Brian Quinn (comedian)

Brian Michael "Q" Quinn (born March 14, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, and producer born in Brooklyn, but moved to Staten Island before he was 2 years old. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe also consisting of Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, and James Murray. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered on December 15, 2011 on TruTV.

Brian Quinn
Quinn in 2010
Born
Brian Michael Quinn

(1976-03-14) March 14, 1976
Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Alma materBrooklyn College
OccupationComedian, actor
Years active1998–present

Early life

Quinn was born on March 14, 1976 in Staten Island, New York. He is of Irish and Italian ancestry. Quinn attended Monsignor Farrell High School. Along with Murray, Vulcano, and Gatto, he was a member of his high school's improvisation club.[1][2] He studied at Brooklyn College before joining New York City Fire Department where he served for eight years.[3][4]

Career

Early career

Despite not being an initial member of his friends' comedy troupe The Tenderloins, after one of the original members, Mike Boccio, left the group in 2006, Quinn became the troupe's fourth member.[5]

The Tenderloins began producing comedy sketches together, posting them on YouTube, MySpace, and Metacafe, accumulating millions of views online. In 2007, the troupe won the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC It's Your Show competition for the sketch "Time Thugs".[6]

Impractical Jokers and other television shows

Impractical Jokers premiered on December 15, 2011 on TruTV. The first season was watched by over 32 million viewers. The show quickly became the most popular series on TruTV and has boosted Quinn into the public eye.

In 2019, Quinn, along with the other members of The Tenderloins, starred in The Misery Index, which is hosted by Jameela Jamil and is based on Andy Breckman's card game "Shit Happens".[7]

Impractical Jokers: The Movie was released on February 21, 2020.

Podcasts

The Tenderloins Podcast

The group began hosting a podcast in April 2012. It is available on their official website and iTunes.

What Say You?

What Say You?, an occasional podcast hosted by Sal Vulcano and Quinn, was named Best New Show at the 2013 Stitcher Awards.[8] The increased popularity of What Say You sparked a friendly competition among the comedians, spurring Joe Gatto and James Murray to release their own Tenderloins podcast without the other two members. In 2015, What Say You? was nominated for the Comedy, Entertainment, and Best Produced Podcast Awards at the 10th Annual Podcast Awards. Vulcano and Quinn have stated that the podcast is their own side project, not a replacement of The Tenderloins Podcast.[9] The group explained that it was difficult to coordinate the schedules of all four members outside of work, making it challenging to produce their troupe's official podcast with any regularity.

Tell 'Em Steve-Dave

Q is also a part of the podcast Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!, which he co-hosts with Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan. The podcast started in February 2010 with Quinn in the role of the off-mic audio engineer, then shortly after as occasional commentator and ultimately co-host.

Personal life

Quinn suffers from arachnophobia.[10] He has a cat named Benjamin. Quinn suffers from depression and has been very open about his struggles throughout the years.[11]

While taking a trip to Germany in 2009, Quinn was arrested for disorderly conduct while visiting the Oktoberfest. Another guy started a fight, punched him in the face, knocking his tooth out. Quinn was escorted back to America by German police and was bailed out by his Tenderloins troupe members.[12]

Since his time on Impractical Jokers, Quinn has donated $50,000 to the New York City Fire Department and he occasionally meets with his former coworkers.[13]

In 2019, Quinn revived the Rubsam & Horrmann Brewing Company on Staten Island.[14]

gollark: They'd have to understand and rewrite it from scratch.
gollark: That would be impractical.
gollark: Discord's API will probably have been apified - as is already ongoing - and it basically just won't work.
gollark: My Android tablet from *2015* couldn't connect to osmarks.net because it didn't do TLS 1.2!
gollark: They can't run it because protocols will have changed.

References
  1. "Impractical Jokers' success is rooted in a deeper vulnerability". The Buffalo News. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  2. Hanson-Firestone, Dana (3 December 2019). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Brian Quinn". TVOvermind. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  3. "No Joke: How Fireman-Turned-Comedian Brian Quinn Tapped into the Brewery Business on Staten Island". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  4. "Impractical Jokers' success is rooted in a deeper vulnerability". The Buffalo News. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  5. "About The Guys". The Official Website of The Tenderloins. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  6. "About". The Tenderloins. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  7. "The Misery Index". tbs.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  8. "What Say You?". stitcher.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  9. "What Say You?". stitcher.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  10. "Impractical Joker Brian "Q" Quinn's Tarantula Terror". Tattoodo. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  11. "Impractical Jokers' success is rooted in a deeper vulnerability". The Buffalo News. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  12. Quinn, Brian Q. (2015-04-11). "Last time I was in Germany I was beaten up and arrested. So, yes. Don't know when though". @bqquinn. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  13. "Q donates $50K: FDNY, not 'Jokers,' is proudest moment". silive. 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  14. Bailey-Millado, Rob (August 20, 2019). "'Impractical Jokers' star is serious about reviving Staten Island beer". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
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