Catching up with Larry the Cable Guy

When you hear Larry the Cable Guy's voice over the telephone line, you instantly pick up on it.

That affected Southern-redneck voice of his -- that sound that launched a thousand "Git-R-Dones" -- has a hint of a nasally Nebraskan tone to it. Yes, Virginia, Larry's a Midwesterner.

Does it really matter, though?

Even Larry the Cable Guy, whose latest Christmas special is repeated often through Dec. 25 on CMT, says his fans aren't confined to just small Southern regions. They're everywhere.

"I know what I do," he said, "and I do it good."

He's practically a redneck, if it matters. He loves going to cattle sales, and his only tux has a camouflage cummerbund. Most days, he wanders around wearing shorts and T-shirts without sleeves.

Born Daniel Whitney, the son of a preacher man, 45 years ago in a Pawnee City, Neb., Larry the Cable Guy has been living in Florida for decades with his wife and two children. He operates out of there, doing dozens of standup shows a year and making movies like "Delta Farce" and "Witless Protection."

His movies never make critics glow, but they do well enough by studio standards to warrant him doing more. Larry the Cable Guy is here to stay, whether you like it or not.

And a lot of people do like it.

During a "60 Minutes" report, correspondent Bob Simon said, "Larry is not angry, he's not depressed, he's not paranoid. He's a hardworking, supremely confident, happy-go-lucky funny man."

Using his real name, he started in comedy 20 years ago, sans the rural leanings. He remembers the night well: an open-mic night at a West Palm Beach, Fla., club. A friend prodded him to go onstage.

"I did fairly well," he said. "I had a cigar in my mouth and a copy of the Weekly World News. I read the headlines and commented on it and acted it out. I was hooked."

People laughed, enough to give him confidence to do it again. His early sets didn't always go well. Sometimes, only one person would chuckle.

"As long as somebody was laughing, I thought, 'Well, at least somebody thought it was funny.' I really never let little things let me down," he said.

His Larry the Cable Guy persona was born around 1991, when he was calling into radio stations as fictional characters. The Larry character came when a friend asked him to call in as a cable installer.

The character took off, and he used it as a basis for his standup act.

"I've always counted my blessings," he said. "My wife and kids keep me pretty grounded. I don't think I'm better than anyone else because of what I do."

Tickets are on sale now for Larry the Cable Guy on Jan. 17 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Visit www.fabulousfox.com for more information.