Doug Benson
Encyclopedia
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson (born July 2, 1964) is an American
stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents
, Best Week Ever
and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing
in the show's fifth season
.
In 2008, he starred in the film Super High Me
, a documentary about marijuana usage. Benson also currently hosts the popular Doug Loves Movies podcast
. His Comedy Central
series The Benson Interruption
ended its first season in December 2010 and was turned into a monthly podcast starting in January 2011.
. After graduating from a San Diego community college, he moved to Los Angeles
to pursue an acting career.
's The A-List and Two Drink Minimum and was one of the featured comedians in the cast of Joel Hodgson
's sketch-comedy pilot The TV Wheel
which aired on Comedy Central
in 1995. One of Benson's earliest jobs in television was writing for the MTV
game-show Trashed
in 1994.
Along with comedian friends Arj Barker
and Tony Camin, Benson co-created and performed in the comedy stage-show The Marijuana-Logues
. He also hosted High Time's Magazines 6th annual Stony Awards with rapper Redman.
. Benson released his first full-length solo comedy recording, Professional Humoredian, on July 15, 2008.
On August 4, 2009, Benson's second album, Unbalanced Load, was released by Comedy Central Records
. His third album, Hypocritical Oaf was released on August 31, 2010. Benson aims to record a new album every April 20 (with a subsequent summer release date) for as many consecutive years as possible. Benson's fourth album, Potty Mouth, was released on August 30, 2011.
, titled Doug Loves Movies (Formerly I Love Movies with Doug Benson), which is recorded in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
in Los Angeles. The show typically tapes weekly, and is later archived on iTunes for fans to listen to for free. Benson and guests talk about movies and comedy both. Benson's guests have included such notables as John Lithgow
, Leonard Maltin
, Brian Posehn
, Joe Rogan
, Zach Galifianakis
, Sarah Silverman
, Patton Oswalt
, Jon Hamm, Adam Carolla
, David Cross
, Bob Odenkirk
, Scott Aukerman
, Adam Scott
, Bill Simmons
, Aziz Ansari
, Amy Poehler
, Elizabeth Shue, Aubrey Plaza, Michael Cera
, Edgar Wright
and Paul F. Tompkins
.
A regular feature of the podcast is the Leonard Maltin
Game, which has been described as Name That Tune
with movies instead of songs. The game consists of Benson reading the cast of an unknown movie in reverse order (star of the movie comes last) from Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
to his guests, who attempt to guess the movie.
At the conclusion of many of the early podcasts, Doug would state "Willem Dafoe
is a shithead," which resulted in so many people wondering about why, that Google
searches began to automatically complete the phrase as a suggested match. The Willem Dafoe comment started as a joke based on the fact that it would seemingly be the only bad words ever uttered about Dafoe, but many people didn't catch on and, after explaining it a few times, Benson apparently decided to let Dafoe rest and instead let other people - typically audience members - decide who they want Benson to call a shithead on that particular recording.
In addition to Doug Loves Movies, Benson has begun recording "The Benson Interruption" and releasing it as a monthly podcast for $1.99 and has appeared on numerous other podcasts, including Comedy Death Ray Radio, WTF with Marc Maron
, The Adam Carolla Show
, Nerdist with Chris Hardwick
and Never Not Funny
.
Super High Me In 2008, Benson was the protagonist of Michael Blieden's film Super High Me
(a play on the name and concept of the film Super Size Me
), released on DVD on June 10, 2008. In the movie, Benson compares the results of not smoking any marijuana at all for 30 days versus the effects of smoking as much marijuana as possible for the same amount of time. The film was produced by Red Envelope Entertainment
.
The Benson Interruption On November 5, 2010 Comedy Central
began airing The Benson Interruption
, hosted by Benson. The show is based on the live stand-up comedy showcase of the same name that he has hosted in Los Angeles
for many years. Special guests for the series include comedians Chris Hardwick
, Patton Oswalt
, Brian Posehn
, Adam Carolla
, Nick Swardson
, Rob Huebel
, Nick Kroll
, Thomas Lennon, Mary Lynn Rajskub
and Eugene Mirman
.
The show spun-off
into a monthly audio-only podcast on January 21, 2011, which took the TV show's format and altered it slightly by allowing the performances and conversations to play out in longer unedited episodes.
, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, About Last Night and a backup dancer in the Disney theme park
attraction Captain Eo
.
. He also had small roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm
, How I Met Your Mother
, The Sarah Silverman Program
, Yes, Dear
and Friends.
In 2007, Benson was a contestant on fifth season
of the NBC
reality show Last Comic Standing
. He was voted off the program during the ninth episode, earning him 6th place overall.
In the 2000s, the comedian regularly appeared on the VH1
show Best Week Ever
and taped several episodes of Comedy Central Presents
.
On December 29, 2009, Benson had a documentary special called The High Road with Doug Benson air on the G4
network. The special followed Benson and comedian Graham Elwood
on one of their stand-up comedy tours.
joked, among other things, that the United States
should invade
Canada. Benson, who was appearing on the show, also made jokes about Canada's military. These comments were poorly timed, being made during Canada's deadliest month in Afghanistan since the operation began in 2002. The Canadian government demanded an apology from Fox News as well as the panelists for "despicable, hurtful and ignorant comments."
Benson was scheduled to appear in Canada at Edmonton
's The Comic Strip April 3 through April 5, 2009, but the shows were canceled after the owner received threats of "bodily injury" toward the American comic. "Some were saying he wouldn't make it from the airport to the club. For everyone's safety, we decided it was best to avoid the scenario altogether," manager Rick Bronson said. On March 24, Benson apologized for the remarks on CTV News Channel's Power Play with Tom Clark
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents
Comedy Central Presents
Comedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
, Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
in the show's fifth season
Last Comic Standing 5
On June 13, 2007, competitive reality show Last Comic Standing began airing its fifth season on NBC with new host, Bill Bellamy. For the first time ever people could vote in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom...
.
In 2008, he starred in the film Super High Me
Super High Me
Super High Me is a 2007 documentary film about the effects of smoking cannabis for 30 days. The documentary stars comedian Doug Benson. The documentary's name and its poster are plays on the 2004 documentary Super Size Me.-Synopsis:...
, a documentary about marijuana usage. Benson also currently hosts the popular Doug Loves Movies podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. His Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
series The Benson Interruption
The Benson Interruption
The Benson Interruption was a stand-up comedy show on Comedy Central starring Doug Benson. The show was cancelled after one season. The concept of the show was that three stand-up comedians per episode perform their acts in front of an audience, with Benson sitting on a throne by the side of the...
ended its first season in December 2010 and was turned into a monthly podcast starting in January 2011.
Early life
Benson was born and raised in San Diego, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. After graduating from a San Diego community college, he moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to pursue an acting career.
Early career
While in Los Angeles, Benson began doing stand-up after he and two other friends dared each other to. One of them didn't show, and the other one signed up too late. Benson claimed that "I went in anyway and did my three minutes of whatever I could come with and people actually laughed." At the age of 22, Benson began performing regularly as a stand-up comedian. He made his earliest television appearances as a stand-up in the late 1980s and early 1990s on programs such as Comedy CentralComedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's The A-List and Two Drink Minimum and was one of the featured comedians in the cast of Joel Hodgson
Joel Hodgson
Joel Gordon Hodgson is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating Mystery Science Theater 3000 and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007 MST3K was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.com...
's sketch-comedy pilot The TV Wheel
The TV Wheel
The TV Wheel was a television experiment created by and starring Joel Hodgson, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. Cable network HBO ordered a pilot, but ultimately passed on picking up the show...
which aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in 1995. One of Benson's earliest jobs in television was writing for the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
game-show Trashed
Trashed (game show)
Trashed was a television game show that ran on MTV from February 14 to July 23, 1994 with Chris Hardwick as host.-Premise:Two teams competed in a studio literally filled with junk to answer questions based on music videos and pop culture...
in 1994.
Along with comedian friends Arj Barker
Arj Barker
Arjan Singh , known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American stand-up comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European...
and Tony Camin, Benson co-created and performed in the comedy stage-show The Marijuana-Logues
The Marijuana-Logues
The Marijuana-Logues is an Off-Broadway comedy show in New York City. Arj Barker, Doug Benson and Tony Camin are the creators and performers. It is a four man stand-up comedy show, with the majority of the humor centered around the drug marijuana. The show's title is a play on the long-running...
