Until yesterday, when Dane Cook’s Retaliation debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard album chart, no comedy album had cracked the top five since Steve Martin’s landmark A Wild and Crazy Guy 26 years ago. How did he accomplish this milestone when you’ve never heard of him? Clearly, the short-fused comic has an ardent cult, but if you’re not one of those who’d recognize him from his unlikely walk-ons in action movies like Torque and Simon Sez (and would admit having watched either of those movies), you can introduce yourself at Cook’s website, which is full of audioclips of Cook routines. You can see the cartoon version of Cook at Comedy Central’s site, which has clips of his animated appearances on Shorties Watchin’ Shorties. If you’re a BitTorrent user, you can also download his soon-to-be-classic recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, where he reinterpreted Tom Cruise’s couch-jumping incident as performance art, at Robomuffin.com.
Aug 4
2005
01:52 PM ET
Who is Dane Cook?
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Congrats to Dane!!! He’s a hilarious comedian and maybe now he’ll get the recognition he deserves. You can also check him out in the upcoming comedy Waiting…starring Ryan Reynolds and Anna Farris.
Thanks for posting this. I believe he is from the town I’m currently living in, and they made a huge deal about his this past spring in the local paper. I didn’t get it at all, I had no idea he was so big!
I LOOOVE DANE COOK! I had the privledge of seeing him live last April, and he is so great! Congrats on his success
Didn’t anyone see his spoof of Tom Cruise’s Oprah insanity that I found at Freekatie.net? http://gorillamask.net/cookkimmel.shtml
It gets old after a while (as did Tom’s effervescence on Oprah), but I do admire his all-out commitment to the impersonation.
This is just further proof that EW is severely uncool. Cook has been developing a following for awhile now.
It amazes me that people *don’t* know who he is. His comedy is classic. He doesn’t tell jokes, ala Seinfeld — he’s just genuinely funny. His very presence is hilarity on legs.
Plus, I blame him for me getting married. It was what sealed the deal on our first date, a mutual appreciation for the comedy stylings of future chuckle-master, Mr. Cook.
I can’t believe people don’t know who he is!! I was introduced to Harmful If Swallowed almost 2 years ago and I’ve been getting people hooked ever since. Dane Cook fans are the most loyal followers of any comedian I know of! I met him in Tampa at the Improv last year and about died!!! not only is he hillarious onstage, he’s great to talk to face to face. SU-FI!!!!
I can’t believe I didn’t know that people didn’t know who Dane was! How could I have been so blind??? Thank you EW for being so informative!
I have been going to see Dane in Boston for almost six years, since before Harmful if Swallowed hit store shelves and was being sold after his show. Dane rocks both onstage, which is where he shines because his comedy truly must be seen to be fully appreciated, and off, where he’ll stand and sign autographs for hoards of fans long after he leaps off the stage.
I’m excited that he’s getting the recognition he deserves, though I had a lot of fun being one of the loyal fans bringing unwitting newbies to his shows. Now everyone I know is a Dane expert! He’s been around for a long time and has only gotten better over the years. I can’t wait to see where he’ll go in the next five or six!
1st off thanks to anyone who posted great commets (and/or supported me for 15 years of stand up). 2ndly – I’M IN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY!!! Which means I am very entertaining… this week. Quite an honor. I feel so glossy!
Dane Cook
(yes it really is me)
Dane,
I just saw your stand-up act on Comedy Central – and it was great! I also read your story in EW – you are an inspiration to comedians everywhere! Sorry for all the circus-seal slurping, but it’s true!
I just wish everyone in this “business” was as gracious and up-front as you …Good luck, man, you truly deserve it!
Dane Cook rocks my socks.. I didnt know anyone who knew who he was like years ago.. and now he is everywhere.. YAY
Torque Performance
It bumps maximum power output For the top-of-the-line turbodiesel mo
Dane Cook is so freakin hot!! funny guy that dane cook. i want to see lots more of him.
I thought that Dane Cook was ok…then I saw him on Conan O’Brien with a “Make it in Massachusetts” tee-shirt on….WOW…super sexy…come see me in Massachusetts anytime..we can make it together…