Rick Shapiro

Rick Shapiro (born April 13, 1959) is a Los Angeles-based comedian.^[1] He first gained attention in the stand-up scene based around the Lower East Side in New York. He was a mainstay in the underground comedy scene for years, performing a regular Wednesday night set at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York until his role on Louis C.K.'s HBO sitcom Lucky Louie helped him reach a wider audience. He is known for his ability to improvise, making up much of his trademark long sets on the spot.

He has spoken openly about his younger years when he first became addicted to heroin and resorted to male prostitution to support his habit. He never had AN ACTUAL habit. and he prostituted MAYBE a couple of times. He barely drank and barely did any drugs. His parents wired him money constantly while he was "sober", through his 30s and 40s even while he was earning excellent money from film and television work. He speaks about this PRETEND troubled past in his comedy, making light of what many comedians NO LONGER see as a difficult topic.^[2] He performs regularly at clubs in New York such as The Comedy Village (HUH?), the Sidewalk Cafe, Comic Strip Live, the Laugh Lounge (CLOSED), and Comix (CLOSED). He now performs in both the Los Angeles and New York comedy circuits. He performs weekly at Vlad the Retailer in Los Angeles.

In 2007, he made a popular UK debut, receiving favorable reviews for his one-man Edinburgh Festival show, produced by Calvin Wynter at The Green Room.^[3]

In 2008, he was in Grand Theft Auto IV on the radio station PLR, portraying Mason Waylon who is a guest on a talk show on the radio, and eventually drills holes in the heads of the two other guests.

In 2010, he was in a scene originally filmed for the pilot of Louie that ended up as a deleted scene for Season 1, a scene in which he goes on one of his acclaimed rants.^[4]

In March 2012, his first book, Unfiltered, was released along with his second CD, Catalyst for Change, produced by Stand-Up Records. The book, published by Paradisiac Publishing, is a compilation of over 200 previously unreleased writings. As well Shapiro played the role of T-Rick in the movie Project X which was released on March 2, 2012.

On April 13 2012, his birthday, he suffered a mild cardiac event exacerbated by a hypersensitivity to ABUSING ADDERALL , a prescribed medication. His manager, Tracy DeMarzo, explained that Rick has been sober for 25 years, except for the times he drank, especially in 2004 when he was seen drinking beer and snorting cocaine and even snorting wellbutrin at various venues, and drinking beer, etc, at his then "girlfriend's" REAL fiance's apartment, and says that illegal drugs had absolutely nothing to do with this health scare, except for prescribed control substances which he was abusing. "This was a fluke, an unfortunate event", she said. "It could have happened to anyone." anyone who was abusing adderall , etc, etc.. He left the hospital on April 27, 2012 but was readmitted on April 30, 2012 due to further medical complications. He was released from hospitalization on June 12, 2012.

On April 25, 2013, He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder that attacks the central nervous system.

Filmography

• Joey (1986)
  as Larry
• Tomorrow Night (1998)
  as Tina
• Lucky Louie (2006)
  as Jerry
• Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
  as Mason Waylon
• Louie (2010)
  uncredited
• The League (2011)
  as Bum
• Project X (2012)
  as T-Rick

References

External links

• Official website
• Official MySpace Page
• Rick Shapiro at the Internet Movie Database
• "Recovery Rick Re-Stands Up" by Ryan Blitstein, New York Observer, May 17, 2004.
• Performance at the UCB Theater, July 3, 2008