'Drew Allison Carey' (born
May 23,
1958) is an
American comedian and actor. After serving in the
U.S. Marines and making a name for himself in
stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own
sitcom, ''
The Drew Carey Show'', and serving as host on the U.S. version of ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. Carey has appeared in several films and television series, and has written his autobiography.
Carey currently hosts the game show ''
Power of 10'' and on
July 23,
2007, he announced on the ''
Late Show With David Letterman'' that he was replacing
Bob Barker as host of ''
The Price Is Right''.
[Drew Carey to host ''The Price Is Right''. Associated Press July 23 2007.]
Early life
Carey was the youngest of Lewis and Beulah Carey's three boys, and raised in the
Old Brooklyn neighborhood of
Cleveland, Ohio.
[1] When Drew was eight years old his father died from a
brain tumor.
[2] According to his autobiography, he was born with six toes on his right foot, and played the cornet and trumpet in the marching band of James Ford Rhodes High School, from which he graduated in 1975.
[Carey, Drew (1997). Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 078688939X]Carey, Drew (1997). Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 078688939X
He continued on to college at
Kent State University and was expelled twice for poor academic performance. He joined the
Delta Tau Delta fraternity, but left it when he dropped out of KSU after three years.
After leaving the university, Carey joined the
United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1980 and served for six years.
He also relocated to
Las Vegas for a few years in 1984, and for a short time worked as a
bank teller and a waiter at
Denny's.
Stand-up career
In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by a friend to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes.
[3] In 1986, after winning an open-mic contest, he became emcee at the Cleveland Comedy Club.
[4] For the next few years, he performed at multiple comedy clubs in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 ''
Star Search''.
[5] Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''.
[6] His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian.
[7] Carey claims he reached the limit on his credit card the next day returning calls from interested casting directors and he credited Carson with making his career. In that same year, Carey also appeared on the ''14th Annual Young Comedians Special'' on
HBO and made his first appearance on ''
Late Night with David Letterman''.
[8]
In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on
Showtime, entitled ''Drew Carey: Human Cartoon'', for which he won a
CableACE Award for Best Writing.
Acting career
Early roles
With the success from his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, in which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the movie ''
Coneheads'' as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with
John Caponera in ''
The Good Life'', a short-lived
sitcom that aired on
NBC.
[9] After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer
Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for ''The Good Life''), who gave Carey a job as a staff writer for ''The Gaby Hoffman Show''.
''The Drew Carey Show''
Carey and Helford developed the storyline for ''The Drew Carey Show'', which they produced together. The show premiered on
September 13,
1995 on
ABC. In his autobiography, he revealed his frustration with having to deal with
censors and being unable to employ the
off-color humor common to his stand-up routines.
Carey initially earned
$60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $250,000. By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode.
[10] The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and production costs of around $3 million per episode eventually resulted in its cancellation.
[11] The program had a total of 233 episodes and lasted from 1995 to 2004 for nine complete seasons. Carey was the only actor to appear in every episode.
''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''
Drew Carey serving as host on ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''
In 1998, Carey hosted the American version of the
improvisational comedy show ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the show. The show ran for a total of 215 episodes between 1998 and 2006. In 1998, the
New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's
Comedy Central Roast.
His friend
Ryan Stiles (who costarred in ''The Drew Carey Show'' and ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'') served as the roastmaster.
[12]
Improv All-Stars
Carey has also helped to create the Improv All-Stars, which is composed of 11 other members.
[13] The members of the group have joined Carey in both of his two improv shows, ''Whose Line is it Anyway?'' and ''
Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'' and some had major roles or guest starred on his previous shows. The group has traveled on several comedy tours performing at various comedy clubs within the last year.
Game shows
In 2007, Carey began hosting
game shows. His first was the CBS game show ''
Power of 10'', a survey-based quiz with a top prize of $10,000,000 which premiered on
CBS on August 7.
After taping the
pilot episode for ''Power of 10'', he was contacted by CBS regarding the opening caused by the retirement of
Bob Barker at ''
The Price Is Right''. On July
23 2007, Carey officially announced on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman'' that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in fall of 2007.
