Bill Engvall
{{short description|American comedian and actor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bill Engvall
| image = Bill Engvall 2010.jpg
| caption = Engvall performing at the USO Gala in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., in October 2010
| birth_name = William Ray Engvall Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|7|27}}
| birth_place = Galveston, Texas, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater =
| years_active = 1988–2022
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Comedian
- actor
}}
| parents =
| signature =
| known_for = {{plainlist|
- Blue Collar Comedy Tour
- The Jeff Foxworthy Show
- Country Fried Home Videos
- Delta Farce
- The Bill Engvall Show
- Lingo (2011 Run)
}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Gail Watson|1982}}
| children = 2
| module =
{{Infobox comedian|embed=yes
| medium = {{flatlist|
- Stand-up
- film
- television
}}
| genre = {{flatlist|
- Country comedy
- {{nowrap|observational comedy}}
- satire
}}
| subject = {{plainlist|
- Southern American culture
- everyday life
- marriage
- parenting
- self-deprecation
}}
| website = {{URL|billengvall.com}}
}}
}}
William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American retired stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His commercially successful album is the 1996 debut Here's Your Sign, certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album derives its name from Engvall's signature routine "here's your sign", wherein he offers "signs" to people whom he deems lacking in intellect. He has toured as a comedian both by himself and as a member of Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which included Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and Ron White. Engvall's television roles include Delta, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, The Bill Engvall Show, and Lingo.
Early life
William Ray Engvall Jr. was born in Galveston, Texas on July 27, 1957. His father, William Ray Engvall Sr., was a U.S. Navy doctor, who then went into private practice. Engvall spent most of his childhood living first in Galveston, then in Winslow, Arizona, then moving back to near Dallas, Texas during middle school. Following graduation from Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas, where he chose trombone when the teacher gave him the choice of either that or the tuba which led him into the jazz marching band,{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=b2Y4LyfBBkQC&dq=Bill+Engvall+trombone&pg=PA89 |title=Just a Guy |publisher=St. Martin’s Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780312362676 |accessdate=May 8, 2022}} Engvall attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, intending to earn a bachelor's degree and become a teacher.{{cite web|url=http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,107945,00.html|title=The Bill Engvall Show bio|publisher=TBS.com|access-date=June 5, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106031333/http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0%2C%2C107945%2C00.html|archive-date=January 6, 2012}} While at Southwestern he was a member of Xi chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order. Engvall left college without graduating and worked a series of jobs, including tour guide at Inner Space Caverns, and disc jockey in a Dallas, Texas nightclub.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/engvall_bill/bio.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040612024634/http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/engvall_bill/bio.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 12, 2004|title=Bill Engvall biography|publisher=CMT.com|access-date=June 5, 2011}} It was while working as the club DJ that he first ventured into stand-up comedy at amateur and open mic nights around Dallas.
Career
In 1990, Bill Engvall moved to Southern California to dedicate full-time to comedy. Early notoriety came from hosting the cable show A Pair of Jokers with Rosie O'Donnell and an appearance on The Golden Palace where he played Blanche's son Matthew, a stockbroker turned aspiring comic. Other early appearances included hosting A&E Networks An Evening at The Improv as well as stand-up routines on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson{{cite web |title=Bill Engvall Makes His First Appearance on Network Television {{!}} Carson Tonight Show | website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfDimg14Vo |access-date=19 October 2022 |language=en |date=1989-07-13}} and the ''Late Show with David Letterman.
A career breakthrough happened in 1992 when Engvall was named Best Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards. His first role as a series regular came soon after when he was cast in the ABC series Delta, starring Delta Burke. However, the show only lasted one season and Engvall returned to making the rounds of comedy clubs and the occasional television appearance until 1996 when he was cast with fellow comic and best friend Jeff Foxworthy in the NBC version of The Jeff Foxworthy Show. Signed by Warner Records in 1996, Engvall released the first of a series of successful comedy albums, Here's Your Sign, based on his signature joke. The album was certified Platinum and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Country album chart. Excerpts from this album were remixed into a musical track titled "Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)", featuring a chorus sung by country music artist Travis Tritt. "Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)" charted at number 29 on Billboard Hot Country Songs and number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2017|page=120|isbn=978-0-89820-229-8}} Engvall released two more albums by the end of the 1990s: Dorkfish in 1998 and Here's Your Christmas Album in 1999. The latter featured narrations by Engvall, as well as songs he co-wrote sung by session musicians.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-engvall-mn0000775644/biography | title=Bill Engvall biography | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=July 11, 2022}} One of these original compositions, "Here's Your Sign Christmas", also made the country charts in both 1998 and 1999.
