Standup comic Larry the Cable Guy is just a good ol' boy trying to navigate the world beyond his pickup truck.
The character is the creation of Dan Whitney, 48, who started doing standup in 1985. Larry the Cable Guy was just part of his act until he realized it could be the act.
Once he permanently donned the sleeveless shirts and introduced the Southern accent, his career took off. He is part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, along with Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall.
He's the author of "Git-R-Done!" and currently the host of "Only in America With Larry the Cable Guy," Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on History.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: Have there been any mishaps on "Only in America"?
A: Not really a lot of mishaps. Nobody got killed or nothing like that. I'm doing stuff I normally wouldn't do, you know? A 47-year-old guy with a couple of kids normally wouldn't get in a barrel with a bull, especially when it's hard enough trying to get in a pair of jeans. I got in and, you know, it rolled around. That put me out for about three hours. I couldn't get over my dizziness.
Then we went out to collect oysters and clams in South Carolina. The tide went out. We went out in little boats and walked around trying to collect oysters and clams (and a member) of my crew sunk in the mud up to her chest. We had a couple guys out there to help us, but it got pretty ugly from there (when) my guys got stuck and I got stuck. It took 45 minutes to get out of our holes.
There's normally a bottom you can feel and brace with one leg and pull the other leg out, but there was no bottom. So I was gradually sinking like quicksand, and when I told (my guide) that he was kind of freaking out.
I was smart enough to grab onto some weeds, and they kept me from going under the mud. I just kind of pulled and pulled and wiggled myself out. Of course, the guide who was supposed to take us to safer places, the first words out of his mouth were, "Well, Larry, I apologize, I didn't know it was going to be that deep." (Laughs) Well, guess what? It was.
Q: Did you have concerns about History being the right fit for you?
A: No, not really. They wanted to do something humorous. They wanted to do a different twist on history, and they thought I was the one to do the job. Well, I mean, it's a good fit, I'm an American icon. (Laughs) I'm the voice of a new generation. (Laughs) I like the show a lot, I'm "Larry the Cable Guy," but it gives me a chance to be myself in some episodes. It's kind of like me hanging out with my friends, because hanging out with my friends I'm "Larry the Cable Guy" 40 percent of the time. It's something completely different from anything else I've ever done.
Q: Speaking of that voice, do you leave the Larry persona at the front door, or do you slip into character with your family?
A: You know, I go in and out. I'm myself pretty much, but every now and then, I'll slip into it.
Q: I'm thinking it would be a good way to get out of trouble at home.
A: (Laughs) I do use it every now and then like that. "What? I didn't mean to do that," you know, if something breaks. "I ain't do'n noth'n. I just touched it." I mean, yeah, I do that all the time. I mean that character — that's easy for me to go in and out of. I've been talking like that since the mid-'80s. It's very second nature for me.
Q: Because you are in character, has your standup become more like acting?
A: I don't really consider it that because it really is second nature. You know, I moved to Florida from Nebraska when I was 15, and I kind of congregated with the rural kids in Florida. They all had accents. So I've been around it, I've been around the accent for years, 32 years.
After a while you are kind of talking with an accent. I started doing it on stage because I found it a fun thing to do. I just kind of rolled my friends up into one ball and kind of created this guy. It's not far from me anyway, but I mean I'm not -- the character would get into situations I would never get myself into.
Q: Do you ever feel trapped by the success of the Larry the Cable Guy persona?
A: No, I'm very grounded. I live in Sanford, Florida, in the wintertime, and I live in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the summertime. Not really, I can still go do things. I like people. People come up to me all the time and they want pictures and autographs. I don't mind that. That comes with the territory. I find that to be a fun thing. I feel very blessed. I try to enjoy it. I try to enjoy what I worked hard to get. It didn't come without work. It didn't just fall in my lap. You have to put time in and work at it and you roll the dice.
Dist. by Scripps Howard News Service