16 February 2011

Stand-up Comedy Greats: Steven Wright Debuts on The Tonight Show - 1982

"Yeah, it's a small world... but I wouldn't want to paint it"


Steven Wright -dob 12.06.55- is an American comedian, actor and writer. Widely known for a distinct lethargic voice and deadpan delivery in a droning monotone, the highly-original style of humor centers on ironic, philosophical, and even nonsensical jokes and one-liners with often bizarre, contrived situations...

His early career as a Boston-area stand up comedian working primarily two clubs eventually landed him appearances on both the Carson and Letterman shows by 1982.  Wright's unique act went over huge in the new-wave 80s, and he was repeatedly asked back on.

By 1985, Steven Wright's comedy album I Have a Pony was released to much critical acclaim,  and the success of this LP landed him a much-coveted HBO special which he recorded as a live college concert performance entitled "A Steven Wright Special". 

By the mid-80s Wright had firmly developed a new brand of obscure, laid-back performing and was rapidly building a cult-like mystique and eclectic following of "hip" young fans. The performance would become one of HBO's longest running and most requested comedy specials and propel him to huge success on the college arena concert circuits. 

In 1989 he and fellow producer Dean Parisot won an Academy Award for their 30-minute short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, starring Wright along with Brit Rowan Atkinson (later of Mr Bean fame).

1992 brought Wright a recurring role on the television sitcom Mad About You. He also supplied the voice of the radio DJ in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs that same year.

Here's a 26-year-old Steven Wright in his national TV debut on Carson's Tonight Show in '82...


Previous RR Comedy Greats features archived -here-