Brian Michael "Q" Quinn (born March 14, 1976) is an American podcaster, improvisational comedian, and actor. He is a member of
The Tenderloins
The Tenderloins are an American comedy troupe composed of James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano. The group stars in the television series ''Impractical Jokers'', which premiered on December 15, 2011. The program airs on truT ...
, a comedy troupe also consisting of
Sal Vulcano
Salvatore Edward Anthony Vulcano (born November 6, 1976) is an American improvisational and stand-up comedian, actor, and producer from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe consisting o ...
,
James Murray, and formerly
Joe Gatto. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series ''
Impractical Jokers'', which premiered on December 15, 2011, on
TruTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that fo ...
.
Early life
Quinn was born on March 14, 1976, in the borough of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in New York City, but moved to
Staten Island before he was two years old. He is of Irish and Italian ancestry. Quinn attended
Monsignor Farrell High School
Monsignor Farrell High School is an American Catholic high school for boys, located in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, New York.
Opened in 1961, the school is named in honor of Monsignor Joseph Farrell, a Catholic priest, as well as a re ...
. Along with Murray, Vulcano, and Gatto, he was a member of his high school's
Improvisation Club. He studied at
Brooklyn College before joining the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
, where he served for eight years.
Career
Early career
Despite not being an initial member of his friends' comedy troupe
The Tenderloins
The Tenderloins are an American comedy troupe composed of James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano. The group stars in the television series ''Impractical Jokers'', which premiered on December 15, 2011. The program airs on truT ...
, after one of the original members, Mike Boccio, left the group in 2006, Quinn became the troupe's then-fourth member.
The Tenderloins began producing comedy sketches together, posting them on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
,
Myspace, and
Metacafe
Metacafe was an Israeli video-sharing website, launched in July 2003. During the mid-2000s, it was one of the largest video-sharing websites, though eventually began to be superseded by YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion. In August 2021, the platform' ...
, accumulating millions of views online. In 2007, the troupe won the $100,000 grand prize in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
''It's Your Show'' competition for the sketch "Time Thugs".
''Impractical Jokers'' and other television shows
''
Impractical Jokers'' premiered on December 15, 2011, on
TruTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that fo ...
. The first season was watched by over 32 million viewers. The show quickly became the most popular series on TruTV, and has boosted Quinn into the public eye.
In 2019, Quinn, along with the other members of The Tenderloins, starred in ''
The Misery Index'', which is hosted by
Jameela Jamil and is based on
Andy Breckman
Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American television and film writer and a radio personality on WFMU. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network, and is co-hos ...
's card game "Shit Happens".
Quinn was in the 6th episode of
Tacoma F.D., 'Full Moon Fever', released May 2, 2019.
''
Impractical Jokers: The Movie'' was released on February 21, 2020.
Quinn had a cameo in the first episode of the second season of ''
12 Monkeys
''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film '' La Jetée'', starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt, with Christopher Plummer and David Morse in ...
'', which first aired in the US on April 18, 2016.
Quinn also had a cameo in the fourth episode of the second season of ''
Star Trek: Picard,'' which first aired in the US on March 25, 2022.
Podcasts
''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave''
Quinn is also a co-host of the podcast ''
Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!
''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'', or simply ''TESD'', is an American comedy podcast, featured previously on the SModcast Podcast Network. It is hosted by View Askew Productions regulars and close friends of Kevin Smith: Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan o ...
'', which he hosts with
Bryan Johnson and
Walt Flanagan
Walter Flanagan (born October 23, 1967) is a former comic book store manager, reality television personality, podcaster, and comic book artist. Flanagan is a long-time friend of Kevin Smith, and (according to Smith's book ''Silent Bob Speaks'') i ...
. The podcast started in February 2010 with Quinn in the role of the off-mic audio engineer, then shortly after as occasional commentator and ultimately co-host.
''The Tenderloins Podcast''
The group began hosting a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
in April 2012. It is available on their official website and
iTunes.
''What Say You?''
''What Say You?'', an occasional podcast hosted by Sal Vulcano and Quinn, was named Best New Show at the 2013
Stitcher Awards. The increased popularity of ''What Say You'' sparked a friendly competition among the comedians, spurring Joe Gatto and James Murray to release their own Tenderloins podcast without the other two members. In 2015, ''What Say You?'' was nominated for the Comedy, Entertainment, and Best Produced Podcast Awards at the
10th Annual Podcast Awards. Vulcano and Quinn have stated that the podcast is their own side project, not a replacement of ''The Tenderloins Podcast''. The group explained that it was difficult to coordinate the schedules of all four members outside of work, making it challenging to produce their troupe's official podcast with any regularity.
Personal life
Quinn suffers from
arachnophobia. He has two cats, Brooklyn, and Chessie. Along with that, he has a tattoo that says, "38. Lives alone. Has 3 cats" from the result of a triple punishment on ''Impractical Jokers''. Quinn suffers from
depression, and has been very open about his struggles throughout the years.
While taking a trip to Germany in 2009, Quinn was arrested for disorderly conduct while visiting
Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...
. An assailant punched him in the face, knocking his tooth out. Quinn was escorted back to the United States by German police, and was bailed out by his Tenderloins troupe members.
Since his time on ''Impractical Jokers'', Quinn has donated $50,000 to the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
, and he occasionally meets with his former coworkers.
In 2019, Quinn revived the Rubsam & Horrmann Brewing Company on Staten Island and launched their signature beer titled "Q's Brews".
Quinn is a
Kentucky Colonel
Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) i ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Brian
1976 births
Living people
Comedians from New York City
People from Staten Island
Brooklyn College alumni
New York City firefighters
The Tenderloins
American people of Irish descent
American people of Italian descent
21st-century American comedians