Bill Burr

William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, writer and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, including You People Are All the Same (2012), I'm Sorry You Feel That Way (2014), Walk Your Way Out (2017) and Paper Tiger (2019). He received a Grammy Award nomination for Paper Tiger, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the dark comedy series Immoral Compass (2021–present). In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him at No. 17 on their list of the "50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time".[1]
Burr has hosted the twice-weekly Monday Morning Podcast since 2007 and co-founded the All Things Comedy network in 2012. He also created, co-wrote, and voiced the lead character in the Netflix animated sitcom F Is for Family (2015–2021). His other notable roles include various characters in Chappelle's Show, Patrick Kuby in the AMC series Breaking Bad (2011–2013), Migs Mayfeld in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–present), and Ray Bishop in the film The King of Staten Island (2020). He made his feature-length directorial debut as the co-writer, director, and star of the comedy film Old Dads (2023).
== Early life[edit] ==
William Frederick Burr[2][3] was born in Canton, Massachusetts,[4] on June 10, 1968,[5] the son of nurse Linda Ann (née Wigent) and dentist Robert Burr. He is of German and Irish descent,[6] and has mentioned being distantly related to Aaron Burr (1756–1836), the third U.S. vice president.[7] He graduated from high school in 1987.[8] Afterward he briefly attended North Carolina State University for two semesters.[9] Then in 1993, he obtained a bachelor's degree in radio from Emerson College in Boston,[5] where one of his professors was the writer David Foster Wallace.[10] He worked in warehouses before starting his comedy career, later stating that he enjoyed the freedom of the job: "If my boss gave me a rough time, I could just get on a forklift and just, like, drive away."[11]
== Career[edit] ==
=== 1992–2009[edit] ===
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Burr_Traveling_Virus_Worcester_2006.jpg|thumb|Burr performing in August 2006
Burr first performed stand-up comedy at the age of 23 on March 2, 1992.[12][13] He moved to New York City in 1994.[14] He started to appear in numerous shows performing standup such as Showtime at the Apollo in 2000, Comedy Central Presents in 2003, Just for Laughs in 2004, One Night Stand in 2005, and Live at Gotham in 2006. Also during this time, he co-starred in the TV series Townies in 1996, appeared in Two Guys and a Girl in 1998 and Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2002. He gained prominence as a regular on the Dave Chappelle's popular sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show in 2004 on Comedy Central.
Since May 2007, Burr has recorded a weekly one-hour podcast, Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast, in which he speaks about his experiences, current events, going on tour, and sports, and offers advice to questions submitted by the listeners. The podcast is available on Burr's website, Spotify, YouTube, and on the All Things Comedy network he co-founded in 2012. He is sometimes joined by his wife Nia and has featured guests and interviews with other comedians.[15] In the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, Burr voiced Jason Michaels of the biker gang The Lost MC in the mission "No Love Lost". In 2009, he reprised his role in the game's expansion pack The Lost and Damned.
Burr also appears as a guest on radio shows and other comedians' podcasts, such as Opie and Anthony, You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, The Adam Carolla Show,[16] The Joe Rogan Experience,[17][18] WTF with Marc Maron,[19] The Nerdist Podcast,[20] The Adam Buxton Podcast, and Nobody Likes Onions.[21][22] Burr was also the first guest on Tom Green's podcast. Burr's first hour-long special, Why Do I Do This? (2008), was filmed in New York.[23]
=== 2010–2017[edit] ===
Burr's special Let it Go was recorded at The Fillmore in San Francisco and premiered on Comedy Central on September 18, 2010. That same year Burr appeared in the comedy film Date Night as Detective Walsh. On April 18, 2011, he guest hosted the Hollywood Babble-On podcast alongside Ralph Garman.[24] He has also appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of AMC's Breaking Bad as Patrick Kuby from 2011 to 2013.[25] A later special, You People Are All the Same, premiered in 2012 as a Netflix exclusive.[26] Burr's stand-up special You People Are All the Same (2012) was the first to premiere exclusively on Netflix. He played Mark Mullins in the 2013 buddy cop film The Heat. In 2014, Burr filmed his fourth hour-long special I'm Sorry You Feel That Way at the Tabernacle Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Unusual for modern comedy specials, the film was shot in black and white.
