Known for his clean act that delves into the simple but comical aspects of human behavior, both adult and child, Brian Regan the comedian almost never was. The fourth of eight children, he majored in accounting at Heidelberg College in Ohio. His football coach, of all people, recommended he try the theater, and an acting coach suggested he try standup comedy. In 1981, Regan began working as a short order cook and host at the Comic Strip in his homeland of South Florida. Soon he became the club's MC and spent two and a half years on its stage before hitting the road. Drawing on inspiration from Steve Martin, Regan spent the mid-'80s entertaining crowds across the U.S. before settling down in New York City in 1986 (where, he would later say, he lived in an apartment that was so small, he kept his goldfish in a shot glass). Two years later, he won the Miller Lite Funniest Person in New York award, good for 10,000 dollars. After toiling underground for a decade, his television-friendly act paid off in the '90s. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and recorded Something's Wrong with That Regan Boy for Showtime. He also teamed up with his comedic brother Dennis on Showtime's A Pair of Jokers and hosted Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater. Regular appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien followed. Regan won the American Comedy Awards' Best Club Comedian in 1996 and recorded Brian Regan Live the following year. He made his debut in the film world by co-writing 102 Dalmatians in 2000. Still focusing on touring as a standup, his second special, I Walked on the Moon, was recorded at the Irvine Improv and self-released in 2004. It captured the comedian's physical energy in addition to his relatable writing, which included bits called "Visiting the Doctor" and "Phones and Codes." Its success helped move Regan from the club circuit to theaters, which he regularly sold out beginning with a 40-city tour in 2005. Around that time, Regan relocated his family to Las Vegas, and in 2007 he signed a deal with Comedy Central for two one-hour standup specials, resulting in that year's Standing Up and 2008's The Epitome of Hyperbole. Both aired on the cable network and were released on DVD by the Comedy Central label. All by Myself followed in 2010, this time self-released and available through his website only on CD. Amid continued touring and writing, Regan was the featured guest on a 2012 episode of the Jerry Seinfeld web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and on September 26, 2015, his hourlong special Live from Radio City Music Hall was broadcast live on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD later that year. ~ Ron DePasquale & Marcy Donelson, Rovi

Brian Regan

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