Will Dan Whitney Sell Out Alltel?
Or, more relevantly, since he's slated to perform there next month, will his creation, "Larry the Cable Guy?" If, by some act of blessed, personal aural protection, like, say, you have a particularly vigilant guardian angel who is specifically assigned to guard just your ears, and you have amazingly missed out on the gutteral, overdone fake Southern drawl growling out the ubiquitous catch phrase, "GIT-R-DONE," then, in the first place, you you are very, very lucky. But also, you have never been subjected to the "comedy stylings" of Dan Whitney, in character as the dim-witted, beer-bellied, self-described "Southern Redneck" who is only seen in public in his signature ballcap and sleeveless-flannel-shirt-over-t-shirt, known as "Larry the Cable Guy." Think Jim Varney as that "Hey, Vern!" guy, only a whole lot grosser, meaner, and a crude bigot to boot. He's very popular, this character of Dan's, and that baffles me, because his "act" feels, to me, as an ACTUAL Southerner, a whole lot more like being laughed AT than laughed WITH, as Whitney insists is his intent.
"Larry" is an alter-ego that Whitney first developed as a comedic voice on the other end of the telephone for call-in segments of a Florida radio show. He had other voice-characters, but reportedly found that the "Larry" character "could say anything," and that was the beginning of the LTCG explosion. By "say anything," I'm assuming that he means the more egregiously racist, homophobic, misogynistic, Southerner-bashing, and disgusting portions of his routine that presumably wouldn't be as funny coming from a person who didn't sound like he was pretending to be (an extremely uneducated person) from somewhere in the Deep South.And Dan is definitely doing some great pretending, because he hails not from the South, "Deep" or otherwise, but from, um, Nebraska. In fact, he currently owns two homes there, in addition to another one in Orlando, Florida...and a fourth, if you count his new Sky Box in the North End Zone of the football stadium at the University of Nebraska. (And for what those things cost, I know I'd count it as a home, mainly because for me, it would require a 30-year mortgage to purchase.) Well, he did move southward from Nebraska when in his teens, to the blue-collar, working-class community of, um, Palm Beach, Florida, where he attended private school.
I don't really understand why, in order to fashion himself a "redneck," Whitney felt it neccessary to make his "Larry" character Southern. I know that I've personally met rednecks from every part of the country--it's not something that's limited to the Southern states, but whatever. I'm guessing that it gave him more unfounded stereotypes to mock (inbred, toothless, ignorant, racist, etc.) while convincing those he's mocking that he's ONE OF THEM. It's brilliant marketing, really, because he certainly wasn't going to sell out any venues with his original schtick as just plain-old, khaki-and-sneaker-wearing, totally typical 80's comedian Dan Whitney. <<< Click the link and check out that video--YIKES!
I was personally introduced to "Larry the Cable Guy" upon my first viewing of "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie." You know you've seen it. Here's when we laughed, in relative order of perceived hilarity (Your Mileage May Vary):
1. During a surprising bit of Jeff Foxworthy's new-for-the-tour material that did NOT involve his tired "You might be a redneck if..." bit.
2. During most of Bill Engvall's new-for-the-tour material that did NOT involve his equally tired "Here's your sign" bit.
3. During our first-ever exposure to Ron "Tater Salad" White. Honestly, we laughed so hard at this "new guy," we could not believe we'd never heard of him before, and that he didn't (at that time) have any comedy CDs available, and wondered where in the world they'd found him, and were terribly glad they had. Seriously--if you didn't laugh during the payoff of the "Tater Salad" story (see here, 1/4 of the way down the page, large block of text attributed to Ron) the first time you heard it, then your funnybone just might be all dessicated and powdery, and you should have it checked out. From no one else would the line, "I don't know how many of them it would have taken to whip my a**, but I knew how many they were going to use," delivered with dry precision and cigarette and scotch-glass props, have been such a howler. (Unfortunately, as we've learned since then, Ron's not so big on creating new material, which is a shame, since these stories tend to lose their comedic luster after the 4th or 5th review.)
Here is when we did NOT laugh: Anytime "Larry the Cable Guy" was onstage. I spent a good bit of his performances wondering whose sister he'd married, or who he had nekkid pictures of, Foxworthy or Engvall. But to be fair, the other guys in the tour seem to think that "Larry" is HILARIOUS. Each to his own. Maybe on the bus between shows, he's a laugh riot, who knows? All I know is, I felt like if I'd heard that "GIT-R-DONE" catch-phrase ONE MORE TIME that night, my brain would surely have ruptured my own eardrums in self-defense.