All Things Comedy was officially launched on October 1, 2012, with a roster of 11 podcasts including Burr's own Monday Morning Podcast, The Long Shot Podcast by Eddie Pepitone, and Skeptic Tank by Ari Shaffir.[27][28] By 2014, the network had six dozen members and over 50 podcasts.[29][30] The network was started out by comedians Al Madrigal and Bill Burr with The Daily Show on the All Things Comedy website.[31] The network was established as an artist owned cooperative, which Madrigal and Burr emphasize as an important aspect of the collective.[32] All Things Records was started in March 2014 and released three albums in the months following its creation including Believe in Yourself by Sam Tripoli, Live at the Comedy Castle by Brian Scolaro, and This Will Make an Excellent Horcrux by Jackie Kashian.[30] Madrigal sees the network as a way of improving representation of Latin American people in media.[33] For instance, the network provides Spanish-language podcasts such as Leyendas Legendarias and El Dollop.[34][35][36] All Things Comedy also partnered with Comedy Central to produce a documentary about Patrice O'Neal in addition to three comedy specials.[37][38]
Burr voiced lead character Frank Murphy in F Is for Family, which premiered on Netflix on December 18, 2015. The show was the first original Netflix animated series. The show, an animated sitcom he created and co-wrote, drew on Burr's stand-up and the absurdity of political correctness. Season 4 of the series debuted on Netflix on June 12, 2020.[39] Burr writes and executive produces the series along with Michael Price.[40] Burr's fifth hour-long special, Bill Burr: Walk Your Way Out, debuted on Netflix on January 31, 2017. He appeared in the third episode (titled "Bill Burr") of the second season of the HBO series Crashing.[41]
=== 2018–present[edit] ===
Burr's sixth hour-long special, Paper Tiger, debuted on Netflix on September 10, 2019. He premiered a new podcast co-hosted with fellow comedian Bert Kreischer, called the Bill Bert Podcast, in October. In December, he played Migs Mayfeld in two episodes of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. In 2020, he appeared in Judd Apatow's comedy film The King of Staten Island, and promoted the film on October 10 by hosting NBC's Saturday Night Live for the first time.[42][43][44] In March 2022, it was announced that Burr would co-write, direct, and star in the comedy film Old Dads, his feature-length directorial debut; it was released on Netflix in 2023 to mixed reviews.[45] A few months later, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series nomination for the dark comedy series Immoral Compass (2021–present).[46] His seventh stand-up special, Live at Red Rocks, was released on July 12.[47]
On August 21, 2022, Burr became the first comedian to perform at Fenway Park, in front of a sold-out crowd of around 35,000 people.[48] It was also the largest comedy show in the history of Boston.[49] He has had sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2015, and then again on November 11, 2023,[50][51][52] the Royal Albert Hall on June 6, 2018,[53] and consecutive shows on March 4 and 5, 2019.[54][55] He holds the record for the most consecutive sold-out shows at Boston's Wilbur Theatre, where he performed 19 sold-out shows in a row, almost doubling the record of 10 set by Aziz Ansari.[56] Burr sold out 20,000 seats at the Los Angeles Forum on September 28, 2018.[57][58] In September 2021, he sold out Red Rocks Amphitheatre.[59]
In 2023, Burr had a cameo role as the voice of pastor Nick Saint Angelo in the episode "the wizard" of HBO series Barry.
== Style[edit] ==
Burr has been referred to as a "comedian's comedian" by observers of the American stand-up comedy circuit.[60][61]
Rolling Stone magazine called Burr "the undisputed heavyweight champ of rage-fueled humor".[62] Burr often portrays himself as "that loud guy in the bar" with "uninformed logic".[63] In an interview with The Boston Globe, Burr stated, "I'm the 'dude, bro' guy."[4] According to the Montreal Gazette, Burr is "a cynic and a contrarian who has never paid any heed to political correctness".[64] The New York Times in 2013 called Burr "one of the funniest, most distinctive voices in the country for years".[65] His set typically spans an array of topics ranging from his childhood to sex robots to how much he loves his dog. When he does touch on a cringeworthy subject, his style lends him the ability to anticipate and even toy with the crowd's reaction. Burr will often stand still, casually leaning one arm on the mic stand, a mischievous grin on his face, acting like the loud guy at a bar.[66]
Burr has cited Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Sam Kinison, and Patrice O'Neal as the five greatest stand-up comedians of all time.[67]
== Personal life[edit] ==
In 2013, Burr married actress and producer Nia Renee Hill,[63][68] who sometimes appears as a guest on his podcast.[5] They reside in Los Angeles[6][65] and have a daughter (b. January 20, 2017)[69] and a son (b. June 2020).[70]
