Bill Engvall Biography

William Ray "Bill" Engvall, Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American comedian and actor best known for his work as a stand-up comic, his signature "Here's Your Sign" bit, and as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy group.

Early life

Bill Engvall was born in Galveston, Texas. Following graduation from Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas, Engvall attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, intending to earn a Bachelor's degree and become a teacher. While at Southwestern he was a member of Xi Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order. Engvall left college prior to earning his degree and worked a series of jobs, including tour guide at Inner Space Caverns, and disc jockey in a Dallas, Texas nightclub. It was while working as club DJ he first ventured into standup comedy at amateur and open mic nights around Dallas.

Career

In 1990 Bill Engvall moved to southern California to dedicate full-time to his comedy. Early notoriety came from hosting the cable show A Pair of Jokers with Rosie O'Donnell and an appearance on the 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 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. The show only lasted one season however, 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 Bros. Records in 1996, Engvall released the first of a series of highly successful comedy albums, Here's Your Sign, based on his signature stage bit. The album was certified Platinum and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Country album chart, thanks in part to the single and video of the same title on which he collaborated with Country star Travis Tritt. Eight more comedy albums followed including Dorkfish in 1998, and the most recent, 2009's Aged and Confused.

In 2011, He also attended the NASCAR After The Lap event in Las Vegas.

In 2013, he was announced as a contestant on the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars paired with professional dancer Emma Slater.

Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Jeff Foxworthy and Engvall launched the first of six Blue Collar Comedy Tours in 2000. The tours also featured comedians Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy and were largely responsible for their breakout success. Each of the six years of the tour were very successful and spawned three movies, a satellite radio show, and a television show, Blue Collar TV on The WB Network.

Game show host

On June 6, 2011, Bill Engvall began a new chapter in his career as he took over as host of the re-launched Lingo on GSN. According to an interview in American Profile magazine, Engvall said he jumped at the chance to host the show, citing the fun 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."

Personal life

Bill and Gail Engvall (born August 1960) have been married since December 18, 1982. They have a daughter named Emily (born 1986), a 2008 graduate from the University of Puget Sound, as well as a son, Travis (born 1991), a 2013 graduate from Northern Arizona University; both of whom are often mentioned during his routines. Engvall resides in southern California when not on tour and maintains a blog for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions			Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US Country	US	US Comedy
Here's Your Sign[A]	Release date: May 28, 1996 Label: Warner Bros. Records	5	50	"?	US: Platinum
Dorkfish	Release date: October 13, 1998 Label: Warner Bros. Records	16	119	"?	US: Gold
Here's Your Christmas Album[B]	Release date: September 28, 1999 Label: Warner Bros. Records	44	"?	"?
Now That's Awesome	Release date: August 22, 2000 Label: BNA Records	14	133	"?
Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography	Release date: September 24, 2002 Label: Warner Bros. Records	37	"?	"?
Here's Your Sign Reloaded	Release date: November 11, 2003 Label: Warner Bros. Records	37	"?	12
A Decade of Laughs	Release date: October 26, 2004 Label: Warner Bros. Records	27	183	1
15° Off Cool	Release date: February 27, 2007 Label: Warner Bros. Records	16	93	1
Aged and Confused	Release date: October 6, 2009 Label: Warner Bros. Records	29	159	2
Them Idiots: Whirled Tour (with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy)	Release date: March 13, 2012 Label: Warner Bros. Records	45	"?	1
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions			Album
		US Country	US	CAN Country
1997	"Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)" (with Travis Tritt)	29	43	72	Non-album songs
	"Warning Signs" (with John Michael Montgomery)	56	"?	"?
1998	"It's Hard to Be a Parent"	72	"?	"?
	"I'm a Cowboy"	60	"?	"?	Dorkfish
	"Here's Your Sign Christmas"	50	"?	"?
1999	"Hollywood Indian Guides"	72	"?	"?	Non-album song
2000	"Blue Collar Dollar" (with Jeff Foxworthy and Marty Stuart)	63	"?	"?	Blue Collar Comedy Tour
	"Now That's Awesome" (with Neal McCoy, Tracy Byrd and T. Graham Brown)	59	"?	"?	Now That's Awesome
	"Shoulda Shut Up"	71	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Other charted songs

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		US Country
1999	"Here's Your Sign Christmas" (re-entry)	39	Here's Your Christmas Album
2000	"Here's Your Sign Christmas" (re-entry)	46

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
1997	"Here's Your Sign (Get the Picture)" (with Travis Tritt)	Jim Yukich
	"Warning Signs" (with John Michael Montgomery)	Peter Zavadil
1998	"I'm a Cowboy"
	"Here's Your Sign Christmas"
1999	"Hollywood Indian Guides"
2000	"Blue Collar Dollar" (with Jeff Foxworthy and Marty Stuart)	Thomas Smugala
	"Now That's Awesome"	Peter Zavadil

List of works

Bibliography

• Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-36267-6 (2007)

Filmography

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie (2003)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again (2004)
• Blue Collar TV (2004)
• Mobile Home Disaster (2005)
• Country Fried Home Videos (Host) (2006"present)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road (2006)
• The Bill Engvall Show (2007"2009)
• Delta Farce (2007)
• Bait Shop (2008)
• Country Fried Planet (2008)
• Celebrity Family Feud (2008)
• Strawberry Wine (2009)
• Leverage (2010) (guest star) as Duke Penzer
• Lingo (2011)
• Hawthorne (2011) (guest star) as Detective Jimmy Dupree (3 Episodes)