Kontraband Know It All

Who is Louis C.K.? Where does he come from?
Louis C.K. is a red-headed bearded American stand-up comic who is the star of the show Louie, which can be found on FX. His real surname is Szekely, so the stage name C.K. was chosen as an easier representation of this tricky Hungarian surname (C.K.'s grandfather was a Hungarian immigrant who lived in Mexico). C.K. was born in Washington DC to an American mother and Mexican father and spent some of his childhood living in Mexico City, so he has American and Mexican dual citizenship and speaks Spanish.
Regardless of his mixed heritage, C.K. likes to espouse how fortunate he feels about being born a white man (see him talk about it here). This is a typical "near to the knuckle" example of the comedian's humour, not being too politically correct to avoid topics such as racism and skin colour. Considering his ginger hair colouring and edgy humour, the American could be unfairly compared to fellow red-head comic Jim Davidson. Except that C.K. is actually funny and never appeared in a terrible sitcom which featured Anita Dobson.

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Which comedians have influenced Louis C.K.?
It is unsurprising to learn which comics have influenced Louis C.K. after seeing any of his "Not Safe For Work" material (probably best not to watch this clip about male self-abuse if you are easily shocked or your better half/boss is around). Richard Pryor immediately springs to mind, regardless of some of the daft characters he played in film (Superman III for a start). Pryor's stand-up comedy was ruthless and went straight for the jugular. Other influences include Steve Martin (before he got boring), the late Bill Hicks and Garry Shandling, a comedian so successful that he has been nominated for 19 Emmy Awards (the US equivalent of the TV Choice Awards but without Ant & Dec turning up).
C.K. has worked with famous comedians such as Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld, developing his stand-up routine in the process. He has also been influenced by more subtle comic writers such as Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce. Good comedians are frequently influenced by great comedians: Michael McIntyre was influenced by Billy Connolly, Eddie Izzard was influenced by Spike Milligan and legendary deadpan comic Steven Wright was influenced by a tardy postman (because of his slow delivery, boom boom).

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What type of comedy does Louis C.K. specialise in?
Considering the type of humour preferred by the comedians that have influenced Louis C.K. it is safe to say that his humour is littered with expletives, comments that might be considered offensive and tactless jokes that could almost be classed as bad-taste. So in other words, he is an interesting comedian, because he takes these adult themes but also laughs at himself, a self-deprecating comic who is not out to insult anyone, he just sees a lot of things that deserve ridicule (for example: duck vaginas).
He is a father of 2 girls who he is clearly proud of as he mentions them in his routine. He is also a skilful writer having won awards for his work, such as an Emmy for his writing for Louie. Themes that appear in his material include family, sex and money; he combines observational humour with black comedy in a similar vein to Frankie Boyle (but less Scottish), Jimmy Carr (but less tax avoidant) and Monty Python (but less cheese and parrots).

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What programmes has he been in? Has he been in any films?
Louie is the name of the TV show which is currently heralding the comic talents of Louis C.K. but he is no stranger to appearing on television. He has been in various talk shows, such as Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Chris Rock Show, where he was usually employed as a writer as well. He has appeared in the sitcom Parks and Recreation and provided his voice for the character of Louis in the squiggly animated series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.
C.K.'s film career has not been as busy as his TV schedule, he has worked as a screenwriter and director for several films, including the rather unsavoury titled Pootie Tang from 2001 (a flop which featured Chris Rock). Ironically, C.K. co-wrote the film I Think I Love My Wife in 2007 but was divorced in 2008. However, Louie is garnering a lot of attention on both sides of the Atlantic and it will only be a matter of time before C.K. has another crack at the film world. Or he can carry on making jokes that combine masturbation and the September 11 terrorist attacks, no doubt revelling in an audience that clearly can't decide whether to laugh or feel uncomfortable; much like watching Tom Daley in Splash!

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