Denis Leary Biography

Denis Leary was born in 1957 in Worcester, Massachusetts. After graduating from Emerson College in 1979, he began teaching writing, specifically comedy writing, at the school. He kept the job for five years, but also began working the local comedy circuit in the 1980’s. Leary’s first real gig was on The Rascals Comedy Hour in 1990, but he also appeared on the Late Late Show and began appearing on Remote Control, performing in a variety of skits

Remote Control led to a number of MTV commercials for Denis Leary, usually in which he would rapidly rant about a variety of contemporary topics. The schtick became his trademark and made him more recognizable, and in the 1990’s, Leary released two successful comedy albums, No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock’n’Load (1997.) Leary’s son “Asshole,” a tribute to the stereotypical male, particularly the American one, became a hit in 1993, reaching as far as the top of the Australian charts.  Denis Leary branched out into film around this time, and over the decades he’s appeared in a number of highly successful movies, including: Natural Born Killers (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), Underworld (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), Suicide Kings (1997), A Bug’s Life (1998), Blow (2001), Ice Age (2002), Recount (2008), and the Ice Age franchise.

On Television, Denis Leary is most associated with the show Rescue Me, which ran for seven successful seasons until 2011. His work on the show led to his passionate support for the nation’s firefighters, and spawned both the documentary BURN (2012) and his own charity, the Leary Firefighters Foundation. The foundation raises funds to help support fire departments in Boston, New York City, and other nearby areas, and Leary has raised millions of dollars for the organization. A separate foundation, the Fund for New York’s Bravest, focuses on raising funds for the families of the 343 firemen lost in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Leary then went on to write and star in the FX series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2015-2016), and then voice the character of Diego for the 2016 film Ice Age: Collision Course.

In addition to his achievements in comedy, film, and television, Denis Leary has also published a few successful books, including Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy, and Stupid (2008); Suck On This Year (2010); and Why We Don’t Suck: And How All of Us Need to Stop Being Such Partisan Little Bitches (2017.)