[14] The game show will have a local connection, as announcer
Rich Fields is also from the Cleveland area. The first actual taping of ''The Price Is Right'' with Carey as host will air
October 15th.
Other roles and appearances
Carey began appearing in commercials for
A&W Restaurants in Canada with
The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after promoting
McDonald's in an episode of ''The Drew Carey Show''.
[15]
On
April 22,
1999 at
Disney-MGM Studios, one of the parks that make up
Walt Disney World Resort, Carey debuted a 12-minute attraction entitled ''Sounds Dangerous!''.
[16] In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective when his video camera fails and the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently running.
In 1999, Carey made a cameo appearance in
Weird Al Yankovic's
music video for "
It's All About the Pentiums". In 2004, he made an appearance for
Fountains of Wayne's video for "Mexican Wine". He gave an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.
In 2000, Carey starred in the
made-for-TV movie ''Geppetto'' for an ABC presentation of the
Wonderful World of Disney.
He provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual
White House Correspondents dinner.
Once he completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President
George W. Bush made a joke of his own noting Carey's improv work, "Drew? Got any interest in the
Middle East?"
[17] In 2003, he joined
Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special ''Play for a Billion'', which was sponsored by
Pepsi and aired on
September 12,
2003.
[18]
Drew Carey performing at Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq on September 28, 2003
Also in September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including
Blake Clark and the
Drew Carey Show's
Kathy Kinney, to a comedy tour of Iraq.
[19] Carey was very well received, as was Clark, for their previous military service.
For
The WB's 2004-2005
prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in ''
Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'', a
spin-off of ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. It was cancelled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by
Comedy Central.
[20]
In 2005, Carey appeared in three different films. He provided a voice-over for the character Crank in the animated film ''
Robots'', in ''
The Aristocrats'' to retell a dirty joke along with other celebrities and was interviewed in the documentary ''
Fuck''.
On
June 8,
2006, ''Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures'' debuted on the
Travel Channel. Carey travels throughout
Germany to photograph multiple
FIFA World cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of towns and states he visits.
[21]
Drew Carey, pictured in the center, featured in ''
The Sims''
On
April 13,
2007, Carey was selected to host the
CBS game show pilot ''
Power of 10'', where contestants could win a potential $10,000,000 top prize.
[22] In May 2007, it was announced that the show was picked up for a summer run, with Carey as host.
[23] The show premieres August 7, 2007. Additionally, on July 23, 2007, Carey announced that he will become the next host of ''
The Price Is Right''.
[24]
Carey has also made a
cameo appearance in the computer game ''
The Sims'', but only in the '' expansion pack.
[25] To make him appear, the Sims must throw a successful party, which will cause a limo to show up and he will join the festivities. Drew is a fan of ''The Sims'' series and during one April Fool's episode of ''The Drew Carey Show'', a scene takes place completely within ''The Sims''.
[26]
Writing
Cover of ''Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined''
Carey has a history of writing throughout his career including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his
autobiography, '' where he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once
molested, had suffered bouts of
depression, and had made two attempts at suicide by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills.
He also wrote of his
college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and of his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there was one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on the New York Times bestseller list for three months.
[27]
Personal life
A former
United States Marine reservist, he adopted his
crew cut hair style during his time in the service. Carey has had
refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him), however, whilst this was true for several years, on the
May 17,
2006 episode of the ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live'' show he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently lives part time in
Los Angeles and
New York City.
[28]
Political involvement
Carey is also known for his
Republican leanings
[29] and has expressed support for the
Libertarian Party.
[30] ''The Drew Carey Show'' often presented a libertarian critique of
political correctness,
government regulations,
racism,
sexism, and
homophobia, with
storylines involving Carey's
cross-dressing brother, dating a
bisexual woman (played by
Illeana Douglas) for two episodes, ongoing criticism of the
Boy Scouts of America's exclusionary policy against
gay men, and support for
same-sex marriage.
Drew has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of a no smoking
ordinance.
[31]
In a guest appearance on ''
Blue Collar TV'', he said (presumably
tongue-in-cheek) "That's why I vote Republican" during one of the skits.
