DOUG STANHOPE
Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Doug Stanhope left school at 15 without any formal qualifications. A teenage hodgepodge of jobs followed - donut maker, collections agent, security guard - with Doug often committing to the position for as long as 90 minutes. Aged 18 he left for fame and fortune in LA, quickly achieving both through uncredited extra roles in HAMBURGER THE MOTION PICTURE (1986) and the Lee Remick television movie TOUGH LOVE (1985). Burnt out from early success Doug eased himself into a fraud telemarketing career, conducting business from a variety of locations including Florida and Idaho before settling for a three year stay in the boiler-rooms of Las Vegas. It was at the Escape Lounge 2 that Doug first stepped onto the stage for an open mike. Passion for a tweaker girlfriend saw Doug abandon Vegas for Phoenix, becoming resident MC at the short-lived Comedy Cove. When true love fizzled, Doug hit the stand-up comedy road, living out of six cars over three years until the bright shining day when The Industry found him at the 1995 Vail Comedy Festival. Combined with winning that year's San Francisco Comedy Competition, this gave Doug the misguided wherewithal to move back to Los Angeles where he was named one of Variety's top ten stand-ups to watch. The rest wasn't history so we have to go on. While continuing to build his stand-up reputation, Doug took on a number of exciting broadcast opportunities, including both Fox's WHEN HIDDEN CAMERAS ATTACK (2002) and the notorious 5th season of THE MAN SHOW (2004), a mismatched televisual ode to paying off gambling debts. At the same time the strength and depth of his stand-up material saw Doug emerge in the UK as a hugely popular figure, with sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2002, 2004 and 2006 where he was given the inaugural Strathmore Press Award for Best Act of the Fringe on his debut. With 3 CDs, 3 DVDs - including his own Showtime special NO REFUNDS (2007) - and many internet bootlegs spreading his word around the world, and helped by numerous appearances on the Howard Stern Show, Doug now bases himself out of Bisbee, Arizona, continuing to record, tour, pander, subvert and cancel according to the demands of supporting dogs Ichabod, Henry Philips and Bingo his Bipolar Girlfriend.