In 2000, Engvall exited Warner Records for BNA Records, citing managerial changes at Warner. His only BNA album, Now That's Awesome, came out that same year.{{cite magazine|last=Stark|first=Phyllis|date=August 12, 2000|title=Comedian Bill Engvall switches to BNA and delivers an 'awesome' 4th album|magazine=Billboard|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31}} Like most of the albums before it, this included two tracks that merged stand-up lines from the album with a musical track. The title track featured guest vocals from T. Graham Brown, Tracy Byrd, and Neal McCoy, while "Shoulda Shut Up" featured Julie Reeves.
Engvall moved back to Warner for all subsequent albums. Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography in 2002, Here's Your Sign Reloaded in 2003, 15° Off Cool in 2007, and Aged and Confused in 2009.
In 2021, Engvall announced his intention to retire from stand-up comedy after his "Here's Your Sign, It's Finally Time" farewell tour.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/bill-engvall-retired-comedy-standup-heres-your-sign-1235039053/|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=August 11, 2021|accessdate=January 10, 2023|title=Bill Engvall to Retire From Stand-Up, Announces Farewell Comedy Tour|magazine=Variety}} He posted a video on YouTube confirming his retirement on December 30, 2022. His final performance was at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City the following day.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iFaH2lDxzk Bill Engvall Retires From Stand Up Comedy, says THANK YOU! - YouTube]{{cite web|url=https://www.cracked.com/article_36356_blue-collar-comedy-tour-bill-engvall-is-retiring-and-so-is-the-funny-one.html|last=Kelly|first=Keegan|title=Blue Collar Comedy Tour: Bill Engvall Is Retiring, and So Is The Funny One|magazine=Cracked|date=December 20, 2022|accessdate=January 10, 2023}}
=Blue Collar Comedy Tour=
{{main|Blue Collar Comedy Tour}}
In 2000, Jeff Foxworthy and Engvall launched the first of six Blue Collar Comedy Tours.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/reviews/movies|title=Movie Reviews|date=April 28, 2020|website=The New York Times}} The tours also featured Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy and were largely responsible for their breakout success. Each of the six years of the tour was very successful and spawned three films, a satellite radio show, and a television series titled Blue Collar TV on The WB Network.
=The Bill Engvall Show=
{{main|The Bill Engvall Show}}
In 2007, Engvall starred in his own sitcom where he played himself as a family counselor. The show lasted three seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926732/|title=The Bill Engvall Show (TV Series)|website=imdb.com}}
=Game show host=
On June 6, 2011, Engvall took over as host of Lingo on Game Show Network.{{Cite web |url=http://gameshows.about.com/b/2011/01/13/gsn-bringing-lingo-back-with-new-host.htm |title=GSN Bringing Lingo Back with New Host |access-date=January 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210221705/http://gameshows.about.com/b/2011/01/13/gsn-bringing-lingo-back-with-new-host.htm |archive-date=February 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }} According to an interview in American Profile magazine, Engvall said that he jumped at the chance to host the show, citing the fun that his friend Foxworthy had hosting Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Engvall had been a fan of Lingo when it aired a few years previously before ending in 2007, admitting that his wife always beat him to the answers. When asked if there were any plans to have buddies Foxworthy or Larry the Cable Guy appear on Lingo, he replied, "You never know! I would love to have them on the show because it would be a blast. I would really dig that."American Profile newsmagazine. Article title: "Q&A with Bill Engvall". June 5, 2011
=''Dancing with the Stars''=
In 2013, Engvall was announced as a contestant on the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars paired with professional dancer Emma Slater.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dancing-with-the-stars-leah-remini-valerie-harper-snooki-among-new-cast/|title="Dancing with the Stars": Leah Remini, Valerie Harper, Snooki among new cast|website=Cbsnews.com|date=September 4, 2013 }} In the first week, he danced the Foxtrot and received a score of 18. The second week was Latin week and he saw some higher scores from the judges receiving a 21 for his Jive. And the third week of competition, Bill saw his highest score of 24 with a Paso Doble to the Lone Ranger theme song. Throughout the rest of the show, the judges usually placed Engvall and Slater at the bottom of the leaderboard, but an enormous fan base kept them in the competition, resulting in higher-scoring contestants, e.g. Christina Milian, Snooki, Brant Daugherty, Elizabeth Berkley, and Leah Remini being voted out instead.
On November 18, Engvall and Slater made it to the finals, along with Amber Riley, Jack Osbourne and Corbin Bleu. The two finished in fourth place.
