Ryan Stiles
{{Short description|American-Canadian comedian (born 1959)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Ryan Stiles
| image = File:RyanStilesNov08.jpg
| caption = Stiles in November 2008
| birth_name =Ryan Lee Stiles
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|4|22}}{{cite web |title=Ryan Stiles |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/184864%7C0/Ryan-Stiles |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=April 24, 2022}}
| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.
| nationality = {{hlist|American|Canadian}}
| genre = Improvisational comedy
| medium = Stand up, television, film
| notable_work ={{ubl|British and American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?|Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show|Herb Melnick on Two and a Half Men}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Patricia McDonald|1988}}
| children = 3
| active = 1985–present
}}
Ryan Lee Stiles (born April 22, 1959) is an American-Canadian comedian and actor. His work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway? (both the original British version and the subsequent American version) and for his role as Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show. He also played Herb Melnick on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men and was a performer on the show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza.
Early life and career
The youngest of five children, Ryan Stiles was born in Seattle to Canadian parents Irene and Sonny Stiles.{{cite web |title=Ryan Stiles |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/184864%7C0/Ryan-Stiles |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=April 24, 2022}}{{cite book |last1=Tracy |first1=Kathleen |title=Home Brewed: The Drew Carey Story |date=1997 |publisher=Boulevard |page=97 |isbn=9781572973619 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yL6lxnF6rFMC}} He grew up with his mother, a homemaker, and his father, a supervisor at a Vancouver-based Canadian fish processing plant. When he was ten, his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Ryan Stiles attended R.C. Palmer Junior Secondary School and Richmond Senior Secondary in Richmond, British Columbia. Although he was a good student, Stiles has admitted that "being a high-school senior gave [him] too much freedom." He got so carried away with his flexible schedule that at age 17, he quit school a few months shy of graduation.
Despite his parents' objections, he was able to support himself doing stand-up routines at clubs near his home in Vancouver. He helped Rich Elwood start Punchlines Comedy Club. During this time, he was the head writer of The Don Harron Show on CTV and the host of Comedy College on CBC. Stiles was a regular improv performer with the Vancouver Theatresports League and Punchlines' "No Name Player" before joining the Second City comedy ensemble at Expo 86. He continued performing with Second City in Toronto and later in Los Angeles.
Career
=''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and ''The Drew Carey Show''=
By 1989, Stiles had gained the attention of the producers of the British improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Stiles was a regular on the show until its end in 1998. His performance on the program earned him both critical praise and a devoted fan following in the United Kingdom. In 1995, Stiles was asked by American comic Drew Carey to be a regular on his sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Stiles played Carey's erudite but underachieving best friend, Lewis Kiniski.
In 1998, Carey successfully lobbied ABC to produce an American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Following the final season of the British version in 1998, the American version premiered, with both Stiles and Carey credited as executive producers. Stiles received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 2002 for his work on the show.{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/whose-line-it-anyway|title=Whose Line Is It Anyway?|website=Emmys.com|publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|access-date=April 25, 2021}} A running gag of the show is Stiles' flashy dress shoes as well as his frequent impressions of American actress Carol Channing.
Though he never appeared in the series, Stiles (along with Kaitlin Olson) performed in the taping of the unaired pilot episode of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, which involved improv games similar to Whose Line? games played in front of a massive green screen. Animation was later added to the improv footage.
Stiles returned as performer and executive producer for The CW's revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in the summer of 2013.{{cite press release|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2013/03/01/whose-line-is-it-anyway-returns-to-television-as-part-of-the-cws-summer-2013-schedule-136011/20130301cw01/|title=Whose Line Is It Anyway? Returns to Television as Part of The CW's Summer 2013 Schedule|publisher=The CW|via=The Futon Critic|date=March 1, 2013|access-date=April 25, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2013/03/cw-brings-back-whose-line-is-it-anyway-for-summer-run-aisha-tyler-to-host-443829/|title=CW Brings Back Whose Line Is It Anyway? For Summer Run, Aisha Tyler To Host|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Nellie Andreeva|date=March 1, 2013|access-date=April 25, 2021}}
=Other television and film work=
{{BLP sources section|date=November 2017}}
Stiles appeared in the 1991 film Hot Shots! as Mailman Farnham and its 1993 sequel, Hot Shots! Part Deux, as marine Rabinowitz. He portrayed recurring character Dr. Herb Melnick on Two and a Half Men from 2004 until the show's end in 2015. He made short guest appearances on Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Mad TV, and Dharma & Greg. In July 2008, he was a guest star on Reno 911! as Sergeant Clift, an acting coach.
