His comic material is mostly observational humor. His recent routines include such diverse topics as car accident mayhem, Cook's time spent working at Burger King and assorted geek humor. Cook often refers to specific places or things using his own slang terms. For instance: Burger King is the "BK Lounge" (a phrase first used by De La Soul), Walgreens is "The Wall" , and a sandwich is a "sangwich". He also popularized the acronym BAMF, short for Bad Ass Mother Fucker, a slight variation on the more-common and widely-used "BMF", or "Bad Mother Fucker". Among Cook's numerous television credits are performances on Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Bar Mitzvah Bash.
He is often referred to as 'the most popular guy on MySpace' (next to Tom Anderson, the creator of the service), because at one time he approved every friend request he received -- recently hitting one million.
Career
When he was a teenager, Dane discovered his comedic talent when his father, former radio personality George Cook, gave him a tape recorder and microphone. He was inspired by watching and listening to a variety of comedians, including Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, George Carlin and even Red Skelton. In seventh grade he watched Saturday Night Live one night and saw Martin Short performing his character Ed Grimley. He suddenly realized a goal in life: to be on the show.
He started performing stand-up comedy in 1990. By 1995, Cook was performing stand-up comedy every night, usually in Boston and, when he made it to Los Angeles, at The Laugh Factory. He stated in a 2005 interview with Entertainment Weekly that he "never walked toward a stage and felt heavy. Ever. Even in bad places, I always learned something." Also in 1995, Cook made his television debut as Kyle in five episodes of the short-lived ABC series Maybe This Time, starring Marie Osmond and Betty White.
In 1999, he made his first (albeit brief) appearance in a major motion picture as "The Waffler" (a superhero who uses a waffle iron and "truth syrup" to fight crime) in Mystery Men. A year earlier, he was featured on Comedy Central's stand-up comedy showcase Premium Blend and, the following year, Comics Come Home. It would begin a partnership with the cable channel that would help launch Cook's career to new heights. He made his own half-hour feature segment on Comedy Central Presents in 2000.
1999 also saw Cook starring in the straight-to-video Dennis Rodman vehicle, Simon Sez. Often thought to be a sequel to the mildly successful Jean Claude Van Damme film, Simon Sez actually has nothing to do with Double Team. In the film Cook plays Rodman's partner, Nick Miranda. The film was directed by Kevin Elders, previously known as the screenwriter for Aces: Iron Eagle III.
Two years later, Cook pooled $25,000 of his own money from savings and retirement accounts and launched DaneCook.com, his own interactive website to help further his career and help stay personally connected to his fans. Although other comics mocked him, his website, along with his MySpace account, turned out to be a success.
In 2003, Cook released his first comedy album, Harmful If Swallowed, which also included a DVD of his appearances on Comedy Central.
In 2003 Dane Cook also released the film 8 Guys, which he wrote, directed, and starred in.
2005 to present
In 2005, Cook launched a nationwide tour dubbed "Tourgasm" (highlights from which aired as "Dane Cook's Tourgasm." It debuted on HBO June 11, 2006) as a follow up to his second album Retaliation, which debuted at #4 on Billboard magazine's Top Albums chart, the most successful comedy album debut since Steve Martin's A Wild and Crazy Guy in 1979. Cook wore a T-shirt depicting Steve Martin and "A Wild And Crazy Guy" at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards.
The album's success launched a slew of public appearances and magazine articles that fall, including a three-minute routine on the MTV Video Music Awards on August 28. He also performed three sold-out shows in two nights at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, a 2,500 to 5,000 seat venue, in mid-September without any press but his own website.
During a May 2005 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cook parodied Tom Cruise's "couch jumping" Oprah appearance and made a "tattoo" of Katie Holmes (actually a picture taped to his back), barging into the women's restroom to get her.
During a October 2005 appearance on The Tonight Show, he kissed Charlize Theron's butt after she allowed him to do so. Cook was re-enacting a previous joke/act in which Charlize kissed Shirley MacLaine's butt at a Premiere magazine tribute to women in Hollywood.