Comedic style
Engvall's most well-known routine is "here's your sign". In this routine, he offers "signs" to people whom he considers lacking in intellect. These jokes typically take the form of another person asking Engvall a "stupid question", to which Engvall typically responds with a sarcastic response before telling the person "here's your sign".{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/243672967/ | title=Blue collar blues | work=Argus Leader | date=January 11, 2007 | accessdate=July 11, 2022 | pages=15D}} Other jokes in Engvall's routine include anecdotes about his life as a father and husband, typically in the form of self-deprecation.
Personal life
Bill and Gail Engvall (born August 5, 1960) have been married since December 18, 1982. They have a daughter named Emily (born June 9, 1986), a 2008 graduate from the University of Puget Sound who is married to Will Holden, as well as a son, Travis (born June 25, 1991), a 2015 graduate from Northern Arizona University; both of whom are often mentioned during his routines. Engvall resides in Utah when not on tour and maintains a blog for the Los Angeles Angels on the website of Fox Sports West.[http://ww2.somdnews.com/stories/06252010/weektop112652_32198.shtml An interview with Bill Engvall: blogging, acting, a new outlook.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425063820/http://ww2.somdnews.com/stories/06252010/weektop112652_32198.shtml |date=April 25, 2012 }} SoMdNews.com. Retrieved June 11, 2011[http://www.foxsportswest.com/pages/bill_engvall_index Main page of Bill Engvall's LAA Blog] FoxSportsWest.com. Retrieved September 30, 2013 Engvall is an ordained minister. He graduated with a degree in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University in 2021.{{Cite press release |date=May 12, 2021 |title=No joke: Comedian Bill Engvall becoming GCU grad |first1=Lana |last1=Sweeten-Shults |url=https://news.gcu.edu/2021/05/no-joke-comedian-bill-engvall-becomes-gcu-grad/ |access-date=June 20, 2021 |publisher=Grand Canyon University}}
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details ! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Certifications |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| U.S. Country ! width="45"| U.S. ! width="45"| U.S. Comedy |
| scope="row"| Here's Your Sign{{anchor|ref_A}}[A]
|
| 5 | 50 | — |
|
| scope="row"| Dorkfish
|
| 16 | 119 | — |
|
| scope="row"| Here's Your Christmas Album{{anchor|ref_B}}[B]
|
| 44 | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Now That's Awesome
|
| 14 | 133 | — | |
| scope="row"| Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography
|
| 37 | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Here's Your Sign Reloaded
|
| 37 | — | 12 | |
| scope="row"| A Decade of Laughs
|
| 27 | 183 | 1 {{anchor|ref_C}}[C] | |
| scope="row"| 15° Off Cool
|
| 16 | 93 | 1 | |
| scope="row"| Aged and Confused
|
| 29 | 159 | 2 | |
| scope="row"| Them Idiots Whirled Tour (with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy) |
| 45 | — | 1 | |
| scope="row"| Ultimate Laughs
|
| — | — | — | |
| colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
{{refbegin}}
;Notes
- A {{anchor|endnote_A}}^ Here's Your Sign also peaked at number 3 on Top Heatseekers.
- B {{anchor|endnote_B}}^ Here's Your Christmas Album also peaked at number 33 on Top Holiday Albums. It was re-released in 2005.
- C {{anchor|endnote_C}}^ A Decade of Laughs was the second number 1 album upon the 2004 debut of the Billboard "Top Comedy Albums" chart, after Lord, I Apologize by fellow Blue Collar Comedy star Larry the Cable Guy.