. He also hosted High Time's Magazines 6th annual Stony Awards with rapper Redman.
Comedy albums
Benson appeared on the comedy compilation album Comedy Death-RayComedy Death-Ray (album)
Comedy Death-Ray is a two disc CD collection of highlights from the weekly comedy showcase Comedy Death-Ray , released on September 11, 2007 on Comedy Central Records. Disc one was recorded January 15, 2007, at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco...
. Benson released his first full-length solo comedy recording, Professional Humoredian, on July 15, 2008.
On August 4, 2009, Benson's second album, Unbalanced Load, was released by Comedy Central Records
Comedy Central Records
Comedy Central Records is a record label founded by Jack Vaughn and Comedy Central that puts out comedy albums by comedians that have appeared on their network....
. His third album, Hypocritical Oaf was released on August 31, 2010. Benson aims to record a new album every April 20 (with a subsequent summer release date) for as many consecutive years as possible. Benson's fourth album, Potty Mouth, was released on August 30, 2011.
Doug Loves Movies podcast
In 2006, Benson began hosting a weekly comedy podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, titled Doug Loves Movies (Formerly I Love Movies with Doug Benson), which is recorded in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
in Los Angeles. The show typically tapes weekly, and is later archived on iTunes for fans to listen to for free. Benson and guests talk about movies and comedy both. Benson's guests have included such notables as John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
, Brian Posehn
Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
, Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
, Zach Galifianakis
Zach Galifianakis
Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
, Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
, Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
, Jon Hamm, Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
, David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
, Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, Scott Aukerman
Scott Aukerman
Scottrick "Scott" Aukerman is an American writer, actor, comedian, television personality, director, producer, and podcast host. In the mid-1990s, Aukerman was a writer and performer on Mr. Show with Bob and David. He currently hosts the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang Bang...
, Adam Scott
Adam Scott (actor)
Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
, Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
, Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
, Elizabeth Shue, Aubrey Plaza, Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
, Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright is an English film and television director and writer. He is most famous for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the TV series Spaced, and for directing the film Scott Pilgrim vs...
and Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
.
A regular feature of the podcast is the Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
Game, which has been described as Name That Tune
Name That Tune
Name That Tune is a television game show that put two contestants against each other to test their knowledge of songs. Premiering in the United States on NBC Radio in 1952, the show was created and produced by Harry Salter and his wife Roberta....
with movies instead of songs. The game consists of Benson reading the cast of an unknown movie in reverse order (star of the movie comes last) from Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide is a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969 and has been updated yearly since 1978. It was originally called TV Movies, which became Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide, which then became Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide...
to his guests, who attempt to guess the movie.
At the conclusion of many of the early podcasts, Doug would state "Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
is a shithead," which resulted in so many people wondering about why, that Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
searches began to automatically complete the phrase as a suggested match. The Willem Dafoe comment started as a joke based on the fact that it would seemingly be the only bad words ever uttered about Dafoe, but many people didn't catch on and, after explaining it a few times, Benson apparently decided to let Dafoe rest and instead let other people - typically audience members - decide who they want Benson to call a shithead on that particular recording.
In addition to Doug Loves Movies, Benson has begun recording "The Benson Interruption" and releasing it as a monthly podcast for $1.99 and has appeared on numerous other podcasts, including Comedy Death Ray Radio, WTF with Marc Maron
WTF with Marc Maron
WTF with Marc Maron is a twice-weekly podcast hosted by stand up comedian Marc Maron. The show launched in September 2009. The program primarily consists of interviews with comedians and comedy writers, as well as others in the entertainment and radio communities...
, The Adam Carolla Show
The Adam Carolla Show
The Adam Carolla Show was a syndicated morning radio program, which began airing on January 3, 2006 and ended on February 20, 2009. The show was produced by CBS Radio as part of its Free FM format, and was based out of KLSX in Los Angeles. On February 20, KLSX changed format from hot talk to Top...
, Nerdist with Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan "Chris" Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, television personality, and voice artist...
and Never Not Funny
Never Not Funny
Never Not Funny is a weekly podcast hosted by comedian Jimmy Pardo since Spring 2006. He and producer Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode...
