the borough. His natural
Brooklyn accent and idiosyncratic mannerisms are trademarks of his stand-up act, headlining at top comedy clubs across the country, including
Caroline's Comedy Club in
New York City. Before becoming a comedian, Quinn worked as a
bartender. He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several bad experiences with alcohol, including drunken blackouts and nights spent in jail.
[1]
After quitting bartending, Quinn began his
stand-up career in 1984. He first achieved fame in 1987 as co-host of the
MTV game show Remote Control
, which he did for three years. In 1989, he hosted
A&E stand-up showcase
Caroline's Comedy Hour
, and acted in and wrote the comedic short/music video
Going Back to Brooklyn
along with
Ben Stiller. Much of his early comedy career focused on stand-up and writing for shows like
In Living Color
. He later co-wrote the story and was an associate producer for the movie
Celtic Pride
, starring
Damon Wayans and
Dan Aykroyd.
Saturday Night Live
In 1995, Quinn was hired by
Saturday Night Live
as a writer and featured player until 1997–1998 season, when he became a full cast member. He established himself on the show with characters such as "Lenny the Lion" and "Joe Blow", and did the recurring segment "
Colin Quinn Explains the New York Times
". Quinn took over as host of the
Weekend Update
segment in
January 1998 after
Norm Macdonald's firing, and anchored the segment until departing
SNL
in 2000. Quinn would often comment on the highly publicized
media circuses such as
Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal and the
Microsoft Anti-Trust Trial.
At the end of each
Weekend Update
segment, he would use the catchphrase, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it," a line from a 1993 hit country song from
Collin Raye. During his time on
SNL
, Quinn often struggled to read from
cue cards or a
teleprompter. He was not thrilled about his run on the show, declaring on an episode of
Tough Crowd
, "I don't miss it."
During his
SNL
years, Quinn made his
Broadway debut in his one-man show,
Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake
co-written with fellow comedian Lou DiMaggio, and was offered the role of Scott Evil in
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
by
Mike Myers, which he turned down to make time for his writing projects . The role was taken by
Seth Green.
Recurring Characters on SNL
- Gene, an ex-convict who does menial jobs.
- Joe Blow, a blue-collar worker from Queens who complains about the declining quality of his neighborhood.
- Lenny The Lion, a lion, similar to his Joe Blow character, only he talks about trying to better himself.
- Rolf, a racist who always has second thoughts about his behavior.
Celebrity characters
- Dale Jarrett
- Elvis Costello
- Gerry Adams
- Leon Panetta
- Robert De Niro in the now infamous "Joe Pesci Show" sketch where the real Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci make a surprise appearance.
Post-SNL career
After leaving
SNL
, Quinn had a
sketch comedy show on
NBC called
The Colin Quinn Show
that lasted for only three episodes in 2002, after being canceled due to poor critical reception, and mediocre
ratings.
Quinn became host of
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
on
Comedy Central in 2003. The show immediately followed
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
, and was one of several attempts to create a companion show for Stewart's program. However, Tough Crowd never managed to keep the majority of its lead-in audience. Although it was renewed through the 2005 television season,
Tough Crowd
was placed on indefinite hiatus in October 2004, with its "final" episode airing on
November 4,
2004. The show featured four comedians (often his friends such as
Dave Attell,
Jim Norton, and
Patrice Oneal) with Quinn as host, discussing various political issues in conversations that were often heated and almost violent. Quinn gave many comedians exposure on the show, which ran for roughly 250 episodes over a two-year period. Quinn often complained on-air about the show's ratings, and made many self-deprecating comments about the state of his career.
Colin performs regularly at the
Comedy Cellar in New York City, where many top comedians perform when not on the road. In 2004, he was named #56 on
Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. He was also named to the
Irish America Magazine
list of the "Top 100 Irish Americans of the Year".
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He would later be heard as the "unofficial co-host" on the
Nick DiPaolo show on the now-defunct 92.3
Free FM in New York City, airing Monday-Friday from noon to 3pm. Quinn and DiPaolo were originally slated to host the show together on
WJFK-FM, but the station decided not to pick up the show. Nick often referred to Quinn as "the joke fairy," due to his propensity for telling a joke and hanging up the phone before getting a response. Quinn used to appear on a top ten podcast on
MySpace with friend and fellow comedian
Robert Kelly but suddenly stopped because he thought it resembled too closely of a radio show. Colin Quinn is also a regular guest on
The Opie & Anthony Show
. Recently Quinn has discussed what he refers to as thousands of pages of "manifestos" that he's written since his departure from
Tough Crowd
, but never elaborated on the contents.
In March 2009, Quinn hosted a mildly retarded boy from the Miserable Men Show radio program at the request of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Filmography
- Harold
(2008) as Reedy
- Inked
(2005) TV series (5000 episodes)
- Windy City Heat
(2003) (TV) as Talk Show Guest
- Crooked Lines
(2003) as Annoying Customer
- Saturday Night Live
as Various /(97 episodes, 1995-2000)
- A Night at the Roxbury
(1998) as Dooey
- Pulp Comics: Jim Breuer
(1997) (TV) as Cop
- The Christmas Tree
(1996) (TV) as Tom
- The Larry Sanders Show
as Cully (1 episode, 1995)
- Who's the Man?
(1993) as Frankie Flynn
- True Blue
(1 episode, 1990)
- Manly World
(1990) TV series
- Caroline's Comedy Hour
(1989) TV series as Host (unknown episodes)
- 2 Hip 4 TV
(1988) TV series
- Married to the Mob
(1988) as Homicide Detective
- Crocodile Dundee II
(1988) as Onlooker at Mansion
- The Cosby Show
as Davey Herbeck (1 episode, 1988)
- 3 Men and a Baby
(1987) as Gift Shop Clerk
References
- http://www.askmen.com/toys/interview_60/99_colin_quinn_interview.html