Ron White
Ron White, a.k.a.
Tater Salad (born
December 18,
1956) is an
American stand-up comedian from
Fritch, Texas. He is also a member of the
Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which helped elevate White to star status following the original Blue Collar tour and DVD release. White is the only member of the Blue Collar crew not to star in the
Blue Collar TV series because he didn't want to be
typecast as "blue collar", although others believe it was because
The WB wouldn't allow him to have his trademark cigar and whiskey on broadcast television. He has made four guest appearances on the show, however. In 2005, The
WB Network aired the pilot for
The Ron White Show, an ill-fated variety show that combined a number of celebrity
cameos,
cartoons, and
sketches.
White has said in some of his stand-up that he was primarily raised by his grandmother from when he was 9 till he entered his teenage years.
Ron White also married Jeff Foxworthy's home interior designer, Barbara in 2004. In
You Can't Fix Stupid, he says their honeymoon was on a cruise ship.
White is known for wearing all-black outfits puffing on a cigar or cigarette and drinking
scotch whisky during his act. When asked what brand of whiskey he drinks, he replies that "When they start paying me, I'll start saying what brand it is, how d'you like that?" Turns out that he drinks The Blue Label from Johnny Walker, as shown in "One for the road", the final Blue Collar show, and is supported by the fact that in "You Can't Fix Stupid" he referes to it as "the kind of scotch that will leave you pennyless" (US price for Blue Label - between $105 and 195 a bottle).
Besides the
Blue Collar Comedy Tour CDs and movies, Ron has released four solo projects to date:
*
Tater Salad aka. Busted In Des Moines: 1990 Audio CD of an early stand-up gig
*
Drunk in Public: 2003 Audio CD of his solo stand-up [ASIN: B0000TAZHY]
*
They Call Me "Tater Salad": 2004 DVD recording of one of his stand-up concerts. Much the same material as DRUNK IN PUBLIC. [ASIN: B00022PZ2Y]
*
You Can't Fix Stupid: 2006 Release on Audio CD [ASIN: B000C1YPGC] and DVD [ASIN: B000E1OI6W] of new material, and some from his first album.
*In his routine, White says he is often asked why he is referred to as "
Tater Salad", and tells this story: After being pulled over for driving down the sidewalk and arrested for driving under the influence when he was 17 (1973), White was asked by the arresting officer (whom he had known all his life) if he had any aliases.
"Yeah," he replied sarcastically. "They call me 'Tater Salad'."
Seventeen years later (1990), White was arrested for public drunkenness after being ejected from a
New York City bar ("There seems to be some kind of pattern," he says). When in lock-up, an officer came to him with a copy of his arrest record, and asked "Are you Ron 'Tater Salad' White?" White replied, "You caught me! You caught the Tater!" The name has since stuck. White jokes that he sometimes calls his son, Marshal, "Tater Tot." He also jokes that his dog, Sluggo calls him "Tater", presumably when he is drunk.
On the "What's New" page of his official website, Ron White tells the true story of how he got the nickname "Tater Salad":
*In
2005, White was subject to
Internet rumors of his death. He
addressed the rumours on
his website. The exact source behind the rumors is unknown, but it is thought that they may have arisen from his act on stage, where he mentioned he was involved in a serious car crash in
Mexico that required a metal plate in his head. White jokes that when the doctor implanted the plate he said, "Be careful -- this plate is hot," which is what waiters and waitresses in Mexican restaurants usually say when they bring your meal to the table.
*
Ron White at the
Internet Movie Database*
Ron White's official site
