Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which included Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Jeff Foxworthy (with whom he has starred on Blue Collar TV).
Whitney has released seven comedy albums, two of which have been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1,000,000 copies and one of which has been certified gold for shipments of 500,000 copies. He has starred in three Blue Collar Comedy Tour related films, alongside Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Delta Farce and Witless Protection, and provides the voice of Mater in Disney/Pixar's Cars franchise. Whitney's catchphrase "Git-R-Done!" is also the title of his book.
Early life Dan Whitney was born in Nebraska to Tom and Shirley Whitney, and grew up on an 80-acre farm outside Pawnee City, Nebraska. His father was a Christian minister. When he was 16, his family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. Whitney attended high school at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, from the late 1970s through 1980 where his father was the elementary school principal. He graduated from Berean Christian School in West Palm Beach in 1982 where he played football. He went to college at Baptist University of America in Georgia, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He majored in drama and speech. He credits his roommates from Texas and Georgia for inspiring his Southern accent impression. He dropped out after his junior year after trying his hand at comedy.
Career Radio career Whitney started his career in radio in the early 1990s when he made regular radio appearances on the nationally syndicated program, The Ron and Ron Show, as well as other radio shows such as The Bob & Tom Show, Wakin' Up with the Wolf on WPDH, The Chris Baker Show on KDGE and KEZO's The Todd and Tyler Radio Empire in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the Kirk, Mark, and Lopez morning show on WIYY in Baltimore, Maryland. He was also a frequent guest on The Johnny Dare Morning Show on 98.9/KQRC, Kansas City, Missouri.
He also appeared on WJRR in Orlando Florida. He was also on the WHTQ 96.5 morning show in Orlando Florida. He was brought to New England on Greg and the Morning Buzz on WHEB 100.3 and WGIR-FM 101.1 in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire, respectively, doing two commentaries a week.
Stand-up career
Initially performing stand-up under his real name with limited success, he became famous after developing the Cable Guy character, a personality that he now maintains throughout his stage act. The Cable Guy character has a stereotypical redneck appearance and a thick Southern accent, recounts stories about his "family", and uses, among other common expressions, his own catchphrase "Git-R-Done!"
He says in interviews and in his autobiographical book GIT-R-DONE that he deliberately "turns on" the accent both on and off stage, because he may forget it if he kept his normal accent intact.An Interview with Larry the Cable Guy , Dead-Frog.com, June 15, 2005 He uses catchphrase humor, including "Lord, I apologize for that, there, and be with the starvin' Pygmies in New Guinea. Amen," after telling jokes of questionable taste; and, "I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there," after jokes that evoke raucous laughter.
He became well-known as one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which included Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Jeff Foxworthy (with whom he has starred on Blue Collar TV). The tour also spawned three films and a satellite radio show.
His first two comedy albums, Lord, I Apologize (2001) and The Right to Bare Arms (2005), have both been certified gold by the RIAA. A third album, Morning Constitutions, and its accompanying TV special were released in 2007.
Other work
Whitney starred in the films Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006), Delta Farce (2007) and Witless Protection (2008). He provided the voice of Tow Mater, a rusty blue tow truck, in the Disney/Pixar film Cars (2006) and its sequels, Cars 2 (2011), and Cars 3 (2017), as well as the short-form Cars series Tales from Radiator Springs and Cars on the Road, and several video games in the franchise.
Whitney was roasted in a Comedy Central special on March 15, 2009.
On February 8, 2011, the premiere of his newest travelogue series, Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy, was broadcast on the History Channel. A total of 4.1 million viewers, 1.7 million adults 25–54, tuned in, nearly doubling the total for the "Top Shot" season 2 opener.'Only In America with Larry the Cable Guy' Premieres to 4.1 Million Viewers; 'Top Shot' S2 Premieres to 2.8 Million. Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com (February 9, 2011). Retrieved on July 23, 2012. During season two in the episode "Larry Goes To Washington", Whitney was the first on-air talent from a non-news crew allowed in the War Room, also known as the Command Center, as he explained during the program. The series finale aired August 28, 2013.
In June 2012, Disneyland's California Adventure theme park's "Cars Land" opened a ride called "Mater's Junkyard Jamboree" that features Whitney's voice as his character Mater from the Disney/Pixar Cars films.Mater's Junkyard Jamboree . Disneyland.disney.go.com. Retrieved on July 23, 2012.
Bektrom Foods of North Dakota developed a line of Larry the Cable Guy food products, such as boxed hamburger dinners, with some of the proceeds from its sales benefiting the "Git-R-Done Foundation".
Whitney's later films include Tooth Fairy 2 (2012), A Madea Christmas (2013), and Jingle All the Way 2 (2014). He competed in season six of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Baby" which was the show's first human character.
Personal life Whitney and his wife Cara married in 2005. They have a son, Wyatt, and a daughter, Reagan. The Whitney family resides in Lincoln, Nebraska, on a 180-acre (73 ha) farm. The couple started the Git-R-Done Foundation in 2009 to provide assistance to those that have experienced hardships beyond their control. Whitney is a Christian who re-committed to his faith in 2014.
