Blue Collar Comedy’s Superstars Reunite to Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary in Two New CMT Specials
“TRUE BLUE: TEN YEARS OF BLUE COLLAR COMEDY” and “BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: TEN YEARS OF FUNNY” Premiering Saturday, March 13 on CMT
Nashville, TN (Vocus) February 4, 2010
When Blue Collar Comedy, featuring Bill Engvall (http://www. cmt. com/artists/az/engvall_bill/artist. jhtml), Jeff Foxworthy (http://www. cmt. com/artists/az/foxworthy_jeff/artist. jhtml), Larry the Cable Guy (http://www. cmt. com/artists/az/guy_larry_the_cable/artist. jhtml) and Ron White, was born ten years ago, no one could have guessed that these four comedians were embarking on what would become one of the most successful franchises in entertainment history.
Now, ten years later, CMT celebrates the Blue Collar Comedy phenomenon with two all-new specials: the retrospective TRUE BLUE: TEN YEARS OF BLUE COLLAR COMEDY; and BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: TEN YEARS OF FUNNY, an original reunion special featuring Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy together onstage before a live audience, reflecting on their Blue Collar journey and experiences. Both specials will air back-to-back on Saturday, March 13, starting at 8:00 p. m. ET/PT as the finale of CMT BIG NEW COMEDY WEEK – a week filled with new comedy premieres that begins on Monday, March 8. Complete programming line-up to be announced.
The one-hour special, TRUE BLUE: TEN YEARS OF BLUE COLLAR COMEDY, chronicles the Blue Collar sensation – its origin, personalities, behind-the-scenes players, successes, set-backs, conflicts and triumphs – and reveals why Blue Collar Comedy has become so popular.
In BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: TEN YEARS OF FUNNY, hosted by Jaime Pressly (“My Name is Earl”), Foxworthy, Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy will reunite onstage in front of a live audience to tell it like it was. They will recall their favorite moments from the Blue Collar juggernaut, introduce and joke about their most memorable film clips from the historic Blue Collar tours, and recreate their signature finale where they improvise together onstage.
The Blue Collar Comedy franchise has sold more than nine and half million DVDs since its debut in 2003 with the release of “Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie.” The 2004 follow-up release, “Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again,” became the all-time fastest-selling stand-up comedy DVD ever with over a million units sold in its first week of release. The films also aired on Comedy Central, and became some of highest rated films in the network’s history. The comedy tour concert grossed more than 15 million dollars and not only spawned the movie franchise, but also the sketch comedy show "Blue Collar TV" which ran for several seasons on the WB. “Blue Collar Comedy Tour - One for the Road” was nominated for a 2006 Grammy award.
Bill Engvall is a multi-platinum recording artist, author and comedian. He is currently the host of the CMT series, COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS and starred in the film “Bait Shop” with Billy Ray Cyrus. He was also a star in the movie “Delta Farce” in 2007 with Larry the Cable Guy and D. J. Qualls. Prior to his big screen debut, Engvall was one of the stars of “Blue Collar TV.” Engvall's first album “Here’s Your Sign” is certified platinum, and held the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Comedy Charts for 15 weeks. As an author, the comedian has written many books including his autobiography, Bill Engvall – Just A Guy. His latest comedy special, "Aged and Confused," premiered recently on Comedy Central.
Jeff Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. He is the largest selling comedy-recording artist in history, a multiple Grammy Award-nominee and best selling author of more than 26 books. Widely known for his redneck jokes, his act goes well beyond that to explore the humor in everyday family interactions and human nature, a style that has been compared to Mark Twain’s. Foxworthy is currently hosting the hit show “Are Your Smarter Than A 5th Grader,” which airs in syndication and on CMT. Prior to that, he created, executive produced and starred in, “Foxworthy’s Big Night Out” and the television series, ”Blue Collar TV.”
With his signature catchphrase, “Git-R-Done”, Larry the Cable Guy continues to sell out theatres and arenas across the United States. Larry’s television specials have included “Tailgate Party” which will air on Comedy Central in January of 2010 with a DVD release to follow, and “The Comedy Central Roast of Larry The Cable Guy,” which garnered top ratings for the network. Larry has also starred in many films, including “Witless Protection,” “Delta Farce,” “Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector” and he was the voice of ‘Mater’ in the Golden Globe-winning animated feature film, “Cars.” He is a platinum-selling recording artist and a two-time Grammy nominee. LARRY THE CABLE GUY'S HULA-PALOOZA CHRISTMAS LUAU, his most recent special which premiered on CMT, was recently released on DVD from Jack Records/Warner Bros. Records.
A Parallel Entertainment production, BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: TEN YEARS OF FUNNY is executive produced by JP Williams, CEO and founder of Parallel Entertainment, and Alan Blomquist. Producers are Dave Higby and Jennifer Novak. Ryan Polito directs. John Hamlin and Margaret Comeaux are executive producers for CMT. Executive producers for CMT for TRUE BLUE: TEN YEARS OF BLUE COLLAR COMEDY are Lewis Bogach and John Hamlin. The special was written and produced by Shane Caldwell.
Visit CMT's press-only web site www. cmtpress. com for more information.
CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA. B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 88 million homes in the U. S. CMT and its website, CMT. com (http://www. cmt. com/), offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA. B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.
Beverly Hills-based Parallel Entertainment, which was profiled by New Yorker Magazine in 2006, and featured in a 2006 “60 Minutes” profile, produces all Blue Collar Comedy projects, as well as develops, finances and produces a wide range of entertainment projects, including feature films, specials for network and cable, DVD premiere films, as well as television specials and series, such as “Larry the Cable Guy’s Hula Palooza Christmas Luau.”,“The Bill Engvall Show,”, Comedy Central Specials “Bill Engvall, Aged and Confused”, Larry the Cable Guy’s “Tailgate Party”, HBO special “Lisa Lampanelli, Long Live The Queen”, Parallel has also financed and produced the motion pictures WITLESS PROTECTION, starring Larry the Cable Guy, Jenny McCarthy, Ivana Milicevic, Yaphet Kotto, Peter Stormare, Joe Mantegna and Eric Roberts released by Lionsgate in 2008; DELTA FARCE, starring Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and D J Qualls; and LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR, starring Larry, also both distributed by Lionsgate.
PRESS CONTACT:
Cindy McLean
615-335-8404
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