I merely do not enjoy the "work" of Whitney in his LTCG guise, or appreciate his bigotry, misogyny, racism, and mockery of the Southern working class--which, again, illustrates sheer brilliance in marketing: how can you be accused of mercilessly mocking a cultural group when you can pass yourself off as of one of them? But there are some other people, notably other comics, who REALLY take issue with what Dan is doing: There is, for instance, the very public feud between Whitney and the screamingly talented David Cross (he played Tobias in the late, lamented "Arrested Development")--most notably, Cross' "open letter to Larry the Cable Guy". Comedian Steve Hoffstetter actually titled his latest comedy CD "Cure for the Cable Guy," and devoted a 7-minute video to explaining the reasons for his contempt of Whitney's LTCG brand of humor.
And to be fair, Dan Whitney may be a perfectly lovely person in "real life"--he's a husband and father, after all, and I tend to give fellow parents the benefit of the doubt, since becoming one myself--but since he never breaks character in public, I pretty much can't stand the sight or sound of him. So what I'm really wondering is, now that there's been time for the novelty of his act to wear off, is he still selling out venues? Last I checked, North Little Rock, Arkansas didn't appear on his "official" list of tour dates, and doesn't that usually indicate that an act is doing well at the larger venues, and is packing in some smaller stops along the way, to maximize the profitability of the tour?
So, what do you all think? I can see where Dan would consider Arkansas a prime target-market for his brand of humor...is it? Do you believe he will sell out Alltel Arena in October?
You can also find Belinda online at her "home base," NINJA POODLES!
Comments
My first exposure to the comedy of Mr. Whitney was last year through students at the summer I work with as a volunteer. The phrase "Get 'er dun" was EVERYWHERE and I kept thinking, "What the heck IS this and can we kill it before it spreads?" But then I saw "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie" and it all made sense.
The movie remains my only exposure to Larry the Cable and I have to admit, I missed his bit completely and only caught him at the end when he was talking with the other three guys. So I'm a little amazed to hear that he isn't actually a Southerner (thanks for that information, it does put a different spin on his act).
As for why he decided to pretend to be a Southern in order to be a redneck...honey, please. This is nothing new and it's been in hundreds of movies and TV shows for at least the last 50 years. It's a stereotype short hand which requires very little effort to explain: just a bit of a twang and a few "dun did's" will do it. Can you imagine how long it take to explain a Canadian redneck? How about a Maine redneck? It may be lazy and it may be annoying to those of us who really are Southerners, but it obviously pays - otherwise folks wouldn't do it.
Thanks for the info Ninja Poodles!
Posted by: CL | September 9, 2006 07:17 AM
Excellent post, Ninj! I am in awe of how you are keeping up with new content for both blogs.
The above comment reminds me of the time my Arkansas husband came north to my home in Atlantic Canada on an insane, six-day, greyhound bus trek that included stops in a number of out-of-the-way places. He was amazed to discover that rednecks live everywhere. I bet you'd find 'em in the Congo even.
Posted by: k. | September 9, 2006 07:56 AM
I watched the video of Dan Whitney in the 80s. I've got to say, as much as I hate his current act, his act about his grandmother's alzheimers was even worse.
Posted by: Marsha | September 9, 2006 08:20 AM
I have never seen LTCG and really have no desire to. I found Jeff Foxworthy very funny in the beginning, but just haven't followed along in the past years. I've just never been into the redneck humor.
Posted by: Kim | September 9, 2006 08:21 AM
Amen, sister! Ron White cracked me up. It's a shame he has to be drinking to do his comedy, unless that's fake also. LTCG can go back to Nebraska.
Posted by: M | September 9, 2006 08:55 AM
CL: You hit on the exact point that both Cross and Hoffstetter seem to hate the most about what LTCG does: that it's going for the "easy" laugh, the lowest-common-denominator material. But then, you're pretty sharp! But still...I'd think the son of a Nebraska pig-farmer could express a redneck Corn-Husker just as easily as one from...where is he supposed to be from, anyway?
K: I know! I was shocked the first time I learned of this, myself! And as I learned once in a post about mullet haircuts, they are ALL OVER THE WORLD. Seriously. Not even just America. THE WORLD. So "redneckism" has GOT to be universal, too! Oh, and I have a post coming up today on NP that I think will be right up your alley. Be sure and check back in over there.
Marsha--isn't it awful? Thing is, he's kept the bit about his grandma having "worms" even in his current act. You're right, though--there was a perfect example of a comic who was never gonna make it without a "gimmick."
Kim: Don't worry, you've never missed anything! Ironically, Whitney lives closer to you in FL than he does to us, heh, heh...Bill Engvall has some really good bits, and in my opinion his very best ones revolve around his family. His material about his wife and children is way better than the "here's your sign" stuff.