He also appeared and performed on Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour.
He finished his own television pilot called Cooked, which he is writing and starring in, soon afterwards.
On December 3, 2005, Cook finally realized his dream of hosting Saturday Night Live. His appearance was unique because he was one of the few stand-up comedians (as opposed to actors) to appear as guest host for the show. He performed the longest monologue in the show's history while using a handheld microphone, another rarity for SNL. The episode was one of the highest-rated SNLs of the season.
On January 13, 2006, after months of keeping a "BIG secret" from his fans, he announced via his website an April 15 gig at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden where his first HBO special was eventually filmed. A documentary series and a scripted program are also in the works for HBO. In the week prior to the televised gig, he performed at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas (April 8) and Allstate Arena in Chicago (April 13), the largest venues he's ever performed in those cities.
Sadly, his mother, Donna Cook passed away after a long bout with cancer on July 3rd.
Cook was in Santa Fe, New Mexico working on a movie called Employee of the Month, a comedy co-starring Jessica Simpson (who he's been linked to romantically by the tabloid press), Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez and Harland Williams.
He is also currently filming the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks in Shreveport, Louisiana with Kevin Costner. In 2006, he was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2006.
Cook plans on touring the country with other comedians including Steve Carell.
While shooting a movie in Vancouver, Dane Cook made the local papers for his behavior in a comedy club. His actions were called "very immature". Dane Cook has yet to make comment on this event.
The Super Finger
The Super Finger or Su-Fi is a hand gesture. It was not created by Dane Cook, although he has adopted as such. It consists of raising the middle finger, ring finger, and thumb on the same hand while lowering (or curling) the index and pinky fingers. Cook's website explains his idea behind the Su-Fi:
"One night I did a bit on stage about 5 years ago at the Laugh Factory. I was talking about how the finger is lame now and it's lost its pizzazz. I said I wanted to upgrade the finger and so from now on people should use both the ring finger coupled with the middle finger. I called it the SUPERFINGER (or SU-FI)."
Cook is considered to be double-jointed.
In 2005, Cook started his own company to produce his albums and videos, which he named Superfinger Entertainment.
Material controversy
After the release of his immensely successful CD / DVD Retaliation, many fans of comedy took note of three bits on Cook's CD. On June 10, 1999, comedian Louis C.K. performed stand-up on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, one of the bits being about naming kids and wanting to name his kid with one letter repeated many times. On CK's debut CD, Louis CK: Live in Houston, which was released in 2000, CK had a bit called "Itchy Asshole". CK has also performed a routine on both his CD, Late Night, and other television programs called "Guy on a Bike", which was a routine about witnessing someone struck by a car and wondering how quickly to warn someone before the accident. In 2005, Dane Cook performed and released three similar routines on Retaliation. CK commented on the similarities, noting what he considered clear examples of cribbing material, but said that he did not intend to act on these findings. For his part, Cook has yet to respond.
Vancouver Yuk-Yuk's
On Saturday, July 22, 2006, Dane Cook was played off the stage at Yuk Yuk's comedy club in Vancouver. Cook was in town for six weeks shooting a film with Jessica Alba and his agent had requested a slot for him, after that night's headliner.
When he arrived Cook wanted an earlier set, so he was given the slot before the headliner with the understanding that he do less time. He either could not see or ignored the red light so the club's manager cut his mic and tried to play him off with music. Cook was quite surprised by this but continued his act, until the manager cut his mic and tried to play him off again; this time it was successful, resulting in Cook dropping his mic in a fit of anger and walking off the stage.
Struck by a Vehicle
Dane Cook Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I finally saw someone get hit by a car.
Nailed, this guy got hit right in the hip.
That's your center of gravity and that sends you flipping through the air
like Eddie Gordo from Tekken when someone doesn't know
how to do combos and they're just hitting the buttons randomly.
I always just miss it, right?
*Collision noise*
Oh what, what happened?!
