Brian Regan

Born Brian Joseph Regan in Miami, Florida he was one of seven siblings, including his brother, Dennis Regan, who also pursued a career in comedy as a stand-up and writer on "The King of Queens" (CBS 1998-2007). From an early age, Brian Regan was drawn to comic performers like Steve Martin, The Smothers Brothers and Johnny Carson, all of whom hinged their particular brands of humor on the sort of witty, sometimes absurd observations that marked his own work as a stand-up. But he did not pursue a performing career until his final year at Heidelberg College in Ohio, where he was studying to become an accountant. There, a football coach suggested that Regan try his hand at theater and communications, which eventually became his primary focus and eventually spurred him to drop out of Heidelberg in his final semester to try his hand at stand-up comedy. After returning to Florida, Regan began performing regularly at the Comic Strip club in Fort Lauderdale while also supporting himself as a cook and dishwasher there. After honing his material for a period of five years, Regan headed for New York in 1986 and quickly established himself as a rising star on the city's comedy scene. Two years after his arrival, he was named "Funniest Person in New York" by an area radio station and made his television debut on the short-lived "Pat Sajak Show" (CBS 1989-1990) in 1989. By the early '90s, Regan was a staple of both the comedy touring circuit and late night television, where he earned the respect of critics, audiences and fellow comics alike with his observant and decidedly clean material. He was twice named Best Club Comic by the American Comedy Awards in 1995 and 1996, and released his first album, Brian Regan Live, the following year. Regan's fanbase soon allowed him to move up from club dates to larger theaters, and prompted his first DVD release, the self-released I Walked On the Moon, in 2004. Three years later, Regan signed a deal with Comedy Central to film two one-hour specials: "Standing Up," which debuted in 2004 and "The Epitome of Hyperbole" (2008), both of which also became popular DVD releases. His second comedy album, All By Myself, debuted in 2010.