Perry Caravello
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Perry Frank "Francis" Caravello (born November 17, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and internet personality who is best known as the star of the 2003 movie '' Windy City Heat'' and the internet stream ''Perry Caravello Live''.


Early life

Originally from the northwest suburbs of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Caravello was born in Park Ridge and lived there before moving to Des Plaines, Barrington,
Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.
, and Arlington Heights. He moved with his family to
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
in 1974. In 1979, three weeks after getting his driver's license, he was injured in a car accident that put him in a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
for three weeks. As a result of the accident, Caravello suffered brain trauma.


Career

Caravello started acting and standup comedy around 1988, performing in an aggressive style inspired by his idol
Sam Kinison Samuel Burl Kinison ( ; December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distin ...
, which earned him the nickname "Scary Perry". Early in his career he was trying to get standup spots at
The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...
, when an
open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...
host named Don Barris gave him a challenge to shave his own chest onstage with a razor and no soap. Caravello did the stunt and was given a regular spot at the comedy club. This was the beginning of frequent comedic collaborations between Caravello and Barris, along with Tony Barbieri (aka "Mole"), all of which were typically at the expense of Perry. Caravello has alleged that in 1992 he was coerced into giving a
handjob A handjob (also spelled hand job) is a manual sex act involving a person stimulating the penis or scrotum of another by using the hand. This is done to induce an erection for sexual pleasure, sexual arousal and may result in orgasm and ejaculat ...
to a male casting director, where in turn, he received
fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...
in order to receive three SAG vouchers and a role in a movie. In 2003, Caravello starred in the
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
reality movie '' Windy City Heat'', directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, produced by comedians
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
and
Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...
under their company Jackhole Productions (with TV/film producer Daniel Kellison), and written by Barris and Barbieri. All three co-starred as well. The movie was one elaborate prank on Caravello who was under the impression he had landed his first starring role in a major motion picture. The movie followed him from the beginning being cast in the picture to the conclusion of the "one-night only" premiere where he was awarded a trophy for his outstanding work. It is speculated that Caravello earned at least $50,000 for his role in the film. He had roles in the
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
shows ''
Hot Package ''Hot Package'' is an Adult Swim entertainment variety show, created by Derrick Beckles. The show parodies network entertainment shows such as ''Entertainment Tonight'' and '' Access Hollywood''. Instead of sourcing its news from real celebritie ...
'' and '' Smiling Friends'', as well as '' Derek and Simon: The Show'', and '' Virtuosity'' and was also an extra in ''
Austin Powers in Goldmember ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third and final installment in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four different roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldme ...
'' where he can be seen multiple times during the prison rap scene. After ''Windy City Heat'', Caravello started working with Richard Heene on a project called ''Psyience Detectives'' in which they played storm chasing detectives. The project ended during production in 2006 when the two men got involved in a physical altercation while filming. After the Balloon boy hoax perpetrated by Richard Heene, Caravello made frequent TV appearances in which he was interviewed in regard to Heene's character. He was then invited on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'', where he was lampooned for taking advantage of his "15 minutes of fame" in light of the incident. In 2010, Caravello, Barris and Barbieri started a weekly comedy
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
called ''The Big 3 Podcast'', on
Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...
's ACE Broadcasting Network. In 2011 the show moved to Barris' own network, before ending in April 2015. Caravello has spoken on ''Simply Don The Podcast'' from 2014 through 2020. Perry was prank-called by
The Jerky Boys The Jerky Boys are an American comedy act from Queens, New York City, New York (state), New York, whose routine consisted of Prank call, prank telephone calls and other related Sketch comedy, skits. The duo was founded in 1989 by childhood friends ...
on the track "Perry's Slacks" on the 2020 album ''The Jerky Boys''.


''Perry Caravello Live''

In November 2020, Caravello launched his own live stream on the platform Twitch (and later expanded to
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
) with the help of his publicist Tom Brennan. The following Caravello obtained from ''Windy City Heat'' proved to make his streaming channels successful and began streaming 3 to 4 days a week. This also brought him a new audience.


Mousetrap lawsuit

On June 1, 2007, Caravello filed a lawsuit alleging that Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, and Johnny Knoxville had promised him ten million dollars if he agreed to place his genitals in a mousetrap during an episode of '' The Adam Carolla Show''. The lawsuit was initiated after Caravello suffered an injury during the stunt, did not receive the promised payment, and was not provided with an account of profits and royalties from DVD sales of ''Windy City Heat''.


2020 presidential campaign

In a May 2019 episode of ''Simply Don The Podcast'', Caravello revealed that he would be 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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Caravello has stated that he would run as an independent on a platform that included abolishing money, building a wall across the
Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
, providing free
universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured right to health, access to health care. It is genera ...
, and legalizing
medical marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...
. He also supported abolishing
gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
, criminalizing
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
, and said he would like to turn
San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administer ...
into a gay
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
. He announced he had abandoned his run (which he claimed was a joke) on July 18, 2020.


Filmography


References


External links


Perry Caravello Live

Real Scary Perry

The Big 3 Podcast
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caravello, Perry 1963 births Living people Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Actors from Park Ridge, Illinois American male television actors American comedy podcasters American stand-up comedians People with traumatic brain injuries Place of birth missing (living people) American Twitch (service) streamers English-language YouTube channels Former Jehovah's Witnesses Prank calling Comedians from Los Angeles Comedians from Chicago YouTubers from Chicago YouTubers from Los Angeles American male comedians