Comedian Ron “Tater Salad” White is probably best known as the cigar smoking,
Scotch drinking funnyman from the “Blue Collar Comedy” phenomenon. But in
2006, with two Grammy nominations, a second CD and DVD, his second one hour special on Comedy Central and a book released in June, Ron has established himself as a star in his own right.
Ron has always been a storyteller, from the time he was a boy growing up in a
small town in the middle of Texas oil country to selling windows for a living in
Arlington to performing in sold-out theaters and arenas as a headlining comedian
all across the country. For two decades he lived the life of a struggling comedian
bouncing around to comedy clubs and driving to gigs in his beat-up Nissan
pickup. In short, he paid his dues.
Ron’s first solo comedy CD, “Drunk In Public,” was released in November 2003
showcasing the insightful and hilarious White, who manages to be both razor-sharp and blunt. The comedy CD has been in the Top 10 of the Billboard
Comedy Charts since February 2004 and has sold over 500,000 copies and
certified “gold.” Ron’s “Drunk in Public” tour was ranked in the top 50 in Pollstar
Magazine 2004 and #63 in 2005.
Also that year, his first one-hour comedy special, “They Call Me Tater Salad”
earned Comedy Central the highest rated Sunday in its history and the DVD
companion has sold 1.4 million copies to date and has been certified multiplatinum. If that’s not enough, “The Ron White Show,” a comedy special for the WB network, was filmed in Las Vegas and aired in April 2005 with 4 million
viewers. The show helped propel the network to one of its best Thursday nights
of the season.
Ron’s second and current one-hour special, “You Can’t Fix Stupid” was filmed in
January 2006 at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, TX. The special aired on Comedy
Central to 4.5 million viewers to make it the 3rd largest audience in Comedy
Central’s history and the #1 show in prime time on basic cable. The comedy CD
of the same name was released on February 7, 2006 by Image Entertainment
and premiered at #14 on Billboard’s Top 200, ranked #1 on the Billboard
Comedy Charts for 9 consecutive weeks and was nominated for a Grammy
Award. Ron also received a second Grammy nomination for the CD, “Blue Collar
Comedy Tour - One for The Road.”
In June 2006, Penguin Books released Ron ‘Tater Salad’ White: I Had The Right
To Remain Silent…But I Didn’t Have the Ability. The book debuted at #15 on
the New York Times Best Seller List. It perfectly sums up Ron’s life and his
comedy and is filled with over 80 illustrations by acclaimed artist Matthew Shultz.
In June, Ron reunited with the Blue Collar boys for “Blue Collar Comedy Tour -
One for the Road” which was filmed in Washington DC at the Warner Theater
and had its world premiere on Comedy Central.
In the fall of 2007, Ron began work as part of HBO’s new series “12 Miles of Bad
Road.”
Ron has appeared on such late-night talk shows as “The Late Show w/ David
Letterman” and “The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno.”