Ron White Biography

Ronald Dee "Ron' Tater Salad" White (born December 18, 1956) is an American stand up comedian, U.S. presidential candidate, and actor, best known as a charter member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Nicknamed "Tater Salad", he is the author of the book I Had the Right to Remain Silent But I Didn't Have the Ability (Dutton 2006, ISBN 978-0-525-94961-9), which appeared on the New York Times best seller list.

Early life

Ronald Dee White was born on December 18, 1956 in Fritch, Texas, to Charles Don White and Barbara Joan Craig.

White served in the United States Navy. According to his own account, White joined the service at age 17 and served on the auxiliary rescue and salvage ship USS Conserver near the end of the Vietnam War. He is an avid fisherman (and has always loved fishing as a hobby) but from a young age his dream was to become a comedian. He lived in Mexico for a brief period and bought a pottery factory there before returning to America to pursue comedy. He included stories from his youth in his book I Had the Right to Remain Silent But I Didn't Have the Ability.

Career

During January 2000 through March 2003, White toured with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy as part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour - a show that sold out across the United States in over 90 cities and grossed over $15 million. He made seven guest appearances on Blue Collar TV. In 2005, The WB Television Network aired the pilot for The Ron White Show, a variety show that combined a number of celebrity cameos, cartoons, and sketches. He taped several episodes of The Gong Show with Dave Attell as one of the celebrity judges. White has appeared in the TV shows Kath & Kim, Reno 911!, 12 Miles of Bad Road, the films Sex and the City 2 and Horrible Bosses, and a cameo in a Rascal Flatts music video, "Why Wait".

White is known for drinking Scotch as part of his act, as well as smoking cigars. He stated during his You Can't Fix Stupid show, "Somebody asked what I was drinking. If the company that made the stuff I was drinking was paying me, I'd have it in their bottle and not mine. But it's the kind of scotch that people drink that are going to die penniless. It's good though!" In 2009 Comedy Central released Ron's stand up DVD Behavioral Problems.

In 2010, Ron White and producer Michael Blakey formed Organica Music Group (OMG), a label that promotes both emerging and established musicians and comedians. OMG indicated that it would release all of White's future DVDs and CDs.

In November 2015, White announced that he was running for President of the United States as an independent candidate in 2016.

Ron White was an actor in the Showtime Series Roadies (Cameron Crowe) which had 10 episodes in its first season (over the summer 2016). He played Phil, the best roadie in the business. It is unclear if Roadies will have a Season 2, and the final episode of Season 1 was a tribute to the death of Ron White's character in the show.

Personal life

On September 7, 2008, White was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after an anonymous tip informed Vero Beach, Florida police that White"?s private plane would be carrying narcotics. He was found to be in possession of 7/8 of a gram of marijuana, which White described as being "out of marijuana".

White was married to Lori Brice from 1981 to 1993 and they had one son, Marshall. He was then married to Barbara Dobbs from 2004 to 2008.

On October 2013 he married singer-songwriter, musician and cancer survivor Margo Rey, proposing to her just weeks before her initial diagnosis. Her hairstyle, dubbed as "chemo-glam" by her husband, was cropped short for her wedding due to her chemotherapy. She continues her battle with cancer (now affecting her lymph nodes), describing White as "the best husband in the world."

Awards and recognition

April 27, 2009 was designated as "Ron White Day" in the State of Texas by Texas legislative officials. White received the Armed Forces Foundation's "Patriot Award" in March 2009 for his work in raising money to help wounded soldiers. He also held benefit shows for Hurricane Katrina relief. White's 2013 comedy album, A Little Unprofessional, was nominated for Best Comedy Album in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in January 2014.

Comedy releases

Besides the Blue Collar Comedy Tour CDs and films, White has released 6 solo projects to date.

Solo Works

• Tater Salad aka. Busted in Des Moines (1990) (CD)
• Drunk in Public (2003) (CD)
• They Call Me "Tater Salad" (2004) (DVD)
• You Can't Fix Stupid (2006) (DVD & CD)
• Behavioral Problems (2009) (DVD & CD)
• A Little Unprofessional (2012) (DVD)

He has appeared on the following compilation albums:

• Redneck Comedy Roundup (2005)
• Comedy Central Presents Southern Gents of Comedy (2006)
• Ron White, Jeff Foxworthy & Bill Engvall: Live from Las Vegas (2004)
• Redneck Kings of Comedy (2005)

Discography

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions				Certifications (sales threshold)
		US Comedy	US Country	US	US Heat
Tater Salad aka. Busted in Des Moines	Release date: 1990 Label: Laughing Hyena	"?	"?	"?	"?
Truckstop Comedy	Release date: 1994 Label: Laughing Hyena	"?	"?	"?	"?
Drunk in Public	Release date: November 3, 2003 Label: Hip-O Records	2	11	83	2	US: Gold
You Can't Fix Stupid	Release date: February 7, 2006 Label: Image Entertainment	1	2	14	"?
Behavioral Problems	Release date: April 21, 2009 Label: Capitol Records	1	13	51	"?
A Little Unprofessional	Release date: June 4, 2013 Label: Organica Music Group	1	44	"?	"?	""?" denotes releases that did not chart