.
Super High Me In 2008, Benson was the protagonist of Michael Blieden's film Super High Me
Super High Me
Super High Me is a 2007 documentary film about the effects of smoking cannabis for 30 days. The documentary stars comedian Doug Benson. The documentary's name and its poster are plays on the 2004 documentary Super Size Me.-Synopsis:...
(a play on the name and concept of the film Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
), released on DVD on June 10, 2008. In the movie, Benson compares the results of not smoking any marijuana at all for 30 days versus the effects of smoking as much marijuana as possible for the same amount of time. The film was produced by Red Envelope Entertainment
Red Envelope Entertainment
Red Envelope Entertainment was a film production and distribution arm of Netflix, designed to generate content for Netflix's DVD-by-mail service...
.
The Benson Interruption On November 5, 2010 Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
began airing The Benson Interruption
The Benson Interruption
The Benson Interruption was a stand-up comedy show on Comedy Central starring Doug Benson. The show was cancelled after one season. The concept of the show was that three stand-up comedians per episode perform their acts in front of an audience, with Benson sitting on a throne by the side of the...
, hosted by Benson. The show is based on the live stand-up comedy showcase of the same name that he has hosted in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for many years. Special guests for the series include comedians Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan "Chris" Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, television personality, and voice artist...
, Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
, Brian Posehn
Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
, Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
, Nick Swardson
Nick Swardson
Nicholas Roger "Nick" Swardson is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. He is best known for his recurring role as Terry Bernardino in the Comedy Central series Reno 911!, for his work in Happy Madison films, most notably the 2011 film Just Go With It, and for his new Comedy Central...
, Rob Huebel
Rob Huebel
Rob Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life:...
, Nick Kroll
Nick Kroll
Nick Kroll is an American actor and comedian best known for appearing in television shows such as Best Week Ever, Cavemen and Sit Down, Shut Up. He co-stars in the shows The Life & Times of Tim and The League....
, Thomas Lennon, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
and Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...
.
The show spun-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
into a monthly audio-only podcast on January 21, 2011, which took the TV show's format and altered it slightly by allowing the performances and conversations to play out in longer unedited episodes.
Other film work
While working as a stand-in on numerous movies in the 1980s, he had visible roles as an extra in films such as Blade RunnerBlade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
, About Last Night and a backup dancer in the Disney theme park
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...
attraction Captain Eo
Captain EO
Captain EO is a 3-D science fiction film starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola that was shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 through the 1990s...
.
Other television work
In the mid to late 1990s, Benson had small roles on HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David, which was co-created by his friend David CrossDavid Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
. He also had small roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, The Sarah Silverman Program
The Sarah Silverman Program
The Sarah Silverman Program is an American television series that starred comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the series with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab...
, Yes, Dear
Yes, Dear
Yes, Dear is a television sitcom that aired from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, on CBS. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Louisa Kelly, Mike O'Malley and Liza Snyder....
and Friends.
In 2007, Benson was a contestant on fifth season
Last Comic Standing 5
On June 13, 2007, competitive reality show Last Comic Standing began airing its fifth season on NBC with new host, Bill Bellamy. For the first time ever people could vote in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom...
of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
reality show Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
. He was voted off the program during the ninth episode, earning him 6th place overall.
In the 2000s, the comedian regularly appeared on the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
show Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
and taped several episodes of Comedy Central Presents
Comedy Central Presents
Comedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
.
On December 29, 2009, Benson had a documentary special called The High Road with Doug Benson air on the G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
network. The special followed Benson and comedian Graham Elwood
Graham Elwood
Graham Elwood is an American comedian, actor and writer.Elwood hosted the Game Show Network original series Cram and the USA Network and syndicated game show Strip Poker. From October 2006, he appeared in a DirecTV testimonial commercial as "Graham - Customer since '01"...
on one of their stand-up comedy tours.
"Red Eye" incident
On March 17, 2009, the host of the Fox News comedy program Red Eye w/ Greg GutfeldRed Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld is a late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on the Fox News Channel, airing at 3:00 am ET Tuesday through Saturday. The show features panelists and guests discussing the latest news in politics, pop culture, entertainment, business, sports, and religion...
joked, among other things, that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
should invade
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
Canada. Benson, who was appearing on the show, also made jokes about Canada's military. These comments were poorly timed, being made during Canada's deadliest month in Afghanistan since the operation began in 2002. The Canadian government demanded an apology from Fox News as well as the panelists for "despicable, hurtful and ignorant comments."
