Richard Christy
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| Richard Christy | |
| Born | April 1, 1974 Fort Scott, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Prank caller, Radio personality, Drummer (formerly), Electrician (formerly) |
| Website www.richardchristy.com www.howardstern.com |
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Richard Christy (born Thomas Richard Christy; April 1, 1974) is an American drummer, comedian, actor, radio personality, and prank caller who currently works for The Howard Stern Show. He earned the position after winning the "Win John's Job" contest on July 1, 2004.[1] He is known on the show for his prank calls and arguably gay-themed stunts that he does with fellow staff member Sal "The Stockbroker" Governale.
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[edit] Childhood
Richard was born and raised in Fort Scott, Kansas. His father, a Vietnam veteran, hunted and caught wild animals for food, as they lived 15 miles away from the nearest grocery store. Richard has said that as a youth he had extremely poor hygiene, rarely showering and brushing his teeth an estimated three times throughout high school. The cast of the Howard Stern Show often makes fun of him and his family for being rednecks.
[edit] Musical career
Richard was inspired to play drums after hearing Alex Van Halen's drumming in the Van Halen song "Hot for Teacher".[2] His skills were honed while living in a storage garage over a period of years in Florida. Since there were no neighbors to bother, Christy could practice his drumming well into the night without the worry of someone calling the police.
Christy has played in many bands, including Iced Earth, Burning Inside, Death and Control Denied. Christy joined Death after meeting Chuck Schuldiner in a bookstore while the band was looking for a new drummer after the departure of Gene Hoglan. Christy recorded three albums with Death (The Sound of Perseverance released in 1998, Live in L.A. (Death & Raw), 2001, and Live in Eindhoven, also 2001) and one album with Control Denied, The Fragile Art of Existence released in 1999. Some of his former bandmates have been interviewed by Howard 100 News where they understood his move to comedy, saying that his unusual sense of humor and antics kept them entertained while on tour.
Christy also wrote the music to the song This is Beetle; Staind later recorded their own version.
Discography:
In addition to these bands, Christy has performed live shows with Dream Theater[3], Tiwanaku, Rick Renstrom, Syzygy, Bung Dizee, Incantation, Public Assassin, and Demons and Wizards.
[edit] Radio career
Christy began his radio career by sending song parodies to The Howard Stern Show, many of which were played on the air. Also, Richard would call the show and leave humorous voice-mails that would get airtime. On January 17, 2001, a voice-mail he left for Gary was featured as one of the recurring "We Get Your Phone Calls Every Day" segments where Richard wonders why "that gorgeous nubian vixen, Robin" won't reveal who Mister X (her boyfriend at the time) is. He goes on to say he'd like to know who is "dipping their meat thermometer into that beautiful chocolate muff", and that he hopes it is "not OJ". On February 12, 2001, another message from Richard was played where he discusses that his Valentine's Day gift to Robin will be "thinking of you and only you when I wank myself." He fantasizes about Robin's "delicious tiramisu-flavored mons vernus" and other imagined features of her body. He then goes on to say "I'm diddling my nether regions right now" and begins to moan. Howard jokingly insists that the message was left by Geraldo. On June 27, 2001, another of Richard's voice-mails was played on the air which consisted of him pretending to masturbate while giving more creative and humorous compliments to Robin.
In 2004, Stuttering John Melendez left Howard's show to become the announcer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Stern announced a "Win John’s Job Contest" which pitted a group of 10 Stern super-fan/contributors against each other for the right to fill Melendez's vacated position. Each contestant was given one week on-air to display any talents they could bring to the show, after which the listeners cast votes for their favorite over the Internet. On July 1, 2004 Howard announced Richard Christy had won John's job with 30% of the vote (second place winner Sal "the Stockbroker" Governale [24%] was to later become his writing partner).[4] In his first year on the show, Christy stated that he had sex just once in the past 10 years. Since becoming involved with the show, he has claimed that he has had sex on numerous occasions, one of which resulted in him getting a woman pregnant and paying for her to have an abortion. His co-workers have said on the air that the show has been more fun than ever since Christy and Governale replaced Stuttering John.
