Gary Owen

Early life Owen was born Gary Stephen Owens in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Barb and Gary Owens. He later dropped the "s" from his surname, adopting the stage name Gary Owen, to avoid confusion with television announcer Gary Owens. He graduated from Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio, in 1991.

He joined the U.S. Navy at age 18. He served for six years as a master-at-arms and was in the Presidential Honor Guard.

Career Owen began doing stand-up in 1995 while stationed with the Navy in San Diego, California. The following year, he started driving to Los Angeles on weekends to perform stand-up in the city. According to Owen, his stand-up was initially not well-received by audiences. In 1996, he was invited to perform at a comedy club in front of a majority Black audience. Recalling the experience in 2015, Owen told Buzzfeed News that when he first performed for a majority Black audience, "I was shocked when I walked onstage and told the exact same fucking joke and it worked. [...] And that was when I knew." He continued doing stand-up in San Diego and developed a large African-American fan base. He went on to win the "Funniest Black Comedian in San Diego" contest. That led to his first gig at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. In July 1997, he auditioned for BET's Comic View. Two appearances on the multicultural comedy showcase won him his own one-hour Grandstand show. At the end of the season, he was selected from the year's four "Grandstanders" to be the host. Owen was the only white man to have ever hosted Comic View.

In April 2011, Ebony dubbed Owen "Black America's Favorite White Comic". Owen has produced two stand-up DVDs: Breakin' Out the Park, which is now available nationwide, and Urban Legend. He was also one of the headliners on Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand-Up on Starz.

Owen starred in the Screen Gems comedy Think Like a Man — based on Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man — with Kevin Hart and Gabrielle Union.

Owen has also appeared in such films as Rebound, College, Daddy Day Care and Highway, and had a recurring role on Tyler Perry's TBS show House of Payne as Zack. He appeared in the comedy Meet the Blacks as Larry. He has a TV show on BET called The Gary Owen Show.

Owen became engaged to Brianna Johnson. Following their engagement, Johnson gave birth to their twin sons in July 2023. The couple married on March 7, 2026.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Held Up Clute 2003 Daddy Day Care Mr. Carrott Love Chronicles K-Dog 2005 Rebound Vulture Mascot 2006 Little Man Officer Jankowski Who Made the Potatoe Salad? Police Officer 2008 College Bearcat 2012 Think Like a Man Bennett Highway Paw Gatsfield 2014 Ride Along Crazy Cody Tillman Think Like a Man Too Bennett 2015 Get Hard Himself Bachelors Stanley 2016 Definitely Divorcing Brian Meet the Blacks Larry Wilson Restored Me Ken 2019 Undercover Brother 2 Military Brother 2020 Welcome to Sudden Death Gus Video 2021 The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 Clive Goddard 2023 Dotty & Soul Diggy Back on the Strip Xander 'Dr. X'

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 The Wayans Bros. Charlie Episode: "High Life" 2002 Comic Groove Himself Episode: "Episode #1.2" 2005–2009 1st Amendment Stand Up Recurring Guest 2008 I Love the New Millennium Episode: "2007" 2009 Comedy.TV Episode: "Episode #1.13" House of Payne Zach Recurring Cast: Season 5 2011 Way Black When: Primetime Himself Episode: "Episode #1.6" 2013 Upload with Shaquille O'Neal Himself/Co-Host Main Co-Host 2014 Deal with It Himself Episode: "Kendall & Kylie Jenner and Gary Owen" Mind of a Man Recurring Guest 2016 Real Husbands of Hollywood Episode: "Bazillion Dollar Arm" The Gary Owen Show Main Cast Nubbin & Friends Chet the Chick Episode: "The Letter "A"" 2017 The Real Himself/Guest Co-Host Episode: "Episode #3.101" Funny You Should Ask Himself Episode: "Episode #1.3" All Def Comedy Episode: "Episode #1.1" 2018 Wild 'n Out Himself/Team Captain Episode: "Gary Owen/21 Savage/CyHi the Prynce" Hip Hop Squares Himself/Panelist Episode: "Episode #5.3" & "#5.8" Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party Himself Episode: "Taj Ma-Holler" Ridiculousness Episode: "Gary Owen" Comedians and Cocktails Recurring Guest 2019 The Wendy Williams Show Himself/Guest Co-Host Episode: "Robin Lord Taylor!" 2020 25 Words or Less Himself Recurring Guest 2021 The Mediator Episode: "Kung Fu Laptop" 2022 To Tell the Truth Himself/Panelist Episode: "Cynthia Erivo, Gary Owen and Donald Faison"

Comedy specials Year Title 2008 Breakin' Out of the Park 2012 True Story Upgraded 2015 I Agree with Myself 2017 I Got My Associates 2019 #DoinWhatIDo 2021 Black Famous 2024 Broken Family 2025 No S 2026 No Hard Feelings