Ron White (born December 18, 1956) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, best known as a charter member of the

Blue Collar Comedy Tour The Blue Collar Comedy Tour was an American comedy troupe, featuring Jeff Foxworthy with three of his comedian friends, Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Larry the Cable Guy, who had replaced fellow comedian Craig Hawksley, who performed in the fir ...

. Nicknamed "Tater Salad", he is the author of the book ''I Had the Right to Remain Silent But I Didn't Have the Ability'', which appeared on the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' best seller list.

Biography

White was born in

Fritch, Texas Fritch is a city in Hutchinson and Moore Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,117 at the 2010 census. The mayor is Dwight Kirksey. History 1992 tornado On June 27, 1992, a mile-wide, multi-vortex F4 tornado struck the Fri ...

on December 18, 1956. He joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

at age 17 and served on the auxiliary rescue and salvage ship USS ''Conserver'' near the end of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Before pursuing comedy professionally, White briefly lived in Mexico, where he bought a pottery factory. From January 2000 through March 2003, White toured with

Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a r ...

Bill Engvall William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially success ...

, and

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

as part of the

– a show that sold out across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in over 90 cities and grossed over $15 million. He made seven guest appearances on ''

Blue Collar TV ''Blue Collar TV'' is an American sketch comedy television series that aired on The WB from July 29, 2004 to July 26, 2006 starring Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy. The show's humor dealt principally with contemporary Ame ...

''. In 2005, The

WB Television Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

aired the pilot for ''

The Ron White Show ''The Ron White Show'' is a 2005 TV special that appeared in the WB in 2005. It starred comedian Ron White, was directed by C.B. Harding and written by Donick Cary. It featured two cartoon segments that are now available on White's official web ...

'', a

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a co ...

that combined a number of celebrity cameos,

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s, and sketches. He taped several episodes of ''

The Gong Show with Dave Attell ''The Gong Show with Dave Attell'' was a revival of the 1970s Chuck Barris comedy game show called ''The Gong Show'', hosted by comedian Dave Attell. The show premiered on July 17, 2008. It was produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happ ...

'' as one of the celebrity judges. White has appeared in the TV shows ''

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughte ...

'', ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Ro ...

'', ''

12 Miles of Bad Road ''12 Miles of Bad Road'' is a television show originally created for HBO centered on a Texas matriarch who must reconcile her booming real estate business and immense wealth with the day-to-day struggles of her dysfunctional family life. Cast T ...

'', the films ''

Sex and the City 2 ''Sex and the City 2'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Sex and the City'', based on the 1998–2004 television series. Sarah Jessica Parker, ...

'' and ''

Horrible Bosses ''Horrible Bosses'' is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jenn ...

'', and a cameo in a Rascal Flatts music video, "Why Wait". White is known for drinking Scotch as part of his act, as well as smoking cigars or cigarettes. He stated during his ''You Can't Fix Stupid'' show, "Somebody asked what I was drinking. If the company that made the stuff I was drinking was paying me, I'd have it in their bottle and not mine. But it's the kind of scotch that people drink that are going to die penniless. It's good though!" In 2009, Comedy Central released White's stand up DVD '' Behavioral Problems''. In 2010, Ron White and producer Michael Blakey formed Organica Music Group (OMG), a label that promotes both emerging and established musicians and comedians. OMG indicated that it would release all of White's future DVDs and CDs. In November 2015, White announced that he was running for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

candidate in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. In 2016, White starred as Phil, veteran road manager for the fictional Staton-House Band, in the Showtime series '' Roadies''. In January 2022, White announced that he would retire from stand-up at the end of the year.

Personal life

White was married to Lori Brice from 1981 to 1993 and they had one son, Marshall. He was later married to Barbara Dobbs from 2004 to 2008. In 2013, he married singer Margo Rey; as of 2017 the two are no longer together, with White claiming that they were never legally married. On August 6, 2019, a ruling came down in L.A. Superior Court where a judge sided with Rey and declared the couple was in a common-law marriage under Texas law. White stopped drinking alcohol sometime in early 2021. He credits the consultation of a

hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th ce ...

and the use of

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' ( Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' desce ...

with his abstinence.

Awards and recognition

April 27, 2009, was designated "Ron White Day" in the State of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

by Texas legislative officials. White received the

Armed Forces Foundation The Armed Forces Foundation was an American non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which was founded in 2002 by Jim Gorab, a former Navy Seabee, to promote the morale, welfare and quality of life of the military community with a specia ...

's "Patriot Award" in March 2009 for his work in raising money to help wounded soldiers. He also held benefit shows for

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

relief. He was Grammy-nominated for Best Comedy Album in 2007 & 2014.

Comedy releases

Besides the ''

'' CDs and films, White has released seven solo projects to date.

Solo works

* ''Tater Salad a.k.a. Busted in Des Moines'' (1990) (CD) * '' Drunk in Public'' (2003) (CD) * ''They Call Me "Tater Salad"'' (2004) (DVD) * '' You Can't Fix Stupid'' (2006) (DVD and CD) * '' Behavioral Problems'' (2009) (DVD) * ''A Little Unprofessional'' (2013) (DVD and digital download) * ''If You Quit Listening, I’ll Shut Up'' (2018) (Netflix) He has appeared on the following compilation albums: * ''Redneck Comedy Roundup'' (2005) * '' Comedy Central Presents Southern Gents of Comedy'' (2006) * ''Ron White,

: Live from Las Vegas'' (2004) * ''Redneck Kings of Comedy'' (2005)

Discography

References

External links

Official website
*
Organica Music Group, Ron White and Michael Blakey's record label

WTF Podcast Episode 470: Ron White

Radio Labyrinth 217: Ron White Doug Stanhope
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Ron Living people 21st-century American male actors American stand-up comedians American country singer-songwriters American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Capitol Records artists Male actors from Texas People from Fritch, Texas United States Navy sailors Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Country musicians from Texas Comedians from Texas 1956 births