Colin Quinn
Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Quinn first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000, and he became known for anchoring Weekend Update, the show's news parody segment. Prior to SNL, he was best known as the announcer/sidekick on MTV's 1980s game show Remote Control. Following his departure from SNL, Quinn went on to host Comedy Central's late-night panel show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, where he and a panel of New York's big names in stand-up comedy discussed and debated news stories of the day. Notable film work includes his role as Dooey in A Night at the Roxbury, Dickey Bailey in the Grown Ups films, and playing Amy Schumer's father in the film Trainwreck. Comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Chris Rock, and Dave Attell have cited Quinn as the quintessential "comic's comic" and New York comedian.
Colin Quinn
Colin Edward Quinn
June 6, 1959
New York City, U.S.
- Stand-up
- television
- film
- radio
- literature
- one man show
1983–present
- Co-host of Remote Control
- Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live
- Host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Quinn has also become known for his comedic one-man shows that offer his unique takes on history and growing up in New York City. As of 2020, he has written and starred in seven stage shows: Irish Wake, My Two Cents, Long Story Short, Unconstitutional, The New York Story, Red State Blue State, and The Wrong Side of History, two of which he collaborated on with Seinfeld as director. Long Story Short was filmed as an HBO special that aired on April 9, 2011, and Unconstitutional, The New York Story, and Red State Blue State were released as Netflix specials.
Early life[edit]
Quinn was born on June 6, 1959, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, where he was raised, the son of teachers.[1][2] He is of Irish descent. Quinn's paternal grandparents arrived from Belfast around 1920.[3] He attended Stony Brook University, in Stony Brook, Long Island, but did not graduate.[4] He stopped drinking in the early 1980s after several bad experiences with alcohol, including blackouts and arrests.[5]
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Quinn began performing stand-up comedy in 1984. He first achieved fame in 1987 as the sidekick announcer of the MTV game show Remote Control, which lasted five seasons. In 1989, he hosted the A&E stand-up showcase Caroline's Comedy Hour, and wrote and acted in the comedic short/music video "Going Back to Brooklyn" (a parody of LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali") with Ben Stiller. He wrote for In Living Color, and co-wrote and produced the movie Celtic Pride, which starred Damon Wayans and Dan Aykroyd.
Saturday Night Live[edit]
Quinn was hired as a writer and featured player on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1995 and became a full cast member during the 1997–1998 season. He established himself on the show with recurring characters and segments such as "Lenny the Lion", "Joe Blow", "Colin Quinn Explains The New York Times", and "Weekend Update".[6]
Quinn began hosting "Weekend Update" in January 1998 after Norm Macdonald was fired, and anchored the segment until his departure from SNL in 2000. He commented on a number of highly publicized media circuses, including the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and the Microsoft anti-trust trial.
During his tenure on SNL, Quinn turned down an offer for the role of Scott Evil in fellow cast member Mike Myers's film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Quinn has called the role, which was ultimately played by Seth Green, the only project he has regretted turning down.[7]
Television and film work and stand-up[edit]
After leaving SNL, Quinn hosted the short-lived The Colin Quinn Show on NBC in the spring of 2002. The show combined sketch comedy and stand-up in a live-to-tape format. Despite mostly positive reviews from critics, it was cancelled after three episodes.
Quinn had greater success with his subsequent show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, which ran on weekdays on Comedy Central from 2002 to 2004. The show featured a panel of four comedians, with Quinn as host, discussing the social and political issues of the day. The show ran for over 200 episodes.
His stand-up was also used in the animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.
Personal life[edit]
In conversation with Judd Apatow in 2015 for the David Lynch Foundation Trainwreck tour,[18] Quinn said he had been practicing Transcendental Meditation for five years.[19]
On February 14, 2018, Quinn suffered a heart attack in New York. On Twitter several days later, he said he was doing well but if he dropped dead "you would see a funeral like Al Capone!"[20]
On June 8, 2019, Quinn married Late Night with Seth Meyers producer Jen Sochko.[21]
Awards and honors[edit]
In 2004, Quinn was named No. 56 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.
He was named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans of the year in 2004 and 2011 by the magazine Irish America.[6][22]