{{refend}}
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:24em;"| Single ! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| U.S. Country ! width="45"| U.S. ! width="45"| CAN Country |
| rowspan="2"| 1997
! scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)" {{small|(with Travis Tritt)}} | 29 | 43 | 72 | rowspan="3" align="left" {{n/a}} |
| scope="row"| "Warning Signs" {{small|(with John Michael Montgomery)}}
| 56 | — | — |
| rowspan="3"| 1998
! scope="row"| "It's Hard to Be a Parent" | 72 | — | — |
| scope="row"| "I'm a Cowboy"
| 60 | — | — | rowspan="2" align="left"| Dorkfish |
| scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign Christmas"
| 50 | — | — |
| 1999
! scope="row"| "Hollywood Indian Guides" | 72 | — | — | align="left" {{n/a}} |
| rowspan="3"| 2000
! scope="row"| "Blue Collar Dollar" | 63 | — | — | align="left"| Blue Collar Comedy Tour |
| scope="row"| "Now That's Awesome" {{small|(with Neal McCoy, Tracy Byrd and T. Graham Brown)}} | 59 | — | — | rowspan="2" align="left"| Now That's Awesome |
| scope="row"| "Shoulda Shut Up" {{Small|(with Julie Reeves, uncredited)}}
| 71 | — | — |
| colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
=Other charted songs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:24em;"| Single ! colspan="1"| Peak positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="65"| U.S. Country |
| 1999
! scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign Christmas" (re-entry) | align="center"| 39 | rowspan="2"| Here's Your Christmas Album |
| 2000
! scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign Christmas" (re-entry) | align="center"| 46 |
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! Year ! style="width:24em;"| Video ! Director |
| rowspan="2"| 1997
! scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)" (with Travis Tritt) | Jim Yukich |
| scope="row"| "Warning Signs" (with John Michael Montgomery)
| rowspan="4"| Peter Zavadil |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 1998
! scope="row"| "I'm a Cowboy" |
| scope="row"| "Here's Your Sign Christmas" |
| 1999
! scope="row"| "Hollywood Indian Guides" |
| rowspan="2"| 2000
! scope="row"| "Blue Collar Dollar" (with Jeff Foxworthy and Marty Stuart) | Thomas Smugala |
| scope="row"| "Now That's Awesome"
| Peter Zavadil |
List of works
=Bibliography=
- Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life, St. Martin's Press 2007, {{ISBN|0-312-36267-6}}
=Filmography=
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1982
|Student | |
| 1984
|Second photographer | |
| 1990
|Bill |Episode: "Tough Enough" |
| 1992–1993
|Buck Overton |17 episodes |
| 1993
|Matthew Devereaux |Episode: "Say Goodbye, Rose" |
| 1996–1997
|Bill Pelton |14 episodes |
| 2003
|Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie | | |
| 2004
|Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again | | |
| 2004
|Here's Your Sign Live | |Live |
| 2004–2006
|Various |47 episodes |
| 2005
|Mobile Home Disaster | | |
| 2006
|Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road | | |
| 2006–2009
|Country Fried Home Videos |Host | |
| 2007
|Duke Dillon (voice) |Episode: "Boys Do Cry" |
| 2007
|Bill Little | |
| 2007–2009
|Bill Pearson |30 episodes |
| 2008
|Country Fried Planet | | |
| 2008, 2015
| | |
| 2008
|Bait Shop |Bill Dugan |Video |
| 2009
|Strawberry Wine | | |
| 2009
|Cowboy Dreams |Bill |Short |
| 2009
|Mr. Mendelson | |
| 2009
|Host | |
| 2010
|Duke Penzer |Episode: "The Boost Job" |
| 2010
|Bed & Breakfast: Love is a Happy Accident |Pete Sullivan | |
| 2011
|Host | |
| 2011
|Det. James 'Jimmy' Dupree |3 episodes |
| 2012
|Them Idiots: Whirled Tour | | |
| 2012
|Kiss at Pine Lake |Frank McDowell |TV movie |
| 2013
|Bill |12 episodes |
| 2013
| |competition reality show |
| 2014
|Do It Yourself |Dale |TV movie |
| 2015
|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | | |
| 2015
|Gary Martin Hays |TV movie |
| 2015
|Catching Faith |Coach Z | |
| 2015–2016
|Himself / Celebrity Player |Three episodes with Nicole Sullivan |
| 2016
|Himself / Restaurant Patron |Episode: "8 Chefs Compete" |
| 2016
|Troy | |
| 2016
|Wish For Christmas |Santa | |
| 2016
|Just Sell Him For Parts |Himself |Stand-up |
| 2016-2021
|Reverend Paul |8 episodes |
| 2017-2019
|Himself |64 episodes |
| 2018
|Mr. Invincible |Eddie King | |
| 2019
|Catching Faith 2: The Homecoming |Coach Z | |
| 2022
|Tim | |
| 2024
|Himself |Episode: "Bill Engvall vs. A. J. McCarron" |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
- {{official website|billengvall.com}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0257821|name=Bill Engvall}}
- [http://thewb.warnerbros.com/web/show_bio.jsp?id=BC-B-BEngvall Bill Engvall cast bio on The WB]
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{{succession box | title=Dancing with the Stars (US) semifinalist | before=Alexandra Raisman & Mark Ballas | years=Season 17 (Fall 2013 with Emma Slater) |after=James Maslow & Peta Murgatroyd}}
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{{American Comedy Award for Best Male Stand-Up Comic}}
{{Blue Collar Comedy}}
{{Bill Engvall}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engvall, Bill}}
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American country singer-songwriters
Category:American game show hosts
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American people of Swedish descent
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:Country musicians from Texas
Category:Male actors from Texas
Category:Participants in American reality television series
Category:People from Galveston, Texas
Category:Richardson High School alumni
Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas
Category:Southwestern University alumni