Early career Quinn began performing stand-up comedy in 1984. He first achieved fame in 1987 as the sidekick announcer of the
MTV game show
Remote Control, which lasted five seasons. Quinn also hosted the final episodes of the series in 1990 due to regular host
Ken Ober's commitment to the series
Parenthood. In 1989, he hosted the
A&E stand-up showcase ''
Caroline's Comedy Hour'', and wrote and acted in the comedic short/music video "Going Back to Brooklyn" (a parody of
LL Cool J's "
Going Back to Cali") with
Ben Stiller. He wrote for
In Living Color, and co-wrote and produced the movie
Celtic Pride, which starred
Damon Wayans and
Dan Aykroyd.
Saturday Night Live Quinn was hired as a writer and featured player on
Saturday Night Live (
SNL) in
1995 and became a full cast member during the
1997–1998 season. He established himself on the show with recurring characters and segments such as "Lenny the Lion", "Joe Blow", "Colin Quinn Explains
The New York Times", and "
Weekend Update".
Television and film work and stand-up After leaving
SNL, Quinn hosted the short-lived
The Colin Quinn Show on
NBC in the spring of 2002. The show combined sketch comedy and stand-up in a live-to-tape format. Despite mostly positive reviews from critics, it was cancelled after three episodes. Quinn had greater success with his subsequent show,
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, which ran on weekdays on
Comedy Central from 2002 to 2004. The show featured a panel of four comedians, with Quinn as host, discussing the social and political issues of the day. The show ran for over 200 episodes. His stand-up was also used in the animated series ''
Shorties Watchin' Shorties''. tour in 2005 In 2005, Quinn participated in a
USO tour of American military bases around the world, performing stand-up to entertain the troops. He was the "unofficial co-host" on the
Nick DiPaolo show on the now-defunct 92.3
Free FM in New York City, airing Monday–Friday from noon to three. Quinn and DiPaolo were originally slated to host the show together on
WJFK-FM, but the station decided not to pick up the show. Quinn was also a regular guest on
The Opie & Anthony Show until its run ended in 2014. Quinn played Dickie Bailey, the childhood rival to Lenny Feder (
Adam Sandler's character) in
Grown Ups (2010) and
Grown Ups 2 (2013). He also had a recurring role as Hermie on the
HBO series
Girls. Quinn wrote and starred in the
L/Studio web series Cop Show, which premiered in February 2015. The series stars Quinn as a satirical, pompous version of himself, starring in a New York City-based crime drama. The show's guest stars have included
Jerry Seinfeld,
Dave Attell,
Chris Rock,
Steve Buscemi,
Jim Gaffigan,
Michael Che,
Tom Papa,
Jim Norton,
Pat Cooper,
Irina Shayk and
Amy Schumer. Quinn had a supporting role in Amy Schumer's film debut,
Trainwreck (2015), as her character's father. He was critically praised for his performance.
One-man shows Quinn made his
Broadway debut in 1998 in a one-man show,
Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake, co-written with Lou DiMaggio. The show reflected Quinn's upbringing within the Irish-American community of Brooklyn; it was set at a
wake in 1976, with Quinn portraying family members and acquaintances who show up for the event. In 2009, Quinn premiered his second one-man show,
My Two Cents, which covers the economic crumbling of the American empire. In 2010, Quinn premiered his third one-man show
Colin Quinn Long Story Short on Broadway, directed by Jerry Seinfeld. The show covered world history from prehistoric times to the present, offering satirical takes on the rise and fall of various world empires. Quinn recorded a special performance of the show that aired on
HBO on April 9, 2011. A Brazilian version of the show featuring comedian
Bruno Motta has the title
1 Milhao de Anos em 1 Hora ("1 Million Years in 1 Hour"). In 2013, Quinn premiered another one-man show on historical themes,
Unconstitutional, which covers the
United States Constitution, its creation, and its impact on the American psyche. Quinn starred in his fifth one-man show,
The New York Story, in July and August 2015 at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The show was based upon the experiences chronicled in his book,
The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America. It delves into his growing up in the ethnically diverse Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and how it has changed over the years into its current state. Seinfeld, who directed
Long Story Short, returned as director. In early 2019, Quinn premiered his sixth one-man show,
Red State Blue State, at the
Minetta Lane Theatre. The show explored contemporary politics in the United States on
both sides of the primary political spectrum. In 2020, Quinn released his second book,
Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States, and directed the
HBO Max comedy special
Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show. ==Personal life==