Biography
The word "brutal" typically describes death metal acts or horror films, yet the acerbic, irreverent, and sharp-witted Doug Stanhope applied it to comedy releases through stickers on CDs and DVDs. Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Stanhope first relocated to Los Angeles in pursuit of a breakthrough, though real momentum arrived only after he abandoned California and settled in Las Vegas during 1990. ACID Bootleg circulated through his live shows in 1997, followed the next year by the official debut Great White Stanhope on the Uproar label.
Sicko arrived in 1999 with an image of a "marital aid" on its cover, then Something to Take the Edge Off appeared in 2000 via the Stand Up imprint. Steady touring and repeated appearances on Howard Stern's radio program had built a devoted audience by that point, so his 2001 engagement by the Comedy Central network for a first television special drew little astonishment. Die Laughing surfaced in 2002, the same year Variety magazine listed him among "One of the Top Ten Comedians to Watch." Earnings from hosting multiple installments of the Girls Gone Wild series and co-hosting The Man Show alongside Joe Rogan covered expenses, but standup remained his central focus, prompting the 2004 CD/DVD package Deadbeat Hero.
After mounting a Libertarian presidential campaign in 2008, in which he was defeated in a landslide by Democratic nominee Barack Obama, he issued Live from Cape Fear in 2009. Oslo: Burning the Bridge to Nowhere arrived in 2011, captured during a European tour stop in Norway. That same year he launched Doug Stanhope's Big Stink Comedy Tour and released Before Turning the Gun on Himself..., documenting his Showtime special. Beer Hall Putsch, whose title references Adolf Hitler's failed 1920s attempt to incite a crowd of drinkers, followed in 2013. Recorded at Dante's in Portland, Oregon, the set premiered on Netflix before appearing later that year in both video and audio editions.
His next project shifted away from standup to a memoir honoring his mother's vivid life; she had died in 2008. Digging Up Mother: A Love Story reached stores through Da Capo Press in spring 2016. That autumn he delivered the standup special No Place Like Home, taped the preceding November at the Bisbee Royale in Bisbee, Arizona.
Sicko arrived in 1999 with an image of a "marital aid" on its cover, then Something to Take the Edge Off appeared in 2000 via the Stand Up imprint. Steady touring and repeated appearances on Howard Stern's radio program had built a devoted audience by that point, so his 2001 engagement by the Comedy Central network for a first television special drew little astonishment. Die Laughing surfaced in 2002, the same year Variety magazine listed him among "One of the Top Ten Comedians to Watch." Earnings from hosting multiple installments of the Girls Gone Wild series and co-hosting The Man Show alongside Joe Rogan covered expenses, but standup remained his central focus, prompting the 2004 CD/DVD package Deadbeat Hero.
After mounting a Libertarian presidential campaign in 2008, in which he was defeated in a landslide by Democratic nominee Barack Obama, he issued Live from Cape Fear in 2009. Oslo: Burning the Bridge to Nowhere arrived in 2011, captured during a European tour stop in Norway. That same year he launched Doug Stanhope's Big Stink Comedy Tour and released Before Turning the Gun on Himself..., documenting his Showtime special. Beer Hall Putsch, whose title references Adolf Hitler's failed 1920s attempt to incite a crowd of drinkers, followed in 2013. Recorded at Dante's in Portland, Oregon, the set premiered on Netflix before appearing later that year in both video and audio editions.
His next project shifted away from standup to a memoir honoring his mother's vivid life; she had died in 2008. Digging Up Mother: A Love Story reached stores through Da Capo Press in spring 2016. That autumn he delivered the standup special No Place Like Home, taped the preceding November at the Bisbee Royale in Bisbee, Arizona.
Albums
