Steve Sweeney (born September 5, 1949) is an American comedian.

Biography

Sweeney was born in Charlestown, a section of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. His Boston accent and idiosyncratic mannerisms are featured in his stand-up act. He has headlined in several comedy clubs including

Caroline's Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. History Caroline Hirsch opened Carolines as a cabaret i ...

Comedy Club in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. A graduate of

Charlestown High School Charlestown High School is a public school located at 240 Medford Street in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Charlestown High School is the only high school in Charlestown. Charlestown is part of the Boston Public Schools. A ...

, he earned a BA in Theatre Arts at the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

(1974) and an MFA from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. During the early 1970s, a group of Boston comedians regularly performed at a comedy club started by

Martin Olson Martin Olson (born April 2, 1956) is an American comedy writer, television producer, author and composer. He is known for his unusual subject matter, and is an original member of the Boston Comedy Scene. He is the father of actress Olivia Olson ...

and Barry Crimmins in a back room of Ding-Ho, a Chinese Restaurant near

Inman Square Inman Square is a neighborhood and historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge– Somerville border. Location Like many squar ...

Cambridge, MA Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. The group included Don Gavin,

Lenny Clarke Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

Kevin Meaney Kevin Gerard Meaney (April 23, 1956 – October 21, 2016) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Early life Meaney graduated from Valhalla High School in Westchester County, New York, and attended State University of New York at Mor ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

Bobcat Goldthwait Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...

, Bill Sohonage, and

Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jok ...

. Sweeney became known for his use of dialects and commentary on the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

political scene in his act. Sweeney had a role on ''

Park Street Under ''Park Street Under'' is a sitcom set in a fictional subterranean bar in the Park Street subway station in Boston, Massachusetts. It was produced starting in 1979 by Boston television station WCVB-TV. This was a rare example in the United States ...

'', a Boston-based

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

which has been cited as a potential inspiration for successful television show ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

''. He has appeared on shows such as the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', Evening at The Improv, and

Comics Come Home Comics Come Home is an annual charity stand-up comedy festival held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event, co-founded by comedian Denis Leary (who remains its curator and presenter) and hockey hall of famer Cam Neely, was first held in 1995 and is no ...

. Sweeney has also appeared in over 20 films, including Rodney Dangerfield's ''

Back to School ''Back to School'' is a 1986 American comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Terry Farrell, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Paxton Whitehead and Robert Downey Jr. It was directed by Alan Met ...

'',

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

's ''

Celtic Pride ''Celtic Pride'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn, and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It stars Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics fans, and Damon W ...

'', and ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...

'' with

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

. For a short time Steve was on the morning show on 100.7 FM WZLX, first with "Mornings with Tai and Steve Sweeney", followed by "Steve Sweeney's Neighborhood" after Tai left the station. On November 3, 2005, Steve opened Steve Sweeney's Comedy Club in Boston's

Copley Square Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...

with longtime friend Dick Doherty. Currently, along with doing stand-up, he is also a guest judge on the local talent show "Community Auditions". On March 29, 2013, Steve Sweeney appeared on Scorch PFG TV. Steve performed a 5-minute act opening for J. Geils Band at the Boston One Fund concert. Steve Sweeney and Joe Malone, the former Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, co-host a podcast called "Sweeney and Malone" on Boston Herald Radio.https://herald.backbonehub.com/herald_new_mp3/sweeney_and_malone.html

Filmography

References

External links

*
Biography — Steve Sweeney - Comedian & Actor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Steve 1948 births American stand-up comedians University of Southern California alumni Living people Radio personalities from Boston American radio personalities Comedians from Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Boston alumni