During the 1994 Major League Baseball strike, Stiles appeared in several commercials for Nike, hanging out in an empty ballpark, doing things such as playing the organ and attempting to do the wave alone. The commercials ended with the line: "Play ball. Please."
In 2005, Stiles appeared in the mockumentary Conker: Celebrity Squirrel produced for the promotion of the Xbox video game Conker: Live & Reloaded.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ia-nqTV0Hs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/4ia-nqTV0Hs| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Conker: Celebrity Squirrel|date=November 9, 2006|access-date=December 26, 2015|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} This role led to gamers voting to induct him into the 2015 class of the DK Vine Hall of Fame.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoowcvGIYmw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/BoowcvGIYmw| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=DK Vine Hall of Fame 2015 (Part Five)|date=August 10, 2015|access-date=December 26, 2015|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}
Philanthropy
Stiles has been a frequent fundraiser for children with burn injuries, raising over $500,000 for the Burned Children Recovery Center since 2009 and helping the foundation to recover from the Great Recession.{{cite web|url=http://www.burnedchildrenrecovery.org/ryan-stiles-fundraising|title=Burned Children Recovery Foundation|access-date=December 26, 2015}}
Personal life
In 1981, Stiles met Patricia McDonald at Punchlines, where she was a waitress. They married in 1988 and have three children together.{{cite news |url = http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=b5eb0f39-779d-4a18-a402-eefe2d224d6f |title = Iconic actor likes to stay close to home |last = Spalding |first = Derek |work = Nanaimo Daily News |publisher = CanWest |date = May 8, 2008 |access-date = June 22, 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140326053415/http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=b5eb0f39-779d-4a18-a402-eefe2d224d6f |archive-date = March 26, 2014 }}
When not working, he lives at his home on Lake Samish, outside Bellingham, Washington,{{cite news |first= Saint|last= Bryan|title= Ryan Stiles, back home again|url= http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/northwest/eveningmagazine/stories/NW_032306EMryanstilesKC.547e80d4.html|work= Evening Magazine|publisher= KING-TV|location= Seattle|date= March 24, 2006|access-date=July 27, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080526023650/http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/northwest/eveningmagazine/stories/NW_032306EMryanstilesKC.547e80d4.html |archive-date = May 26, 2008}} where he opened the Upfront Theatre, a small theatre dedicated to live improv comedy.{{cite news |first= Ian|last= Chant|title= Shooting From the Hip – Upfront Theatre Improv mixes it up|url= http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/index.php?navarea=Archives&storyid=382|publisher= What's Up magazine|location= Bellingham, Washington|date=June 2006|access-date=July 27, 2008}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1985
| | Short film |
| rowspan=2|1991
| Dominic "Mailman" Farnham | |
| Public Enemy #2
| Sidewalk Santa | |
| 1993
| Rabinowitz | |
| 1997
| Courting Courtney | Chad Gross | |
| rowspan=2|2003
| Nobody Knows Anything! | Harold | Uncredited |
| data-sort-value="Devil Made Me Do It, The" | The Devil Made Me Do It
| The Devil | Short film |
| 2006
| data-sort-value="Extra, The" | The Extra | Clyde | Short film |
| 2009
| Mr. Mustachio / Burning Robot | Voice |
| 2011
| Hoot | Voice |
| 2012
| Slither | Voice |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1985
| data-sort-value="Beachcombers, The" | The Beachcombers | Leo aka Tall Suit | Season 14, episode 6: "Halibut Stu" |
| 1986
| data-sort-value="Hitchhiker, The" | The Hitchhiker | Maker | Also known as Deadly Nightmares in the United Kingdom; Le Voyageur in France |
| 1988
| 110 Lombard | | TV movie |
| 1989–1999
| Himself | UK series, 92 episodes |
| 1990
| Kenny Tuchman / Bob #2 | Season 4, episode 13: "Chester Gets a Show" |
| rowspan=2|1991
| Bobo the Clown | Season 7, episode 20: "Party Politics" |
| Life As We Know It!
