Denis Leary Biography 

This former comedian and stand up comic became a regular visitor to the lounge’s of the television viewing public when he wrote, directed and starred in the popular drama series, Rescue Me, which sees him in the role of a New York City firefighting father, friend, lover and occasional bad boy.

Denis Leary was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 18, 1957 the son of  Irish Catholic immigrants who worked as a mechanic and a maid.

After attending Siant Peter Marian High School in Worcester he went on to further his education at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts which also saw him becoming close friends with fellow student, Mario Cantone, comedian Steven Wright and the actress Gina Gershon.

After graduating in 1979, Leary took a job at Emerson College teaching comedy writing classes and continued the job for five years

While at school Denis showed a keen interest in acting and together with Jodi haffner Wallace founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a group that went on to survive up to the time Denis was starring in Rescue Me.

Leary started his career as a comedian in the Boston comedy scene of the 1980s, where he hosted his own show at the underground club "Play It Again Sam's". He also wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, Lenny Clarke's Late Show, hosted by his friend Lenny Clarke and written by Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Later Denis’s career saw him branching out into acting, writing and directing.

Leary first earned fame when he ranted about R.E.M. in an MTV sketch. Several other commercials for MTV followed, in which Leary would rant at high speeds about a variety of topics. He has released two records of his stand-up comedy: No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). In late 2004, he released the EP Merry F#%$in' Christmas, which included a mix of new music, previously unreleased recordings, and some tracks from Lock 'n Load.

Although he says he is most at home on stage doing stand-up, Leary has appeared as an actor in over 40 movies, including The Sandlot, Monument Ave., The Matchmaker, The Ref, Suicide Kings, Dawg, Wag the Dog, Demolition Man, The Thomas Crown Affair and Operation Dumbo Drop. He has had the lead role in two television series, The Job and Rescue Me. In addition, Leary has provided voices for characters in animated films, such as a medium fire-breathing dragon named Flame in the The Agents series, a prehistoric, saber-toothed cat named Diego in the Ice Age film trilogy, and Francis in A Bug's Life.

Denis has also spent a large part of his career producing numerous movies, television shows, and specials through his production company Apostle, includinh Comedy Central's Shorties Watchin' Shorties, the stand-up special Denis Leary's Merry F#$%in' Christmas, and the movie Blow.

Leary is a Boston Red Sox fan and he narrated the official 2004 World Series film.

In 2003, Comedy Central honored Leary with the Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary. Friend Jeff Garlin acted as roastmaster and in attendance were his old friend Mario Cantone, Adam Ferrara, Dane Cook, Jim Breuer, radio chat show celebrity, Nick DiPaolo, Don Gavin, actor Christopher Walken, Lenny Clarke, Gina Gershon, late night chat show host Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, Colin Quinn, and fellow star in Rescue Me, Michael J. Fox.

Through his marriage, Leary is a third cousin of talk show host Conan O'Brien and has jokingly said on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that, "All Irish people are related."

But it is probably his role in Rescue Me that made Leary a big household name when he stars in and co-creates the series in which he plays Tommy Gavin, a New York City firefighter dealing with alcoholism, family dysfunction, and other issues in post-9/11 New York City.

Leary received Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. For this TV series, he turned down roles in two films: The Departed which went to Mark Wahlberg and Bobby, which his close friend Emilio Estevez directed.

On September 9, 2008, Leary hosted the sixth annual Fashion Rocks event, which aired on CBS. During one part of the show, Leary came onstage dressed in a long gold halter dress and wearing diamond earrings and a bracelet; he carried a purse and a pair of high heels. In another segment, he let out a controversial rant about Britney Spears, the birth of Ricky Martin's twins, and David Duchovny going to rehab for sex addiction.

In his personal life, Denis has been married to writer Ann Lembeck Leary since 1989 and together they two children, son John Joseph "Jack" who was born in 1990 and a daughter Devin, born 1992.

Denis is an ice hockey fan and has his own backyard hockey rink at his home in New York with piping installed under the ice surface to help the ice stay frozen. His favorite National Hockey League team is the Boston Bruins. He is also a diehard Boston Red Sox fan, as well as a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

On December 3, 1999, six firefighters from Leary's hometown of Worcester were killed in a massive warehouse fire. Among the dead were Leary's cousin Jerry Lucey and his close childhood friend Lt. Tommy Spencer. In response, the comedian founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation. Since its creation in the year 2000, the foundation has distributed over $2.5 million to fire departments in the Worcester, Boston, and New York City areas for equipment, training materials, new vehicles, and new facilities.