The guy got hit? No.
I just went to order my twisty cone and I missed it.
This guy gets nailed.. this is the setup.
He's walking down the street and he's doing that whacky speed walk...
he's got the buds in his ears, and I don't know what you're listening to
that makes you do this fucking walk.
Maybe just a tambourine or maracas.
You're just.. *shookashookashookashooka*.
So Johnny Tambourine is walking down the street,
he's got the "not a good time to cross" signal.
As he's going across, I see the car *car noise* coming down the street.
When I see the car coming, I'm like...
"Yesssss finally. don't talk to me. don't talk to me I gotta see this."
*collision noise*
The guy goes flying into the air, his shoes flew off.
When you get hit by a car, sometimes your shoes will fly off.
Sometimes your pants will come off.
But I was not fortunate enough to see the pants portion on this strike.
And before I go any further, here's the best part.
This is how he lands on the other side of the car
which was a dodge by the way,
and I thought that was kind of funny and ironic.
I just -- I got a little humor out of that.
I did try to help this man.
as the car was coming towards him I reached out and I said,
"ohhhhh. ohhhhh."
That's all I could think of to say.
Theres so many things now in retrospect that I would love
I would love to have been like "you're about to get struck by a vehicle!!!"
I did not have time to say "You're about to get struck by a vehicle"
so I went with "ohhhhh!" which is like a concerned moan.
The guy gets tagged okay, the greatest part of the story.
He's in the air flipping around,
this is how he lands on the other side of the car.
He comes down perfectly on his feet and then he jumps in the air
and he starts walking around, embarassed.
He's trying to play it off like he didn't just get hit, by a car.
People around him are like...
--"Oh my god! Oh my god! Are you alright? Are you okay?"
He's like ...
--"I'm fine, I'm fine. Seriously, I'm fine. I'm a little bit hungry.
But uh other than that I'm fi-"
--"No you should really sit down, you're bleeding from the ears."
--"I know, I know that. I do that.
Every couple of weeks I empty the blood out of my own head,
it's tradition in my family. Has anyone seen my shoes?
I kicked them off in a fit of joy.
I love getting struck by vehicles and sometimes
I'll kick my shoes off in a fit of joy.
I'm fine I'm just gonna go over here and puke shards of my own
pelvis into this bush."
*puking noises*
In Dane Cook's song Struck by a Vehicle, the comedian describes his excitement in witnessing someone get hit by a car. He narrates how the man got hit by the car right on his center of gravity and was thrown in the air like a character from Tekken. Cook admits to always missing these types of events, but finally witnesses it while ordering his twisty cone. As the man walks down the street, listening to his music and doing his funky speed walk, he ignores the "not a good time to cross" signal and gets hit by a Dodge car.
After the collision, the man's shoes flew off, and he landed perfectly on his feet, jumped up, and played it off as if nothing had happened. Cook admits to trying to help him by moaning out "ohhhh!" but wished he had warned him instead. The man suffered from bleeding ears and had lost his shoes while claiming that getting struck by vehicles was a tradition in his family. He then puked shards of his pelvis in a nearby bush.
Line by Line Meaning
I finally got to see something I've always wanted to witness live.
I had always wanted to see someone get hit by a car and finally got to witness it live.
I finally saw someone get hit by a car.
I saw someone getting hit by a car.
Nailed, this guy got hit right in the hip.
The guy got hit by the car in his hip area.
That's your center of gravity and that sends you flipping through the air
like Eddie Gordo from Tekken when someone doesn't know
how to do combos and they're just hitting the buttons randomly.
Getting hit in the hip, which is the center of gravity, can cause someone to flip through the air uncontrollably like a Tekken character being played without proper combos.
I always just miss it, right?
I always seem to miss seeing someone get hit by a car.
I'm looking, and then I go to order my twisty cone.
*Collision noise*
Oh what, what happened?!
The guy got hit? No.
I just went to order my twisty cone and I missed it.