A self-confessed pervert, illustrated by his extensive knowledge of pornography (in 2004 he stated that he had "about 40 gigs" of pornography and again in 2007 he stated that he had 'three 40 gig hard-drives and four large carboard boxes full of magazines in storage'), he has been beaten only twice playing the Stump the Perv porn trivia segment. The first loss was to famous porn star Ron Jeremy, while the second loss was to a female writer for Xtreme Magazine, a pornographic industry publication. Christy has also admitted to staging Friday night masturbation sessions in which he drinks wine or beer while simultaneously viewing pictures and videos on multiple screens.
When Howard moved to Sirius Satellite Radio, he gave Christy his own semi-regular show. On May 15, 2006, Hillary Scott was the first guest on Inside the Porn Actors Studio. The hour-long program was Sirius channel Howard 101's spoof of the television series Inside the Actors Studio, with Christy filling the James Lipton role.
Richard also performs in The Killers of Comedy Tour with fellow Stern cast mates across the United States and Canada. Notably, fellow Stern show staffer Artie Lange commented that Christy's stand-up act was poor and still needed a lot of work, this greatly upset Richard as he sees Artie as a "father figure". Artie would later apologize for this, while maintaining that Richard's act needs improvement, and has since frequently praised the segments that he and Sal have produced for the show.
Based on his willingness to participate in "gay stunts" his co-workers have repeatedly speculated on-air that he may be gay, bisexual or bi-curious; allegations Richard has repeatedly denied, stating that he would not participate in anal sex for less than 500 million dollars. His co-worker Robin Quivers has deemed him a "hillbilly homo" much like the villains in the film Deliverance.
He is a huge fan of Competitive Eating (IFOCE and Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest...) and actively follows the careers of Takeru Kobayashi and "Humble" Bob Shoudt.
Among his regular contributions to the show are deliberately unconvincing impersonations of celebrities (including Adolf Hitler, Scarlett Johansson, The Ultimate Warrior, Diana DeGarmo, Donald Trump and others) to fool Wack Packers such as Eric the Midget, The Iron Sheik and Gary The Retard. His distinctive, thick Kansas accent makes it obvious to the audience that it is him talking and not who he claims it is, while the cast adds to the humor by insisting that it isn't Richard on the phone, even when suspicions are expressed. As he was a fan of professional wrestling growing up, saying that his childhood dream was to become either a drummer or a professional wrestler (though he has referred to his current position as "the greatest job in the world"), Christy says that one of his favorite activities at work is impersonating the wrestlers he idolized to antogonize The Iron Sheik, who he also has worked with during The Killers of Comedy Tour.
Richard hosts a program on Sirius' channel Hard Attack called "Richard Christy's Heavy Metal Hoedown".
He is currently dating Kristin Jenco, a former intern of the Howard Stern Show. She was the winner of the 2004 Howard Stern Intern Beauty Pageant. Originally, Howard and the crew thought her first name was "Christy," therefore, if she were to marry Richard, her name would be, amusingly enough, "Christy Christy." On October 17th, 2007, it was revealed by Lisa G that her actual name is Kristin, not Christy, and that Richard "was the best thing to ever happen to her." She also said she could see herself marrying Richard down the road, if Richard doesn't consummate his relationship with Sal and marry him instead.
Richard is also known for his poor personal hygene. Before moving in with his current girlfriend Kristin, Richard could go several days without brushing his teeth or bathing despite working out, eating food, and walking around in the summer heat. This has led several staff members including Artie Lange to ask "can you honestly say there is no place in Manhattan to buy things like soap." However, recently Richard bathes more often except when performing pre-planned stunts that require close contact with Richard's body, c.f. the bleaching stunt and the "ball-sniffing" stunt.
[edit] Prank calls
Richard makes many of the show's popular prank calls, often working in conjunction with Sal the Stockbroker. Many of these calls involve using soundclips; however, Richard also calls as characters that he voices. These include:
- “Rusty Rivers” - Rusty often makes perverse sexual comments. He has also talked endlessly about the weather, regardless of what the theme of the show he's calling actually is.
- “Nervous Mark” - Nervous Mark calls in to talk shows, saying he is nervous about being on the air. He can never get his point across because he is always stuttering and stammering. The character's full name is Mark Dell’Stevenson, as indicated during a prank call to Joe Franklin.
