Brad Stine

Brad Stine (born January 21, 1960[1][2]) is an American actor, author, and comedian. Stine first gained notability in the early 2000s when he was identified as a conservative[3] Christian on his debut album, Put a Helmet On!

For the American tennis coach, see Brad Stine (tennis coach).
Brad Stine
Brad Stine in 2012
Born (1960-01-21) January 21, 1960
Bremen, Indiana, U.S.
MediumStand-up, observational comedy, Christian comedy
NationalityAmerican
Years active1980s–present
GenresObservational comedy, Christian comedy
Subject(s)Everyday life, politics, Christianity, situational, conservatism
Notable works and rolesPut a Helmet On! (2003) and Wussification (2007)
WebsiteBradStine.com

Biography

Early life

Stine was born and raised in Bremen, Indiana by Jerry and Nancy Stine.[4] His father was an auto-body repairman and front man for a local musical combo called the Regents, and his mother was a housewife who was a devout Christian. He is the second of four children. He decided to become a comedian in kindergarten when he and a classmate put on a puppet show.

Stine's parents divorced when he was eight, but they later remarried and moved to California, only to divorce again. He stayed with his father, who briefly left the auto-body business to travel with his brother to carnivals in the Midwest. His father later remarried and returned to his previous work.

Early career

Stine started practicing magic tricks at age 13, which later led to his performing magic in Southern California bars and restaurants. Stine also learned to perform sideshow stunts and began honing his comedy skills.

In the late 1980s, Stine was hired by a manager and toured colleges across the country with comedians Craig Anton and Emery Emery. His first television appearance was on Showtime’s Comedy Club Network.[5]

Stine continued to work in comedy clubs and on TV, and eventually dropped his magic tricks and stunts. He started taking acting lessons and auditioned for movies and television shows.

Personal life

He resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, with his wife Desiree, and their two children.[6]

Comedic style

Stine's style has been described by Newsweek as "conservative " with a "rat-a-tat delivery"[7] and by The New Yorker as "frantic," "conservative," and "ADHD," with echoes of Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, George Carlin."[4]He has been described as "a clean Denis Leary" and his material targets "liberals, humanists, political correctness and judgmental Christians."[8] Stine has claimed that his conservatism has sometimes resulted in the loss of appearances.[9] Stine himself admits that much of his more extreme material is facetious and satirical, using ridiculous scenarios to make a finer point.

Major appearances

Stine has appeared on several stand-up comedy shows, such as A&E’s Evening at the Improv and MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour, and has appeared on news programs such as Fox News' Hannity & Colmes,[10] CNN's Paula Zahn NOW[11] and Glenn Beck,[12] and the NBC Nightly News. Stine has also been interviewed on National Public Radio[13][14] and has been featured on FOXNews.com[3] and in Newsweek,[15] the New Yorker,[4] USA Today, and several other newspapers nationwide. He was a featured performer for Promise Keepers in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and once again in 2012 and also in 2014 . Also in 2004, he performed for "R: the Party," a party hosted by Jenna and Barbara Bush during the conservative Republican National Convention in New York City.[14] Stine has also appeared with Go Fish for the song Christmas with a Capital "C", which disparages the term "happy holidays" and supports the use of the term "Merry Christmas."

GodMen

Inspired by author David Murrow,[16] Stine founded GodMen, a proposed alternative to Promise Keepers that emphasizes "spiritual conservatism".[7] GodMen's inaugural event was held on October 28, 2006, in Nashville, Tennessee, and drew 200 men.[17] Their second event was held on March 10, 2007,[18] in rented space at a Franklin, Tennessee, mall[19] and drew about 300 men.[20] Many more events were scheduled for 2007 and 2008.[21] As of spring 2012, Stine has returned to Promise Keepers.

Acting work

Stine has appeared in minor roles in a handful of big and small screen movies,[22] including the films Welcome to Paradise, Sarah's Choice, Homeless for the Holidays, Christmas with a Capital C and Persecuted.