M: I, too, wonder about Ron's "drunk" act. He certainly has the "look" of it being authentic. Hubby and I have checked occasionally to see if he's come up with any new material, but so far, we're not aware of any, even though he has had new performances. And LTCG DOES spend a lot of time in Nebraska, apparently, especially during football season. But if he wanted to spend MORE time there, it'd be OK with me.
Oh, and I've been asked, "So, who DO you think is funny?" Well, of comedians currently active in standup, I think my favorite is Kathleen Madigan, who is from St. Louis, MO, and understands the fine art of having fun with your roots without mocking them (the fact that they're actually HER roots probably helps here), and I am still grieving over the late, and absolutely side-splittingly hilarious Mitch Hedberg, who died last year from complications arising from combining a congenital heart defect with longtime drug use. Sad.
On on the very bottom of my comedian list--WAY lower than even LTCG--the one person who, when he appears on my television screen, I will risk life and limb to get to the remote control and MAKE IT STOP, the person whose voice makes my ears bleed and the sight of whom burns my retinas...that would be "Carrot Top." I think I just had a mild stroke from typing his stage-name.
Anyone else want to express a "WHY DOES THIS PERSON HAVE A CAREER" vent, or sing the praise of a great, entertaining find? Here's your chance!
Posted by: Belinda | September 9, 2006 02:25 PM
Wow, thank God I'm a Yankee is all I have to say. The only person I've ever heard of in your whole post is that Vern dude, and that's from the commercials. I know who Jeff Foxworthy is, but I'm SO not blue collar and I've never found drinking and whoring to be funny, so I guess I've just ignored him. Because, you know, I"m a northern liberal elitist and proud of it!
Posted by: Margalit | September 9, 2006 03:42 PM
margalit: And it's the whole "drinking and whoring" stereotype that so many of us *actual* Southerners don't understand (but if you're talking about Jeff Foxworthy, then you may be confusing him with someone else, as his material is mostly G-rated and focuses largely on his family life). And remember, this guy (Whitney) is NOT a Southerner. And Ron White is a Texan, which doesn't really "count," either. But we do have MANY hilarious, talented Southern comics. And the "real" ones know who their audience really IS.
I'm not sure when the term "blue-collar" came to have a derogatory connotation? To me, it just means "working class," and there's certainly nothing shameful in that, and it ABSOLUTELY is not a term that is mutually exclusive with "liberal" or "intellectual." The term is defined as, "Of or relating to wage-earners, especially as a class, whose jobs are performed in work clothes and often involve manual labor."
During the phase of his life when my dad was most definitely a "blue-collar" worker, he was also a straight-A college student supporting a family. This is what the LTCG folks don't understand: that you cannot rely on labels, like "blue-collar," "redneck," "Christian," "intellectual," or "liberal," to define who/what ANY person is all about.
Posted by: Belinda | September 9, 2006 04:21 PM
Larry the Cable Guy came up here this past fall, too. I have to think that his schtick is getting old, and he's had to move on to smaller and smaller arenas. We didn't go to see him, and while I did enjoy parts of the blue collar comedy tour video, I got up and walked out during his bit. I am just NOT a fan.
Posted by: Erin | September 9, 2006 05:03 PM
Yes, Erin, we females are apparently among the "PC leftist" (Whitney's term for his critics) community that "just doesn't get it," if we don't care for his act...mainly due to our gender, I think. It couldn't possibly be that he refers to us in the most insulting, degrading, objectifying ways he can come up with, can it? Nah. We're just overly sensitive, probably because it's "that time of the month," or we're "menopausal," or something like that. ;-)
Posted by: Belinda | September 9, 2006 05:33 PM
Belinda,
Congrats on your new site, and I hope your horse is a lot better.
I remember a few years ago when LTCG appeared in Branson, unexpectedly, and opened for Merle Haggard who was running late. Big mistake. Hundreds of people walked out and demanded their money back.
It was not Merle's fault and he had nothing to do with it, but they tried to get out of paying him.
I think LTCG sucks.
Posted by: pj | September 11, 2006 10:11 PM
I liked Larry the cable guy when i first came across him about three years ago, but it seems that the longer he goes on the more gross his jokes get, and I don't like that.
Ron white looks like death on a broomstick so it seems to me that must be real whiskey in that glass.
Posted by: tina | September 12, 2006 08:30 AM
PJ: Since LTCG probably would have banked on Merle fans being "his kind" of audience, I wonder if it made an impression on him, being walked out on. I mean, that's a pretty strong statement. Eh, probably not.
tina: I think you're probably right about ol' Ron, and thank you for a new "death" phrase--I hadn't heard "on a broomstick." Lots of people say "Death on a cracker," and my Dad was fond of "Death eating a cracker," which he insisted would be much uglier.
Posted by: Belinda | September 12, 2006 03:05 PM
jonny
Posted by: jonny | September 12, 2006 06:36 PM