Louis C.K.
American-Mexican comedian
louisck.net
Louis C.K. is a Mexican-American comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and editor. C.K. began his career in the 1990s and early 2000s writing for several comedians including David Letterman, … Wikipedia
Born: September 12, 1967 (age 50), Washington, D.C., United States
Height: 1.83 m
Spouse: Alix Bailey (m. 1995–2008)
Children: Kitty Szekely, Mary Louise Szekely
Parents: Luis Szekely, Mary Louise Davis
2016–present: Horace and Pete and sexual misconduct backlash
It was announced in January 2016 that C.K. and actor/comedian Albert Brooks would co-create, co-write, executive produce, and provide the voices for the two main characters in an animated series pilot for FX.[97] The following January, the series was announced to instead be premiering on TBS in 2018 and is titled The Cops, following two Los Angeles patrolmen.[98] On January 30, 2016, he released the first episode of the tragicomic drama series Horace and Pete to his website, without any prior announcements. C.K. directed, wrote, and starred in the series as bar owner Horace, alongside Steve Buscemi, who portrays co-owner Pete.[99] James Poniewozik of the New York Times said the series “may best be described as a Cheers spec script by Eugene O’Neill: a snapshot of a family—and a country—suffering a hangover decades in the making.”[100] The self-financed series received a significantly positive reaction from critics, who largely focused on the performances of the veteran cast that includes C.K., Buscemi, Edie Falco, Steven Wright, Alan Alda, and Jessica Lange and C.K.’s writing.[101][102] C.K. has expressed his interest in a second season.[103] C.K. next voiced the lead, Max, a Jack Russell Terrier, in the animated comedy film The Secret Life of Pets. The film was co-directed by Chris Renaud of the Despicable Me series, and was released on July 8, 2016.[104][105] It grossed over $875 million worldwide.[106][107] C.K. developed the series Better Things with its star Pamela Adlon, who had appeared on Louie. C.K. co-wrote, co-produced, and directed the pilot.[2] The show is about a single working actress mother and her struggles to raise three daughters.[108] It premiered in September 2016 on FX.[109] His stand-up special 2017 was filmed in Washington, D.C. and released on April 4, 2017, through the streaming service Netflix.[110]
C.K. directed the film I Love You, Daddy in secret, shooting entirely on black and white 35 mm film in June 2017.[111] The film follows a television producer and writer played by C.K. called Glen Topher whose teenage daughter, played Chloe Grace Moretz, is seduced by a much older film director (John Malkovich), causing Topher to become disconcerted. The film also features Charlie Day, Adlon, Rose Byrne, Edie Falco, and Helen Hunt.[112] It premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival in September,[113] whereupon The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw gave the film a four-star review, calling it a “very funny and recklessly provocative homage to Woody Allen, channelling his masterpiece Manhattan.”[112]On November 9, 2017 the distributor of I Love You Daddy, The Orchard, canceled the New York premiere of the film due to “unexpected circumstances,” with The Hollywood Reporter reporting that an upcoming New York Times story on C.K. was the reason for the cancellation. His scheduled next-day appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was also canceled.[114]
In an article published later in the day, The New York Times reported that five women accused C.K. of asking them to watch or listen to him masturbate.[115][116][117] The accusers included comedy duo Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov in 2002, comedian Abby Schachner in 2003, comedian Rebecca Corry in 2005, and an anonymous woman who worked on The Chris Rock Show in the late 1990s.[115] Vanity Fair had published an article the previous August in which Tig Notaro declared she had distanced herself from C.K., a one-time collaborator and producer on her show One Mississippi, due in part to his refusal to address allegations of sexual impropriety from several women, and also due to an unspecified “incident” between them after which she had not seen or communicated with him.[118] Moreover, C.K. himself had dismissed the allegations as “rumors” in September 2017.[119]
In wake of the allegations, The Orchard announced it would not distribute I Love You Daddy, a week before its scheduled release.[120] His co-stars in the film, Chloë Grace Moretz and Charlie Day, both said they would not participate in the film’s promotion.[121] FX Networks announced it was cutting ties with C.K., and Netflix announced that it would not be moving forward with its second planned standup special.[122] HBO dropped C.K.’s appearance on an upcoming Night of Too Many Stars autism television special, and removed his 2013 stand-up special Oh My God and his 2006 sitcom Lucky Louie from their on-demand services.[123] TBS suspended production of its upcoming animated series The Cops, which was co-created by and to star C.K. and Albert Brooks.[124] C.K. will not reprise his role of Max in the upcoming Secret Life of Pets sequel.[125]
In a statement the day after the Times report, C.K. acknowledged that all five allegations were true, expressing remorse at the hurt he caused and the abuse of his power as an admired figure in the comedy world. He also stated that he had thought that his actions were acceptable because he first asked permission, not realizing that this put the women he was asking in a predicament due to his power in the industry, and added that he “took advantage” of his own high standing, “which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it.”
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