- “Rod Stiffington” - Rod is the host of the fictional “Jack ‘N’ Rod Show,” where Sal acts as his co-host, Jack Mayhoffer. On the Jack ‘N’ Rod Show, unwitting guests debate members of the Wack Pack, talk to soundboards, or are interrupted over and over by various noises (station jingles, drums, etc.). Jack ‘N’ Rod have also made calls where they entice their victim to participate in demeaning contests in order to win non-existent prizes.
- “Ethel Mertz” and “Norma Stitz” - Ethel is a befuddled grandmother who gets into long winded stories about her grandson and chess.
Among the most frequent victims of Richard's calls are shows on the public access Manhattan Neighborhood Network.
[edit] Notable radio stunts
- On February 13, 2006, Christy had his genitalia Brazilian waxed. He went through well over 15 minutes of torturous screaming, sounds which have now become part of the sound effects that Fred Norris plays on the show. At the time Christy said this was something he would never do again, but the following day he changed his mind and said he would indeed do it again.
- On March 14, 2006, during the Sirius launch party for the Cosmopolitan Channel, Christy stripped himself of all clothing (except for his socks) and streaked throughout the lobby to the disdain of Cosmopolitan and Sirius personnel, most of whom were women. During the escapade, Christy managed to avoid security in a roundabout manner before finally scurrying back into the studio, still naked. Previously in the broadcast, Stern had suggested the prank to Christy only to later recall his suggestion, which Christy went through with nonetheless.
- On June 8, 2006, during the Artie Lange roast, Governale and Christy had their temperatures taken rectally by Robin Quivers. Governale and Christy held hands during the "examination" and then chased each other around the studio with their soiled thermometers (which are now rumored to be taped to the door to their office).[5][6]
- On August 24, 2006, a nude Governale controlled the "man jack", a male-oriented sex toy, on a Stern Show appearance while Christy attempted to penetrate the device.
- On September 19, 2006, Christy painted an image of Gene Simmons on Governale's genital area, using Governale's uncircumcised penis as Simmons's tongue. Governale also painted an image of Howard Stern on Christy's genital area, using Christy's penis as Stern's nose. Later in the show Christy and Governale challenged Jackass Number Two stuntmen Steve-O and Bam Margera to a stunt competition. While the Jackass cast members declined the challenge, Christy and Governale proceeded to see who could hold their genitals the closest and for the longest time directly above an open candle flame. Christy was acknowledged as the winner after dipping his scrotum onto the candle flame, resulting in burning off some of his pubic hair.
- On October 6, 2006, Christy and Governale played "gay paintball" with recent out of the closet gay ex-WWE wrestler Chris Kanyon. With circular targets painted on their genitals, Christy and Governale would try to avoid having the targets touched with yellow paint by Kanyon. As taunts, on their backs Christy had painted the word "homo" and Governale had the word "fag." Christy, who was the loser, also received a substantial tug to his scrotum (described by Christy as being "yanked like a rubber band") as well as several knife-edge chops from Kanyon.
- On January 23, 2007, in an attempt to artificially generate a fart, Christy allowed Benjy Bronk to blow air through a straw into his anus. Despite making a small flatulence sound, Christy had great difficulty farting, citing he didn't want to risk defecating in the studio. Once removed, a visible amount of fecal matter could be seen on the straw, the sight of which later caused Christy to dry heave while outside of the studio.
- On May 8, 2007, Christy was paid $5,000 by Artie Lange to lick the scrotum of Sal Governale for 10 seconds. Governale was compensated $2000, and pretended to be visibly shaken by the stunt. Christy maintained that the stunt was 'not gay' because it didn't involve Sal's penis and balls didn't touch. This stunt was suggested by Robin Quivers when the cast was pondering what homosexual acts Christy would be willing to do for various amounts of money. He was also paid $500, to be a victim of Sal's Jackhammer Pudding Pie, which is vanilla and chocolate syrup on the scrotum of Sal and repeatedly jackhammered on Richard's face.
- On July 26, 2007, Sal kissed Richard's taint in exchange for Artie Lange getting on a scale. At the time Richard had not showered in three days.
