- Born
- Birth nameDenis Colin Leary
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Denis Leary was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Nora (Sullivan) and John Leary, Irish immigrants who had grown up together. His mother was a maid and his father was an auto mechanic. After a childhood in the 1960s, Leary went to Emerson College in Boston, where he tried his hand at acting and writing. He was a charter member of Emerson's Comedy Workshop, and taught at the college for five years after graduating. By that point, he had written several pieces for magazines and had worked at stand-up comedy for a time. In 1990, he and his wife, Ann Leary, flew to London to perform in the BBC's Paramount City. That weekend, Ann's water broke. Their planned weekend trip became a stay of months, and Denis, with not a whole lot to do in London, wrote a one-man comedy act. He brought friends in from the States, and they wrote songs to perform on stage. Leary, with Chris Phillips and Adam Roth on guitar, performed "No Cure For Cancer" at the Edinburgh International Arts Festival in Scotland. Despite some protests about the title, the show won the Critic's Award and the BBC Festival Recommendation. The next year, the show was moved to America, and it was eventually taped and broadcast on Showtime (Denis Leary: No Cure for Cancer (1993)). The show spawned a book, CD, cassette, and a videotape. It also started Leary's movie career. Since then, he has starred in several films and has had two of his own TV series.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jack Witzig < tomveil@news.interstat.net>
- SpouseAnn Leary(August 19, 1989 - present) (2 children)
- Children
- ParentsJohn LearyNora Leary
- RelativesSibling(Sibling)
- Foul-mouthed, stream-of-conciousness comedy about smoking, drinking, macho men and/or beautiful women.
- Smoking cigarettes and drinking beer during his routines
- His distinctive voice
- Gapped front teeth
- Fast paced delivery
- Denis got behind the wheel of a fire engine during September 11, 2001, when the New York Fire Department was short-handed responding to the collapse of the World Trade center.
- Received an honorary Doctorate from Emerson College and wrote his book "Why We Suck" as 'Dr. Denis Leary'. He was quoted as saying "Sure it's just a celebrity type of thing--they only gave it to me because I'm famous." Leary explained. "But it's legal and it means I get to say I'm a doctor--just like Dr. Phil.".
- His interest in the perils of firemen and his co-creation of the series Rescue Me (2004) stemmed from a tragic 1999 warehouse fire in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts, that took the lives of six firemen, including his cousin and a childhood friend.
- Established the Leary Firefighters Foundation. When 9/11 happened, his foundation went into action and was hailed as "the second-quickest charity" to get money into the hands of grieving families. One auction alone raised $600,000.
- Was offered Mark Wahlberg's role in The Departed (2006), but turned it down to scheduling conflicts with his television series, Rescue Me (2004). Leary has since commended Wahlberg's performance in the film with admiration.
- The things that make me angry still make me angry. George Carlin is 67, and he's still as funny as he's ever been, and he's still angry. And that makes me feel good, because I feel like if I stick around long enough, I'll still be able to work.
- Did you ever notice they never take any fat hostages? You never see a guy coming out of Lebanon going: "I was held hostage for seven months and I lost 175 pounds, I feel good and I look good and I learned self-discipline. That's the important thing."
- My biggest regret in life is that I didn't hit John Denver in the mouth while I had the chance.
- There we were in the middle of a sexual revolution wearing clothes that guaranteed we wouldn't get laid.
- Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them?
- Rescue Me (2004) - $250,000 /episode (2009-10)
- Rescue Me (2004) - $350,000 /episode (2010-11)
- Two If by Sea (1996) - $1,000,000
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