Burr is a licensed helicopter pilot[71] and enjoys playing drums.[72] His favourite drummers are John Bonham and Dave Lombardo. He enjoys rock and heavy metal music[73][74] and is a fan of bands such as AC/DC, Gojira, Iron Maiden, Karnivool, Led Zeppelin, Meshuggah, Metallica, Ministry, Pantera, and Slayer.[75][76] He loves smoking cigars.[77]
Burr is a liberal who supports gun control[78][79] and abortion rights.[80] He believes that political correctness fails to effectively address the problems it aims to fix, such as racism, because it only focuses on the words people use rather than changing their attitudes.[81] He has also said that political correctness has no answer for, or impact on, other major sociopolitical issues such as the power held by bankers and pharmaceutical executives.[82][83][84][85][86] He voted for Green candidate Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election.[87] He voted for neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, as he had a negative opinion of both candidates.[88] In 2021, he criticized Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis for banning mask requirements in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.[89]
== Filmography[edit] ==
=== Film[edit] ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2000	Perfect Fit 	Doorman 	
2002	Passionada 	Blackjack Player 	
2006	Thirteen or Bust 	Himself 	
2010	Date Night 	Detective Walsh 	
2011	Cheat 	Billy 	Short
2012	Stand Up Guys 	Larry 	
2013	The Heat 	Mark Mullins 	
2014	Zombeavers 	Joseph 	
2014	Walk of Shame 	Officer Walter 	
2014	Black or White 	Rick Reynolds 	
2015	Daddy's Home 	Jerry 	
2017	Daddy's Home 2 	Jerry 	
2018	The Front Runner 	Pete Murphy 	
2020	The King of Staten Island 	Ray Bishop 	
2020	The Opening Act 	Barry 	
2021	The Guilty 	Nightclub Caller (voice)	
2021	Back Home Again 	Officer Quill (voice) 	Short
2022	Dog 	Officer O'Shaughnessy 	
2023	Old Dads 	Jack Kelly 	Also director and co-writer
2023	Leo 	Squirtle (voice) 	[90]
2023	Steve-O's Bucket List 	Himself 	Direct-to-video
Guest appearance
2024	Drugstore June 	Dr. Weisman 	
2024	Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story	John F. Kennedy 	Post-production
=== Television[edit] ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1996 	Townies 	Ryan Callahan 	Main cast
1998 	Two Guys and a Girl 	Fitzey 	Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Party"
2000 	Showtime at the Apollo 	Himself 	Episode: "Episode #14.8"
2002 	Law & Order: Criminal Intent 	Jogger 	Episode: "Maledictus"
2003 	Comedy Central Presents 	Himself 	Episode: "Bill Burr"
2003 	I Love the '80s Strikes Back 	Himself 	Episode: "1980"
2004 	Chappelle's Show 	Various Characters 	Recurring cast (season 2)
2004 	Shorties Watchin' Shorties 	Himself 	Recurring cast
2004 	Just for Laughs 	Himself 	Episode: "Bill Burr"
2005 	One Night Stand 	Himself 	Episode: "Bill Burr"
2005 	Weekends at the D.L. 	Himself 	Episode #1.15
2006 	Jamie Foxx Presents Laffapalooza	Himself 	Episode: "Laffapalooza Volume 7"
2006 	Live at Gotham 	Himself/Host 	Episode #1.4
2008 	Down and Dirty with Jim Norton 	Himself 	Episode #1.3
2010 	Just for Laughs 	Himself 	Episode: "Cheech & Chong"
2011 	Dave's Old Porn 	Himself 	Episode: "Bill Burr/Nina Hartley"
2011–13	Breaking Bad 	Patrick Kuby 	Recurring cast (seasons 4–5)
2012 	Funny as Hell 	Himself 	Episode #2.3
2013 	Inside Joke at Moontower 	Himself 	2 episodes
2013–16	New Girl 	Bobby 	Guest cast (season 2 & 5)
2014 	Maron 	Himself 	Episode: "The Joke"
2014 	Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee	Himself 	Episode: "Smoking Past the Band"
2014 	Wicked Bites 	Himself 	Episode: "Comics Come Home XX"
2014–15	Kroll Show 	Detective Smart 	Recurring cast (season 2–3)
2015 	The Jim Gaffigan Show 	Himself 	Episode: "My Friend the Priest"
2015 	The Art of... 	Himself 	Episode: "The Art of Comedy"
2015–21	F Is for Family 	Frank Murphy (voice) 	Main cast; also co-creator
2016 	The Simpsons 	Boston Football Fan (voice) 	Episode: "The Town"
2018 	Crashing 	Himself 	Episode: "Bill Burr"
2018 	Jay Leno's Garage 	Himself 	Episode: "Living the Dream"
2019 	The Chef Show 	Himself 	Episode: "Gwyneth Paltrow/Bill Burr"
2019–20	The Mandalorian 	Migs Mayfeld 	Guest cast (season 1–2)
2020 	Jay Leno's Garage 	Himself 	Episode: "Dare to be Different"
2020 	Saturday Night Live 	Himself/Host 	Episode: "Bill Burr/Jack White"
2020 	The Comedy Store 	Himself 	Main cast
2020–22	Puppy Dog Pals 	Butch (voice) 	Guest cast (season 3 & 5)
2021 	Reservation Dogs 	Garrett Bobson 	Episode: "California Dreamin'"
2021 	30 for 30 	Himself 	Episode: "Once Upon a Time in Queens, Part 3 & 4"
2021 	Immoral Compass 	Rick 	Main cast
2022 	George Carlin's American Dream 	Himself 	Episode: "Part 1"
2023 	Outer Banks 	Dan 	Episode: "Heists"
2023 	Barry 	Pastor Nick Saint Angelo (voice)	Episode: "The Wizard"
=== Podcast[edit] ===
Year 	Title 	Role
2007–present	Monday Morning Podcast	Himself (host)
2010, 2021 	Your Mom's House 	Himself (guest)
=== Video games[edit] ===
Year	Title 	Role
2008	Grand Theft Auto IV 	Jason Michaels (voice)
2009	Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned	Jason Michaels (voice)
=== Documentary[edit] ===
Year	Title
2011	Give It Up for Greg Giraldo
2017	Gilbert