While I was looking for someone to get hit by a car, I went to order a twisty cone and missed the actual collision.
This guy gets nailed.. this is the setup.
The guy walking down the street is about to get hit by the car.
He's walking down the street and he's doing that whacky speed walk...
he's got the buds in his ears, and I don't know what you're listening to
that makes you do this fucking walk.
Maybe just a tambourine or maracas.
You're just.. *shookashookashookashooka*.
So Johnny Tambourine is walking down the street,
he's got the "not a good time to cross" signal.
The person walking down the street is doing a strange walk with earbuds in, maybe to music with tambourines or maracas. He has the 'Do not cross' signal.
As he's going across, I see the car *car noise* coming down the street.
When I see the car coming, I'm like...
"Yesssss finally. don't talk to me. don't talk to me I gotta see this."
*collision noise*
As the person is crossing the road, I see the car approaching and get excited to finally see someone being hit by a car. The collision happens.
The guy goes flying into the air, his shoes flew off.
The person hit by the car goes flying into the air and loses his shoes.
When you get hit by a car, sometimes your shoes will fly off.
Sometimes your pants will come off.
But I was not fortunate enough to see the pants portion on this strike.
Being hit by a car can cause you to lose your shoes or pants, but I only saw the person losing shoes in this case.
And before I go any further, here's the best part.
This is how he lands on the other side of the car
which was a dodge by the way,
and I thought that was kind of funny and ironic.
I just -- I got a little humor out of that.
The best part of the incident was how the person hit by the car landed on the opposite side of a Dodge car, which I found funny and ironic.
I did try to help this man.
as the car was coming towards him I reached out and I said,
"ohhhhh. ohhhhh."
That's all I could think of to say.
I did try to help the person hit by the car by reaching out and saying 'ohhh' as the car was approaching.
Theres so many things now in retrospect that I would love
I would love to have been like "you're about to get struck by a vehicle!!!"
I did not have time to say "You're about to get struck by a vehicle"
so I went with "ohhhhh!" which is like a concerned moan.
I wish I had said things like 'You're about to get struck by a vehicle' instead of just 'ohh' in retrospect.
The guy gets tagged okay, the greatest part of the story.
He's in the air flipping around,
this is how he lands on the other side of the car.
He comes down perfectly on his feet and then he jumps in the air
and he starts walking around, embarassed.
He's trying to play it off like he didn't just get hit, by a car.
Although the person hit by the car was flipping in the air, he landed perfectly on the other side of a Dodge car, got up, and walked away pretending that he hadn't just been hit.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Seriously, I'm fine. I'm a little bit hungry.
But uh other than that I'm fi-"
--"No you should really sit down, you're bleeding from the ears."
--"I know, I know that. I do that.
Every couple of weeks I empty the blood out of my own head,
it's tradition in my family. Has anyone seen my shoes?
I kicked them off in a fit of joy.
I love getting struck by vehicles and sometimes
I'll kick my shoes off in a fit of joy.
I'm fine I'm just gonna go over here and puke shards of my own
pelvis into this bush."
The person hit by the car doesn't want help and insists that he is fine, but he is bleeding from the ears. He explains that he periodically removes blood from his head as it is a family tradition. He then wants to know if anyone has seen his shoes as he likes to lose them in joy when getting struck by vehicles. He then proceeds to go vomit in a nearby bush.
Contributed by Nicholas K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
AngeliqueNade
I don't know why every time I hear him make even the sound at 0:33 it always sends me laughing so much. xD
Hospital Bills
Howdy Reddit.
Leonader
Wha-
K Pie
I can't help but notice the similarities in Dane's hypothetical situation and what very sadly happened in Charlottesville yesterday. Yahoo news even reporting that people's shoes flew off of their feet. The car used was a Dodge and the person killed was crossing the street. As I watched the cell phone footage on CNN of the attack, all I could do was let out a concerned moan, like Dane describes. R.I.P. to the lady who was killed yesterday.
BlackFriday242
You're a bummer.