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]
"William Burr" redirects here. Not to be confused with William Hubert Burr or William Barr.Bill Burr
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]
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]