Rick Shapiro

Rick Shapiro
Rick Shapiro in the film Timeless.
Born	(1959-04-13) April 13, 1959 New Jersey, United States
Medium	Stand-Up Television Film Writer
Nationality	American
Years active	early 1980s-present
Genres	Improvisational comedy Observational comedy Black comedy Blue comedy
Website	RickShapiro.tv

Rick Shapiro (born April 13, 1959) is a Los Angeles-based comedian and actor.^[1]

Life and career

Shapiro was born in New Jersey. Spending his early years in New York City and New Jersey, Shapiro started his career in the early 1980s as a comedian at Catch A Rising Star on Broadway.^[2] Besides performing regularly on stage,^[2] throughout the 1990s he acted and starred in numerous films by Louis CK, including Tomorrow Night.^[3] Additionally, he portrayed the re-occurring character "Angry Poet" in Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[2] In 1998, Shapiro released his first comedy-CD called Unconditional Love, which Billboard called "hard-edged and uncompromising".^[4]

In the 2000s, Shapiro's career continues in multiple fields. He is performing stand-up comedy nationally and internationally, debuting a one-man show in 2007 in the Edinburgh Festival,^[5][6] and touring Australia in 2009.^[7] He had his first video game appearance in 2008, portraying the character Mason Waylon on the radio station PLR in Grand Theft Auto IV - a guest on a talk show who eventually drills holes in the heads of the two other guests.

Shapiro has an active acting career, appearing in numerous film and television productions. In film, his most recent roles are in Top Five by Chris Rock, portraying T-Rick in the movie Project X, and acting in the German comedy Timeless.^[8] His television credits include Jerry in Lucky Louie by Louis C.K. on HBO. Additionally, he appears in a scene originally filmed for the pilot of Louie.^[9]

Shapiro's first book Unfiltered,^[10] containing over 200 previously unreleased writings, was released in 2012 along with his second CD, Catalyst for Change.^[11]

In 2014-15, Shapiro appeared in the role of Marc Maron's eccentric neighbor, Bernie, in the IFC comedy series Maron.^[12]

Style

Shapiro is mainly known for his stream-of-consciousness monologues on stage that can run for more than an hour, in which he addresses many topics that are controversial or considered taboo by most comedians.^[2] His comedic style has been described as "explosive".^[13][14]

Reception

• Ron Rosenbaum: "An underground legend",^[15] "the Lenny Bruce of our time."^[16]
• New York Press: "Equal parts Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Lou Reed. New York City's most lurid funnyman - a real star"^[17]
• Stand Up NY: "One of the most innovative and surreal comedic artists to date: A staple of the NYC and LA Underground Comedy Scene."^[18]
• The New York Observer: "A sort of punk-rock, white Richard Pryor with a literary bent, part Iggy Pop, part Philip Roth."^[19]

Private life

In 2013, Rick Shapiro was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.^[20] As of August 2014, he is practically symptom-free and is productive.^[21]

Filmography (excerpt)

• Joey (1986) as Larry
• Caesar's Salad (1990) (short film)^[22]
• Ice Cream (1993) as Man's Brother (short film)^[23]
• Brunch (1995) as Old Woman. (short film)^[24][25]
• Highjacker (1998) as Highjacker (short film)^[26]
• Tomorrow Night (1998) as Tina
• Pootie Tang (2001) as Shakey
• Lucky Louie (2006-2007) as Jerry
• Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) as Waylon Mason
• Louie (2010) uncredited
• The League (2011) as Bum
• Project X (2012) as T-Rick
• Top Five (2014)^[27] as Biker AA Guy; Uncredited
• Timeless (2016) as State's Attorney / Special Agent / Paratrooper / Repairman
• Heart, Baby (2017) as Shaky J (Post-production)

References

External links

• Official website
• Rick Shapiro at the Internet Movie Database
• "Recovery Rick Re-Stands Up" by Ryan Blitstein, New York Observer, May 17, 2004.
• Performance at the UCB Theater, July 3, 2008