Bill Engvall biography
Date of birth : 1957-07-27
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Galveston, Texas
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-01-28
Credited as : Comedian, nightclub DJ, former member Blue Collar Comedy
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Born in Galveston, Texas, Bill Engvall was a nightclub DJ in Dallas until the call to comedy became too strong to deny. After startling amateur-night audiences at several local clubs and a brief stint in St. Louis, Engvall arrived in Los Angeles in 1990. He hosted the Pair of Jokers cable special with Rosie O'Donnell and also appeared on Evening at the Improv and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
In 1992, he was awarded Best Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards, and moved into sitcom TV with an appearance on Designing Women and a regular role on the short-lived spin-off Delta. Signed to Warner Bros. in 1996, Engvall released his countrified debut album, Here's Your Sign -- also the title of his most famed bit -- in 1996. A tour with like-minded everyman comic Jeff Foxworthy was next; that in turn led to a part on Foxworthy's sitcom that was as brief as the show itself. The albums Dorkfish followed in 1998, with Here's Your Christmas arriving in 1999.
In mid-2000, Engvall released Now That's Awesome and embarked on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, again with Foxworthy, as well as Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White. A feature film of the movie broke sales figures in theaters and earned the best ratings ever for a movie on Comedy Central. A sequel is expected in 2004.
Other albums include 2002's Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography and 2003's Here's Your Sign: Reloaded. He co-stars (with Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy) in the sketch comedy series Blue Collar TV on the WB Network.
