Nick DiPaolo

Nicholas Rocco Di Paolo (born January 31, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and podcast host. He is the host of The Nick Di Paolo Show podcast, and is best known for his appearances as a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, the Comedy Central Roasts, The Chris Rock Show, Opie and Anthony, and The Howard Stern Show, as well as recurring roles on Louie, Grace Under Fire, World's Dumbest..., and Horace and Pete.

Early life Di Paolo was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, In 1980, after graduating from high school, he attended the University of Maine where he was a running back on the university's football team and graduated in 1984 with a major in marketing. His brother also attended the university and did play-by-play commentary for the Maine Black Bears hockey team with Gary Thorne. During this time, the stand-up comedy scene in the Boston area had picked up and a friend encouraged Di Paolo to go on stage. He had wanted to have a go for several years but "didn't have the guts" but his lack of enjoyment as a salesman "led me to the stage". Two years in, he did his first gigs in New York City which included a regular spot at Catch a Rising Star. In his first year as a stand-up comic, he secured Barry Katz as his manager and performed on over 300 nights. While there he developed his stand-up act in local comedy clubs and took on several television and film roles. In 2001, he and the team of writers were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program. It was Di Paolo's second Emmy Award nomination. By 2001, Di Paolo had settled in Queens. He has done several Comics Come Home benefit shows. He left the station after management decided to change formats. He then took fill in spots on the air, including Jerry Doyle, Dennis Miller, and Dan Patrick.

Other television appearances include The Colin Quinn Show on NBC, NewsRadio, Suddenly Susan and The Smoking Gun Presents.

He has been a guest on radio shows, including The Howard Stern Show, Opie and Anthony,

Di Paolo has done USO tours in Cuba and Japan. In 2008, he performed stand-up for US soldiers in Afghanistan as a part of Operation Mirth, which Lange named and headlined. He was joined by Gary Dell'Abate and Dave Attell.

2010–2018 In April 2011, Di Paolo's special Raw Nerve was released as part of the Comedy Central Presents... series and on the television network Showtime.

In October 2011, Di Paolo launched a syndicated sports entertainment radio show with Lange named The Nick & Artie Show. Di Paolo left in January 2013. Lange continued to host the show with former professional American football player Jon Ritchie that was renamed The Artie Lange Show. In October 2013, Di Paolo launched his weekly podcast, The Nick Di Paolo Podcast, on the Riotcast network. The weekly episodes were free while additional episodes were exclusive to his ConnectPal donators. Di Paolo was fired from SiriusXM after he posted comments on his Twitter account which read “School shooters, please confine yourself to coll. campuses, specifically faculty lounges at Berkeley, Fresno State etc.” Di Paolo was subsequently fired, to which Di Paolo responded that SiriusXM had overreacted and his “poorly worded” tweet was only worth a suspension “at best”. In 2014, Di Paolo released his comedy special, Another Senseless Killing. He wanted to film it in an intimate club setting and chose Acme in Minneapolis.

In late 2016, Di Paolo filmed his comedy special entitled Inflammatory. It was released on DVD and digital download in 2017. From May 15, 2017, to April 2018, Di Paolo hosted an evening radio show on the talk/comedy channel Faction Talk on Sirius XM Radio that aired from Monday through Thursday.

In March 2018, Di Paolo kicked off his nationwide Nick is Right Tour.

The Nick Di Paolo Show On July 9, 2018, following Di Paolo's exit from Sirius XM Radio, his launched his new audio and video podcast titled The Nick Di Paolo Show. The one-hour show airs live four days a week from his private studio. The free stream is broadcast live on YouTube, author A.J. Rice, comedian Colin Quinn, and radio personality Anthony Cumia.

2019–present On May 6, 2019, Di Paolo released his one-hour comedy special, A Breath of Fresh Air, for free on YouTube. He wanted to release it "without any media/industry filter" that networks such as Netflix or Comedy Central have in place, and his management aimed to present Di Paolo to a wider audience to increase his profile. It was filmed in February 2019 at the Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, New York in front of a sold-out crowd. Di Paolo had performed at the venue two years prior and wanted to return to produce a special there.

Since 2021, Di Paolo has been a contributing writer for the Fox News Channel's late night show Gutfeld!, most often providing additional material for host Greg Gutfeld and helping co-write the nightly opening monologues.

In 2022, Di Paolo co-starred in the Louis C.K. film Fourth of July, playing the obnoxious uncle of Joe List.

In March 2023, Di Paolo joined the Mug Club network founded by Steven Crowder, where he will be joined by Alex Jones and Bryan Callen.

Personal life Di Paolo married his wife Andrea in March 2003. They have been together since 1994. After returning to New York City in the early 2000s, Di Paolo moved to Tarrytown, New York. This was followed by a move to New Castle in Westchester County, New York in 2004. In April 2019, Di Paolo and his wife Andrea moved to Savannah, Georgia. His father Nicholas G. DiPaolo, a former Marine, died of Alzheimer's disease on June 30, 2020, in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Politics Di Paolo was mentioned as part of a shock radio "brethren" in a 2007 New York Times article about CBS Radio's decision to fire Don Imus for referring to black college basketball players as "nappy-headed hoes". The article described one of Di Paolo's bits in which he mocked an employee training manual entitled "Words Hurt and Harm", stating, "Right away, we’re starting with a false premise, because words don't hurt".

Comedy specials Born This Way (1999; CD, download) Road Rage (2004; CD, download) Funny, How? (2008 CD, download) Raw Nerve (2011; DVD, download) Another Senseless Killing (2014; CD, DVD, download) Inflammatory (2017; DVD, download) A Breath of Fresh Air (2019; YouTube)

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1990 Caesar's Salad Short film 1998 Tomorrow Night Nick Vagina 2006 Artie Lange's Beer League Cousin Mickey 2017 The Comedian Himself 2022 Fourth of July Uncle Kevin

Television Year Title Role Notes 1994–1997 Grace Under Fire Stevie Ray / Tony 8 episodes 1998 NewsRadio Jack Episode: "Who's the Boss: Part 2" 1998 Fame L.A. Joey Episode: "The Key to Success" 1998–1999 The Chris Rock Show Officer Nardizi / Officer Bertini / Officer Reno 13 episodes; also writer 2002–2004 Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Various on the panel for multiple episodes; also writer 2002 The Sopranos Joey the Cop Episode: "Christopher" 2004 Rescue Me Boston Fireman #2 Episode: "Orphans" 2004 Shorties Watchin' Shorties Baby Nick 9 episodes 2005 77th Academy Awards Special material writer 2005 I Love the '80s 3-D Himself Episode: "1989" 2006 Lucky Louie Nick 2 episodes 2010–2015 Louie Nick 12 episodes 2015 Inside Amy Schumer Juror #3 Episode: "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer" 2016 Horace and Pete Nick Web series; 3 episodes