| | TV movie |
| 1991-1992
| Weather Guy / Clerk / Sweepstakes Guy | 3 episodes |
| 1992
| Say What? | Actor | TV movie |
| rowspan=2|1993-1994
| Boss / Video Vogue Manager | 2 episodes |
| data-sort-value="John Larroquette Show, The" | The John Larroquette Show
| CIA Agent Kinkaid / Mac / Dave | 3 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1994
| Dale Griffin | Season 2, episode 13: "Unplugged" |
| L.A.X. 2194
| | TV pilot |
| 1995–2004
| {{sortname|The|Drew Carey Show}} | Lewis Kiniski | Main role; 231 episodes |
| 1996
| {{N/A}} | Creative consultant |
| 1997
| Acolyte Monk #2 | Season 9, episode 19: "Desperate Times" |
| 1998–2006; 2013–present | Himself | US series, 335 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1999
| ABC TGIF | Lewis Kiniski | Segment: "Drew Clues 2" |
| Norm
| | Uncredited |
| rowspan=2|2000
| data-sort-value="Cartoon Cartoon Show, The" | The Cartoon Cartoon Show | Vivian | Voice |
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
| Professor Spyro Lepton / Von Madman | Voice |
| rowspan=3|2001
| Himself / Panelist | 10 episodes |
| Improv All Stars
| Himself | TV special |
| Dharma & Greg
| Abraham Lincoln | Uncredited |
| 2002
| Rugrats | Ralph | Voice |
| 2004–2015
| Dr. Herb Melnick | Recurring role; 30 episodes, Seasons 2, 4–10, 12 |
| 2008
| Sergeant Clift | Season 5, episode 15: "Undercover Acting Coach" |
| rowspan=2|2009
| Memory Lanes | Ryan Murray | TV movie |
| Bless This Mess
| Paul | TV movie |
| rowspan=2|2011
| Dr. Edwin Gould DDS | Episode 2: "Dental Claims" |
| Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza
| Himself | Recurring performer, 34 episodes |
| 2012
| Jerry | Episode 9: "Fired" |
| 2013
| Bellingham T'Nite | {{N/A}} | TV short |
| 2019
| Bill Doty | Season 4, episode 3: "Bigger Kids, Bigger Problems" |
| 2020
| Dr. Bowers | Season 3, episode 20: "A Baby Tooth and the Egyptian God of Knowledge" |
| 2023
| Bruce (voice) | Season 3, episode 10: "International Break" |
| 2025
| Leanne | Bill | Upcoming series; main role{{Cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leanne-morgan-series|title=Leanne Morgan, the 'Grandmama from Tennessee,' Stars in Leanne Comedy Series|work=Netflix Tudum|first1=Tara|last1=Bitran|first2=Stephan|last2=Lee|date=May 28, 2025|access-date=May 28, 2025}} |
=Commercials=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Commercials |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1991
| Chrysler | Miming Pitchman | New Yorker Fifth Avenue, in comparison to the Cadillac DeVille |
| 1993
| Himself | All-Bran |
| 1994
| Nike | Organ Player | Pleading for the end of the 94/95 MLB strike |
| rowspan=2|1998
| KFC | "Famous Actor" | New Hot 'N' Spicy Chicken |
| Kwik Save
| Customer | Kwik Save Hotline |
| 2001
| Kinko's | "Kenny" | Various |
| 2004
| Progressive Automotive Insurance | Himself | Various |
| 2005
| Himself | Various |
| 2007
| Professional | Various |
| 2011
| Zaxby's | Himself | Birthday cake milkshake |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Ryan Stiles}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0830198|name=Ryan Stiles}}
{{WLIIA}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiles, Ryan}}
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:20th-century Canadian comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:21st-century Canadian comedians
Category:American expatriates in Canada
Category:American impressionists (entertainers)
Category:American male comedians
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:American male voice actors
Category:Canadian impressionists (entertainers)
Category:Canadian male comedians
Category:Canadian male voice actors
Category:Canadian stand-up comedians
Category:Comedians from Vancouver
Category:Male actors from Vancouver