Comedian Dane Cook achieved what almostno one else has in comedy — he sold out Madison Square Garden. At the time,he was only the second comedian to do so (the other was Andrew Dice Clay).
Back in 2003, it was hardnot to know who Dane Cook was. His 2003 comedy album Harmful ifSwallowed sold an impressive 1.2 million copies while Retaliation(2005) went double platinum and hit number 5 on the Billboard charts in anotherunprecedented moment for a comedian. After coming out of nowhere, Dane Cook wasa bona fide celebrity.
But then it seems just as quickly, Cook fell from public favor and disappeared into oblivion. He’s currently still working, still tweeting, and yes, still causing a bit of controversy. This is what happened to Dane Cook.
Where did Dane Cook come from?
Dane Cook was born on March 18, 1972 and grew up in Massachusetts as a part of a large, Irish Catholic family. In the past, Cook described himself as “quiet and introverted” in his youth, though he admits he was more of a “wild child” at home. He began performing standup at comedy clubs in 1990.
Cook brilliantly grew his fan base was by using the latest social media to spread the word, which at the time was MySpace. Once he started drawing bigger crowds, Cook started booking better venues. His big break happened after appearing on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend in 2000 and later getting his own half-hour special.
Cook also appeared in several Hollywood films, including a leading part in Employee of the Month alongside Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard.
Many fellow comedians didn’t love Dane Cook
There were a couple of reasons why his professional colleagues weren’t enamored by Dane Cook. First, there was some criticism that Cook didn’t actually tell jokes. Instead, he related increasingly bizarre stories about his life, but in his over-the-top, highly visual way of storytelling. Dane Cook was a performer, not a joke teller. He became just as popular for his enthusiasm as for his comedy.
Cook was great at drawing in younger audience members whoresponded well to his kinetic energy on stage. But there was one problem — plentyof comedians accused Dane Cook of stealing his material.
Did Dane Cook rip off Louis CK?
It’s a dirty secret of the comedy world — even the most highly respected names have borrowed material from other comedians. However, Dane Cook has been accused of stealing many of veteran comedian Louis CK’s jokes. There are even side by side comparisons that prove Cook took a whole lot of inspiration from Louis.
For his part, Louis CK hasn’t publicly denounced Dane Cook, though he did confront him about it on the show Louie.
Some of Cook’s material was no laughing matter
Dane Cook has been a controversial comedian almost since day one. Comedian Nick DiPaolo said, “He doesn’t make me laugh, but that doesn’t mean he’s not funny,” while Ron White blamed Cook’s overinflated ego for being the issue. “[He] does not make me laugh, at all, in any way, shape or form,” White said.
Right around the height ofhis popularity, Cook’s jokes took a darker turn and started to become lesssilly and more graphic, shocking, and serious. Audiences didn’t know how toreact to the new, raw version of Dane Cook.
And his personal life could be at least partially to blame. Dane Cook’s mother passed away in 2006 and his dad also passed shortly after in 2007. Then Cook’s former business manager and half brother Darryl along with his wife went to prison for embezzling millions of dollars from the comedian.
What is Dane Cook doing now?
Cook made headlines again for all the wrong reasons in 2012 when he made a joke about the Aurora Colorado shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight. He said someone watching the film and not loving it might be saying, “Ugh, somebody shoot me.” Fans did not react well to the poorly timed joke.
And that’s not all. Dane Cook is still performing, but afterreceiving a scathing review of his comedy set from actor and fellow comedian T.J.Miller, the two became embattled in a public feud. Miller called Cook’s performance“misogynistic” and “unusuallyawful.”
Dane Cook has also caught criticism for his relationshipwith a woman 26 years younger than he is. The 47-year-old began dating KelsiTaylor in 2017 when she was 19 years old.
Dane Cook is currently performing on his “Tell It Like It Is”tour, his first since 2013.
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