Dom Irrera

Domenick Jack Irrera (born 1947), originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a stand-up comedian. Much of his material is in the form of stories about his life, especially his childhood years and growing up in an Italian-American family, which contributes to the "natural" feel of his performances.

Nominated six times for an American Comedy Award, Dom Irrera’s stand-up material was honed in a multi-generational Italian household in South Philadelphia with his mother, sister, grandmother, uncles and cousins all under one very big roof. A great-grandmother even lived across the street. Together there were three floors and four generations of family. His first big break was his performance on Rodney Dangerfield's "Nothing Goes Right" comedy specials for HBO. In 1989, Irrera’s own HBO "One Night Stand" earned him his first CableACE award for Best Stand-Up Comedy Special. In 1995, he won a second CableACE for the Showtime stand-up series he hosted, "Full Frontal Comedy". That same year he received a second CableACE nomination in the writing category for his work on Comedy Central's animated series, "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist". He also starred in a solo stand-up special for HBO in 1992 titled "Command Performance". He has performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", The "Late Show with David Letterman", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", "The View", and has made several appearances on "Oprah". Recent credits include an all-new stand-up special titled "Comedy Central Presents", which aired on the cable network this past summer As an avid sports fan, he hosted four seasons of Comedy Central's irreverent football show, "Offsides", where he conducted hilarious on-the-field interviews with football greats. He also hosted Comedy Central's "Behind the Scenes at the American Comedy Awards: specials in 1998 and 1999. Irrera was a series regular on the 1998 FOX comedy "Damon" starring Damon Wayans and his guest-star credits include "Seinfeld" (he played an annoying prop comic needling Jerry in the memorable episode), "Becker", "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens". In addition, Dom voices the character Ernie, the demolitions expert, on Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold". His film work includes a featured role in Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle", a cameo in the Coen Brothers. Film, "The Big Lebowski", "The Fourth Tenor", starring old pal Rodney Dangerfield, and he played himself in the Rodney Dangerfield / Dom De Luise film, "The Godson". Dom has performed at  Montreal's prestigious “Just For Laughs Festival” and “The Cat Laughs Festival” in Kilkenny, Ireland (he's made more appearances at both festivals than any other American comic), He also has performed at the “Melbourne Comedy Festival” in Australia. and at “Edinburgh Festival’s" Assembly Hall. It was there that he received the “Herald Award” for artistic excellence. “I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

Irrera has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and The Late Show with David Letterman, and has made numerous cameo appearances on TV shows.

Trivia

 * Irerra did uncredited screenwriting on the film Hollywood Shuffle.
 * Irrera voiced the wrecking-ball operator Ernie Potts on the Nickelodeon animated series Hey Arnold!.
 * Irrera is a regular performer at the Cat Laughs in Kilkenny; he has made 15 appearances at the festival - more than any other comic.
 * Irrera auditioned to be a cast member for Saturday Night Live's 1980-1981 season.
 * Irrera made a brief appearance as the limo driver in the film The Big Lebowski.
 * Irrera appeared on an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld as Ronnie Kaye, the Prop Comic. His character had a prop water gun that George Costanza mistook for a real gun, ruining Jerry's show.  The character wore a Boston Bruins jersey, an odd choice for a person from Philadelphia as the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers once had an intense rivalry, and the jersey had the actor's name "IRRERA," rather than the character's name "KAYE," above the number 44.
 * Irrera's ex wife, Lisa Mende, also appeared on Seinfeld. She played Carol, the mother of an "ugly baby." The two still often work on the same bill in comedy clubs.
 * Irrera made a cameo as a stand-up comedian in a bar in the 1998 mobster-spoof film The Godson which starred Kevin McDonald, Rodney Dangerfield, and Dom DeLuise.
 * Irrera made 11 appearances as himself on the animated series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and is the only comic to appear in all six seasons.
 * Irrera does the voice for the Barnyard and Back at the Barnyard character "Duke" the Dog.
 * Irrera was voted one of the hundred funniest comics of all time by Comedy Central.
 * Irrera appeared as a character called "Scooter" on Everybody Loves Raymond.
 * Irrera appeared as a character called "Spiro" on "The King of Queens."
 * Irrera provided the voice of semi-recurring character Slippy the Slug in Rocko's Modern Life.
 * He is currently the Judge on the Supreme Court of Comedy on the 101 exclusively on directv.