- On August 13, 2007, Sal was paid $500 to dip his uncircumcised penis into paint and paint Richard's face like an Indian. At the end he put his uncircumcised penis into Richard's mouth. Richard claims it only 'hit his teeth'. For this stunt Richard earned a box of over sized Simpsons underwear many of which he already owned. He is, according to co-worker Gary Dell'Abate a huge fan and collector of Simpsons merchandise.
- On October 3, 2007, Both Sarah Silverman and Howard Stern smelled Richard's scrotum. Silverman had been on the show two days earlier and said she wanted to see what Richard's testicles smelled like. At the time Richard was clean so she returned a few days later to give him some time to develop adequate body odor.[7] After watching Silverman gag while smelling, Stern couldn't resist taking a whiff himself and also gagged. Silverman described the smell as "...a hint of raw sourdough dough in a vat of mayonnaise, that was in a trunk of, like, a 70's car for the summer".[citation needed] Richard smiled proudly during the entire segment. He later said on The Wrap-Up Show that he was honored to have two celebrities smell his "sweaty balls."
- On December 4, 2007 Richard had his "asshole" bleached. Richard decided to not bathe for the 5 days prior to doing the stunt, and also claimed to believe that the use of toilet paper was bad for the environment, thus causing the rectal area to be much dirtier than it normally should be. Most in the studio suggested that the bleaching did not have an effect, and not surprisingly the common fan and person in the studio alike was nausiated because of Richard poor sanitary habits.
- On January 15, 2008, agreed to have Sal place his scrotum in his mouth for a limited edition Simpsons XBOX 360, however a week later Christy decided against doing it after Sal told him he would not clean his testicles until the stunt was performed and that an XBox 360 only costs about $300, and that he would be putting a man's scrotum in his mouth for $300, lowering his gay stunt value greatly.
- On May 5, 2008 Richard admitted that, over the previous weekend, he saw Coheed And Cambria in concert and, because they are his favorite band, he wet his pants rather than miss any of their songs. The rest of the cast was disgusted by this but, when they heard about it, the members of Coheed and Cambria were flattered and sent him an autographed adult diaper featuring custom artwork by lead singer Claudio Sanchez as well as the message "Next time, come prepared." He posted a picture of it to his MySpace page.
- On May 7, 2008 Richard offered to have New York Giants player Antonio Pierce snap his exposed buttocks with a towel, initially Richard had believed that the towel would be dry however Antonio said he preferred to wet the towel.
[edit] Movie and television career
Richard said he has dreamed of a movie career after he saw Brad Pitt, from nearby Jefferson, Missouri, in Interview With A Vampire. He went so far as hang Brad Pitt posters throughout his apartment and worked at a computer store owned by Pitt's parents. [8]
Richard made his directorial debut in 1995 with "Evil Ned 3 - The Return of Evil Ned 2 - Electric Boogaloo". The film was a low budget horror-comedy shot for only $250.[9]
Along with Sal, Richard starred in, co-wrote, and co-directed the 2006 short film Supertwink. Supertwink premiered on Howard Stern On Demand, and was reviewed by Richard Roeper, who panned it.[10]
Christy was in Harold & Kumar 2 playing the role of a Ku Klux Klansman.[11] In July 2007, Richard was cast in his first television role. He will play "really creepy guy at end of bar" on Rescue Me.[12] His colleague Artie Lange, who got him the part, was impressed by how seriously he took it.
Richard has also announced that he recorded voiceover work for the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ Howard Stern.com
- ^ Heavy Metal Drummer Richard Christy Interview
- ^ Richard Christy - The Official Richard Christy Website
- ^ Howard Stern.com
- ^ http://www.marksfriggin.com/news06/6-5.htm#thu 1
- ^ http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?month=June&day=8&year=2006&x=17&y=11 2
- ^ Sarah Silverman Online: October, 2007.Retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ Sirius Ch 101 "The Wrap-Up Show" November 5, 2007
- ^ Richard Christy in person for The Evil Dead + Evil Ned at the Pioneer Theater - Movie Theater in New York City
- ^ Supertwink (2006) (TV) - Memorable quotes
- ^ http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/02/16/howard-stern-show-cameos-harold-and-kumar-2/ announced
- ^ MarksFriggin.com - Howard Stern Show News
- ^ Richard Christy - The Official Richard Christy Website
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