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Drew Carey

Drew Carey, a comic-turned-actor and producer, had the rare honor of having two hit series - The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line is it Anyway? - airing simultaneously:

Carey's lovable everyman appeal and original humor enabled The Drew Carey Show to remain a long-time favorite for viewers. The show was praised for its groundbreaking innovations such as a multiple time zone live episode, website tie-ins, audience participation games and musical numbers. Carey continues to diversify his career with his cutting edge standup comedy, various cable and pay-per-view television specials and his work as an author.

Carey is both producer and host of Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is based on a British series. Line debuted on ABC in August 1998 and stands among the highest-rated non-scripted shows on television. The show is executive-produced and created by Dan Patterson and also stars Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie. In 2001 Carey teamed with Showtime and Frito-Lay for a live pay-per-view improv comedy special, "Doritos Presents Drew Carey's Improv All-Stars Live from the MGM Grand, featuring various members of the rotating cast.

In May 2000, Carey starred in his first television movie as the title character in Geppetto, a presentation of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney. He sang and danced in the new telling of the classic Pinocchio tale, which also starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and featured music composed by multiple Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz (The Prince of Egypt, Hercules and the Broadway musical Wicked.). Geppetto topped the ratings on the evening it aired.

Carey's debut book, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined, is a hilarious look at life from his unique and comical perspective. The book, like his standup comedy, is raw, honest, explicit and politically incorrect. Published by Hyperion in 1997, Dirty Jokes and Beer spent three months on The New York Times bestseller list.

In July 1997 Carey returned to his standup comedy roots when he hosted HBO's Mr. Vegas All-Night Party. He felt right at home as he performed musical numbers and comedy sketches in Las Vegas, a city dear to his heart - along with his native Cleveland, of course.

He began his successful career as a comedian in April of 1986 at the Cleveland Comedy Club, and got one of his first big breaks competing on Star Search 88. In January 1991 Carey landed a spot on HBO's 14th Annual Young Comedians Special. He also had his comedy dream come true with his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1991. He did so well that Carson bestowed a rare honor on the comedian by calling him over to the couch and keeping him there the whole show. Part of that appearance can be seen on the Best of Carson videotapes.

Carey landed his own development deal at Disney, which led to an opportunity for him to co-star in the series The Good Life. Although the series lasted for only half a season, Carey received critical acclaim for his work. He also had the opportunity to work with Bruce Helford, who was a consulting writer on the series. Helford was so impressed with Carey that he hired him as a staff writer for The Gaby Hoffman Show. Their experience led the two of them to decide to co-create a series for Carey. Carey also went on to star in his own Showtime special, Drew Carey: Human Cartoon,and performed in Showtimes's Tenth Anniversary of the Montreal Comedy Festival.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2005.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Drew Carey Facts

Birth NameDrew Allison Carey
OccupationActor
BirthdayMay 23, 1958 (65)
SignGemini
BirthplaceCleveland, Ohio, USA
Height5' 10" (1m78)  How tall is Drew Carey compared to you?
Social Media DrewFromTV

Selected Filmography

Robots
The Spoilers
Whose Line Is It Anyway: Season 1, Vol. 1 and 2
The Drew Carey Show: Season 1
Whose Line Is it Anyway?: Season 1, Volume One
The Best of The Price is Right
Drew Carey & Martin Mull
The Great Missouri Raid
Lafflink Presents The Platinum Comedy Series, Vol. 5
Continue » Find more details on the Drew Carey Movies page