Doug Stanhope (born March 25, 1967)[1] is an American stand-up comedian, author, actor, political activist and podcast host.
His stand-up material favors caustic and often obscene observations of life in the style of Bill Hicks, which he delivers while consuming alcohol.
In 2008, at her request, she wished for Stanhope to be involved in an assisted suicide with a mixture of cocktails and prescription morphine.
Stanhope waited until the statute of limitations had expired for the ensuing credit card fraud before telling the story in his stand-up act and his second book.
[7] Before he started comedy full-time, Stanhope worked in telemarketing, "borderline legal stuff, trying to scam people basically".
[9] Stanhope began his stand-up comedy career in 1990 at age 23,[8] first performing at an open mic night at a Las Vegas bar.
[7] He developed his act in Las Vegas before moving to Phoenix, Arizona, where he landed a gig as a house MC at a comedy club.
[10] Among his regular spots were the Hollywood Improv or The Comedy Store, before he became based in Playa del Rey and worked in clubs outside the city center.
[10] Around this time, he landed a development deal and "flirted" with the idea of producing a sitcom by co-writing a pilot episode with a writer of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
[10] In 1995, Stanhope won the San Francisco International Comedy Competition against Dane Cook in a three-week contest.
[11] In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in New York City, Stanhope received some criticism from audiences over his comments regarding the event.
[12] Stanhope accused Spy TV of stealing half of his ideas and achieving good ratings as a result.
Stanhope established a group of touring comics known as The Unbookables featuring such artists as Andy Andrist, and Brendon Walsh, among others.
In June 2006, Stanhope was booked to perform several shows at the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, Ireland.
[15] At one show, one of his routines sparked a violent affray with an angered audience member and the police were called in, causing Stanhope to leave the venue.
[27] In 2011, in co-operation with the mayor of Reykjavík and comedian Jón Gnarr, Stanhope scheduled a performance in Iceland's only maximum security prison, Litla-Hraun.
knew 20 years earlier when they first started performing, in the season 2 episode entitled "Eddie", first aired on August 11, 2011.
[32] In May 2013, an appeal initiated by Stanhope raised nearly $126,000 for Rebecca Vitsmun and her family whose home was destroyed by the 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.
[38] The book, entitled Digging Up Mother: A Love Story, was released on May 10, 2016, and includes a foreword by Johnny Depp.
[39] In June 2016, actress Amber Heard sued Stanhope for his "defamatory" claim that she was blackmailing her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
[10] In 2020, Stanhope released his special, The Dying of a Last Breed, which was filmed at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"[45] In 2012, Stanhope originally supported Republican Ron Paul for the 2012 presidential election, but later endorsed Libertarian Gary Johnson.
[4] Around 2005 Stanhope met his current partner Amy "Bingo" Bingaman, who he has referred to as his girlfriend and wife,[10][8] and they reside in Bisbee, Arizona.