Since the show ended its nine-year run on ABC in 2004, however, Carey has clarified that he is more of a
conservative with
libertarian leanings, and that he presented himself as a libertarian to avoid what some conservative critics of the
entertainment industry claim is a general
Hollywood bias against conservatives. On the
August 18, 2006 ''
Penn Radio'' show with
Penn Jillette, Carey did however say he was indeed libertarian.
Sports involvement
Carey is known for being a devoted
Cleveland Browns,
Indians and
U.S. Soccer fan. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the new expansion
Cleveland Browns televised on
ESPN. When he promoted ''The Drew Carey Show'' in 1995, at the same time the Indians were making a miraculous run at the
World Series, he poked fun at the rest of baseball by saying, "Finally, it's ''your'' team that sucks!"
[32] He also showed his support for the team by throwing the first pitch at an
August 12,
2006 Indians game against the
Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal
bobblehead doll made in his likeness given to fans.
[33] Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
[34]
He is also a season ticket holder with the
Los Angeles Galaxy[35] and follows
Scottish football club
Rangers.
In 2001, Carey was the first TV star (as opposed to wrestler or athlete) to ever enter
World Wrestling Federation's 30-man "
Royal Rumble" match which he entered to promote an improv comedy
pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute; he eliminated himself by offering money to
Kane and then fleeing the ring.
[36]
In 2003, Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the
World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out comedian/actor/musician
Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.
[37]
Philanthropy
Carey is known for his support of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On
May 2,
2000, in a celebrity edition of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings.
[38] He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity ''Millionaire'', making him one of the biggest winning contestants on ''Millionaire'' that did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the
World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the
Cleveland Public Library charity.
[39] In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game
FIFA Soccer 07 for the
Xbox 360. He challenged five players from both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams to compete against him.
[40] Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.
[41]
Photography
Drew Carey taking photographs on his show ''Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures''
Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer.
[42] His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge.
He was at the
2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show ''Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures''. His favorite soccer teams are the Scottish team
Rangers and
L.A. Galaxy.
[43]
Awards and honors
★ He won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on ''Drew Carey: Human Cartoon''.
★ He was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by ''
TV Guide''.
★ Carey received an honorary
Ph.D. from
Cleveland State University in 2000.
[44]
★ Drew won the
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in ''The Drew Carey Show'', in both 2000
[45] and 2001.
[46]
★ On
February 21,
2003, he received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
[47] His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
★ In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
[48]
Filmography
Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of other sitcoms and comedy shows.
Television work
Films
Footnotes
1. Cleveland.com
2. AllMovie.com
3. WCHS.com
4. Ohio Traveler Magazine
5. FilmBug
6. Toronto Sun
7. The Gazette
8. ComedyCentral.com
9. YahooMovies.com
10. IMDB News
11. The Oakland Press
12. TV.com
13. ImprovAllStars.com
14. Drew Carey to host The Price is Right - BREAKING NEWS Keller, Joel
15. IslandNet.com
16. Walt Disney World
17. FOXNews.com
18. RealityTVWorld.com
19. FOXNews.com
20. Drew Carey's Green Screen Show
21. Travel Channel.com
22. Cleveland.com
23. Futon Critic
24. AP
25. IMDB.com
26. GameZone.com
27. ABC.com
28. LA Daily News
29. ChicagoTribune.com
30. Advocates for Self-Government
31. CNN.com
32. Everything2.com
33. MLB.com/Cleveland Indians
34. MLB.com
35. FIFA.Yahoo.com
36. gerweck.net
37. WPT.com
38. LibraryJournal.com
39. WPT.com
40. XBOX365
41. XBOX Solution
42. SI.com
43. BBCNews.com
44. Cleveland State University
45. CNN.com
46. DigitalHit.com
47. Seeing-Stars.com
48. Everything2.com
External links
★
★
★
World Poker Tour Profile
★
"Stand-Up Guy", interview with Carey in ''
Reason'' by
Nick Gillespie and Steve Kurtz
★
Drew Carey and the Improv All-Stars
★
Drew Carey's Myspace.com
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