Multimedia

Stine currently has two books and five performance videos/recordings available. In September 2008, he was featured in the multi-comedian DVD The Apostles of Comedy, which also features comedian/actors Ron Pearson, Jeff Allen and Anthony Griffith. The four comedians have been touring the country as The Apostles of Comedy since 2008 and are scheduled through May 2009.[23][24]

Books
  • Being a Christian Without Being an Idiot. Word Distribution. (Oct 2004). ISBN 5-556-25453-2.

Videos/recordings
  • Brad Stine - Rebel Without a Curse (Nationwide church tour exclusive) (VHS). (2000).
  • Brad Stine, Buddy Davis (2001). The Creation Adventure Team (DVD, VHS). Answers in Genesis Ministries, Inc. and Gospel Communications International, Inc.
  • Brad Stine – Put A Helmet On! (DVD, VHS, Audio CD). Word Distribution. (2003).
  • Brad Stine – Brad Stine – Conservative Unleashed (2004) (DVD, Audio CD). Word Entertainment. (Sept 2004).
  • Brad Stine – Tolerate This! (DVD, Audio CD). Warner Bros. (Aug 2005).
  • Brad Stine – "Wussification" (DVD, Audio CD). Word Entertainment. (Sept 2007).
  • Brad Stine – "The Best Of Brad Stine" (2 DVD Set) (DVD). Word Entertainment. (May 2008).
  • Brad Stine – "God's Comic" (DVD). The Adams Group. (August 2012).

References
  1. Green, Adam (August 2004). "Standup for the Lord". The New Yorker.
  2. Ghianni, Tim (December 5, 2004). "Standup Christian guy". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. D4. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  3. Catherine Donaldson-Evans (September 1, 2004). "Growing Group of Comedians Veer Right". FoxNews.com Foxlife.
  4. Adam Green, STANDUP FOR THE LORD, the New Yorker, August 2, 2004
  5. "Brad Stine Bio | The Grable Group". thegrablegroup.com.
  6. Bob Faw (May 27, 2005). "Christian Comedian Brad Stine". Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. PBS.
  7. Anita Wadhwani, Spiritual event wants GodMen, not girly men, The Tennessean, 10/26/06
  8. "A guy walks into a church…". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 23, 2007.
  9. "Coulter, Limbaugh Team Up For Comedy Show". ABC News Local. February 17, 2007. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  10. Hannity & Colmes (September 6, 2004). "Transcript" (PDF). Fox News. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2006.
  11. Paula Zahn NOW (August 11, 2004). "Transcript". CNN.
  12. Glenn Beck (June 6, 2006). "Transcript". CNN.
  13. Fresh Air from WHYY audio interview (September 2, 2004). "Christian Comedian Brad Stine". NPR.
  14. Talk of the Nation audio interview (August 30, 2004). "Live from New York: Comedy at the GOP Convention". NPR.
  15. Eileen Finan, Newsweek Web Exclusive (October 30, 2006). "Real Men Talk About God". Newsweek. Archived from the original on December 7, 2006.
  16. Brandon O'Brien, A Jesus for Real Men, Christianity Today, April 18, 2008
  17. Jenny Jarvie and Stephanie Simon, Manliness is next to godliness, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2006
  18. Paul Coughlin, New Male Spirit, Crosswalk.com, February 21, 2007
  19. ABC News, Group Advocates Macho Christianity, March 15, 2007
  20. ABC News, Christian Men...Too Wimpy?, March 15, 2007
  21. Godmen Events Archived March 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. Brad Stine's page on the Internet Movie Database
  23. Jim Weiss, 'Apostles of Comedy Movie' World Premieres on GMC June 19 & 20, Christian News Wire, June 17, 2008
  24. JEFF STRICKLER, 'Apostles deliver their comedy sans crudeness, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, May 1, 2009
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