Whitney's hometown of Pawnee City, Nebraska, has a street named after him. Whitney also donated money to buy new theatrical equipment for the local high school.
Whitney is a fan of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit and has co-owned some bucking bulls over the years. Among them was Chicken on a Chain, who was the 2007 PBR World Champion Bull.
Whitney is also an avid Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan. His signature camouflage hat has the University of Nebraska–Lincoln nickname "HUSKERS" emblazoned on it, as seen in the 2007 film Delta Farce. He is also frequently seen with a gold Nebraska "N" on a chain around his neck. On October 1, 2016, in his luxury suite at Memorial Stadium during the Nebraska vs. Illinois football game, Whitney was challenged to an arm wrestling match by an Army veteran and Nebraska Army National Guard member, John O'Connell, who lost the match in less than one minute with his arm (humerus) broken by Whitney.
In September 2010, Whitney donated $5 million to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida. The gift was for further development of the International Hip Dysplasia Institute at the Orlando hospital. After Dr. Chad Price at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children helped cure their son, Wyatt, of his dysplasia when he was an infant, Whitney and his wife, Cara, made private donations to the hospital and Whitney raised money through appearances on Family Feud and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. The hospital opened a new wing called the Wyatt Whitney Wing in May 2012.
Whitney is also an avid REO Speedwagon fan. In 2013, he appeared with the band, including a benefit concert in Bloomington, Illinois, for tornado disaster relief.
Whitney owns a George Strait neon sign that he bought backstage at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, Texas.
Whitney endorsed Donald Trump for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Radio shows Whitney currently works as a radio personality for SiriusXM's Jeff & Larry's Comedy Roundup channel.
Discography Title Album details Peak chartpositions Certifications US US Country US Comedy Law and Disorder Release date: February 10, 1995 Label: Self-released — — — Salutations and Flatulations Release date: September 29, 1997 Label: DJT Records — — — Lord, I Apologize Release date: October 30, 2001 Label: Hip-O Records — 53 1 US: Gold A Very Larry Christmas Release date: November 16, 2004 Label: Warner Bros. Records 43 8 1 US: Platinum The Right to Bare Arms Release date: March 29, 2005 Label: Warner Bros. Records 7 1 1 US: Platinum Morning Constitutions Release date: April 3, 2007 Label: Warner Bros. Records 16 5 1 Christmastime in Larryland Release date: October 3, 2007 Label: Warner Bros. Records 42 12 1 Tailgate Party Release date: September 22, 2009 Label: Warner Bros. Records 71 19 1 The Best of Larry the Cable Guy Release date: November 16, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. Records 72 4 Them Idiots: Whirled Tour(with Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy) Release date: March 13, 2012 Label: Warner Music Nashville 45 1 We've Been Thinking (with Jeff Foxworthy) Release date: September 29, 2017 Label: Comedy Dynamics, Netflix — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
A Box set consisting of The Right to Bare Arms, Christmastime in Larryland, and Morning Constitutions.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2003 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie Larry Documentary 2006 Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector Cars Mater Voice Mater and the Ghostlight Voice; Short film; direct-to-video 2007 Delta FarceLarry 2008 Witless Protection Deputy Larry Stalder 2011 Cars 2 Mater Voice 2012 Them Idiots: Whirled Tour Himself Tooth Fairy 2 Larry Guthrie Direct-to-video 2013 A Madea Christmas Buddy 2014 Jingle All the Way 2 Larry Phillips Direct-to-video 2016 Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy: We've Been Thinking Himself Documentary 2017 Cars 3 Mater Voice 2020 Remain Seated Himself Stand-up special 2025 It's a Gift
Television Year Title Role Notes2004Larry the Cable Guy: Git-R-DoneLarryTelevision movieBlue Collar Comedy Tour Rides AgainTV documentary2006Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the RoadTV movie 2004–2006 Blue Collar TV VariousCast member 2008–2014 Cars Toons Mater Voice; 13 short films 2009 Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Himself Episode: "3.13"Comedy Central RoastLarryTV special, The Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable GuyLarry the Cable Guy's Hula-Palooza Christmas LuauTV movie2010Larry the Cable Guy: Tailgate Party 2011–2013 Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy Host 2013 Bounty Hunters Larry 2014CMT Artists of the YearHost 2020 Cruisin' with the Huskers Host 2021 The Masked Singer Himself/Baby Season 6 contestant; eliminated in fourth episode 2021 Yellowstone Officer (Uncredited) Episode: "Half the Money" 2022 Cars on the Road Mater Voice; Disney+ original 2027 Cars: Lightning Racers Voice; upcoming series
+ As producer Year Title Notes 2007 Larry the Cable Guy: Morning Constitutions TV movie Larry the Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular 2008 Larry the Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganza TV special 2009 The Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy TV documentary Larry the Cable Guy's Hula-Palooza Christmas Luau TV movie 2010 Larry the Cable Guy: Tailgate Party 2013 Bounty Hunters TV series; 8 episodes 2011–2013 Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy 50 episodes 2016 Jeff Foxworthy & Larry the Cable Guy: We've Been Thinking TV documentary
Video games