Biography
Born in 1967, Louis C.K. launched his stand-up career after settling in New York City in 1989 and hustling for spots on the city’s many televised comedy showcases. He soon began shooting short films and crisscrossing the country on the club circuit, which opened the door to his first writing job as one of the original staff members on Conan O’Brien’s irreverent late-night program when it debuted in 1993. There he devised recurring bits such as “The Staring Contest” and “Actual Items,” segments that kept airing long after he moved on; meanwhile he contributed to The Late Show with David Letterman and The Dana Carvey Show while steadily building an audience for his own performances.
A key shift arrived in 1996 when, after recording a solo HBO special, he joined The Chris Rock Show as a producer, an association that would prove especially productive. He stepped away briefly to direct his first feature, Tomorrow Night, then returned to earn an Emmy in 1998 for his work on the series. The following year he hosted the PBS anthology Short Cuts, after which he wrote and directed his first studio feature, Pootie Tang (2001), drawn from the slurred-speech character he had created on The Chris Rock Show, and also co-wrote Rock’s Down to Earth. In 2006 his partly autobiographical sitcom Lucky Louie ran for one season on HBO before cancellation; the cast included longtime friend and fellow comic Jim Norton, then employed by the nationally syndicated Opie & Anthony morning show on which C.K. made repeated appearances. After the 2007 HBO special Shameless he moved to Showtime for the 2008 concert Chewed Up, issued on both CD and DVD that same year. Hilarious arrived in 2010, becoming the first stand-up concert film accepted by the Sundance Film Festival, with CD and DVD editions following in 2011. The television special Oh My God premiered in 2013 and reached album form a year later.
A key shift arrived in 1996 when, after recording a solo HBO special, he joined The Chris Rock Show as a producer, an association that would prove especially productive. He stepped away briefly to direct his first feature, Tomorrow Night, then returned to earn an Emmy in 1998 for his work on the series. The following year he hosted the PBS anthology Short Cuts, after which he wrote and directed his first studio feature, Pootie Tang (2001), drawn from the slurred-speech character he had created on The Chris Rock Show, and also co-wrote Rock’s Down to Earth. In 2006 his partly autobiographical sitcom Lucky Louie ran for one season on HBO before cancellation; the cast included longtime friend and fellow comic Jim Norton, then employed by the nationally syndicated Opie & Anthony morning show on which C.K. made repeated appearances. After the 2007 HBO special Shameless he moved to Showtime for the 2008 concert Chewed Up, issued on both CD and DVD that same year. Hilarious arrived in 2010, becoming the first stand-up concert film accepted by the Sundance Film Festival, with CD and DVD editions following in 2011. The television special Oh My God premiered in 2013 and reached album form a year later.
Albums