Benson was scheduled to appear in Canada at Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
's The Comic Strip April 3 through April 5, 2009, but the shows were canceled after the owner received threats of "bodily injury" toward the American comic. "Some were saying he wouldn't make it from the airport to the club. For everyone's safety, we decided it was best to avoid the scenario altogether," manager Rick Bronson said. On March 24, Benson apologized for the remarks on CTV News Channel's Power Play with Tom Clark
Power Play (Canadian political affairs series)
Power Play is a Canadian public affairs television show which airs weekdays on CTV News Channel. Interviews are conducted with important Canadian political figures as well as political journalists and strategists, and includes a regular segment with CTV's Craig Oliver...
.
Albums
- Professional HumoredianProfessional HumoredianProfessional Humoredian is the debut album by comedian Doug Benson, released by ASPECIALTHING RECORDS-Track listing:#"Hey Everybody" – 3:51#"Doggie" – 1:27#"Ginormous" – 1:49#"Sex" – 3:17#"Cookies" – 0:41#"Weed" – 4:02...
(2008) -- AST RecordsAST RecordsASpecialThing Records is a stand-up comedy record label started by Matt Belknap , creator of aspecialthing.com, an internet message board especially popular with west coast comedy fans... - Unbalanced LoadUnbalanced LoadUnbalanced Load is the second album by comedian Doug Benson, and his first released by Comedy Central Records-Track listing:#"My Name Is..." – 2:30#"Super High Me" – 4:20#"Three Legged Cat" – 2:52#"Segues" – 3:08...
(2009) -- Comedy Central RecordsComedy Central RecordsComedy Central Records is a record label founded by Jack Vaughn and Comedy Central that puts out comedy albums by comedians that have appeared on their network.... - Hypocritical OafHypocritical OafHypocritical Oaf is the third album by comedian Doug Benson, released by Comedy Central Records as a CD/DVD.-CD:#"Deets" – 4:36#"Peanut Lady" – 2:44#"The Track with the Stupid Fart Joke" – 5:22#"Breakfast Window" – 3:30...
(2010) -- Comedy Central RecordsComedy Central RecordsComedy Central Records is a record label founded by Jack Vaughn and Comedy Central that puts out comedy albums by comedians that have appeared on their network.... - Potty Mouth (2011) -- Comedy Central RecordsComedy Central RecordsComedy Central Records is a record label founded by Jack Vaughn and Comedy Central that puts out comedy albums by comedians that have appeared on their network....
Filmography
- Run Ronnie RunRun Ronnie RunRun Ronnie Run is an American direct-to-video comedy film produced in 2001 and released in 2003, a spin-off from the HBO sketch comedy show Mr. Show. The recurring character Ronnie Dobbs is the focal point of the movie...
(2002) - Yacht RockYacht rockYacht Rock was an online video series following the fictionalized lives and careers of American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The series debuted on Channel 101 at the June 26, 2005 screening. It placed in the top five at subsequent screenings until the June 25, 2006 screening,...
(2005) - HecklerHeckler (film)Heckler is a 2007 documentary film. After a brief examination of the means, methods, and motives of hecklers , the film segues into a longer examination of film and music critics, including their effect on performers...
(2007) - Super High MeSuper High MeSuper High Me is a 2007 documentary film about the effects of smoking cannabis for 30 days. The documentary stars comedian Doug Benson. The documentary's name and its poster are plays on the 2004 documentary Super Size Me.-Synopsis:...
(2007) - Last Comic StandingLast Comic StandingLast Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
(2007) - How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
(2008) - The High Road with Doug Benson (2009)
- The Benson InterruptionThe Benson InterruptionThe Benson Interruption was a stand-up comedy show on Comedy Central starring Doug Benson. The show was cancelled after one season. The concept of the show was that three stand-up comedians per episode perform their acts in front of an audience, with Benson sitting on a throne by the side of the...
(2010) - Curb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
(2011)