Larry the Cable Guy was one of the biggest TV stars of the 2000s. But he seems to have disappeared in the past few years. And the truth about what happened to Larry is shocking. From why his show got canceled to his relationship with his wife, you guys are not ready for this one…
Larry was once a huge part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour gang. He toured the world with fellow comedians Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, and Bill Engvall. But Larry wasn’t just the third wheel at stand-up gigs. He also starred in movie comedies like Witless Protection and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector.
In addition, Larry has released an astonishing number of comedy albums. His 10 albums include “The Right to Bare Arms,” which was certified platinum. And when Larry got honored with his own Comedy Central roast in 2009, everyone figured that he would be around forever.
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Where Is Larry the Cable Guy Now?
But fast-forward to now, and it’s like Larry is nowhere to be seen. So, what happened to him? Well, for starters, Larry’s real name is Dan Whitney. And when Dan transformed into Larry, some crazy stuff ended up happening.
In 2011, The History Channel gave Larry a reality TV show. It was called Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy. Larry traveled around the country, doing silly things that his fan base craved. He worked behind the scenes at a circus and rode around with a real biker gang.
He even went digging for gold once. Larry was going everywhere, and his show was a huge hit on television. Then, something happened that shocked millions of television viewers. His show got canceled after just three seasons. Dan would later explain the two reasons why he gave up a super-popular reality show like Larry.
First, he was told that Larry would be attending a music festival in Pennsylvania for an episode of the show. If that doesn’t sound bad, it gets worse. Dan would be posing as Larry at the music festival and would be there to clean the portable toilets.
Dan later told a reporter the details: “I didn’t want to do it. I mean, that was one of the nastiest things on the planet.”When you hear that excuse, you might think that Larry didn’t need another reason to quit the show, but he still had a very valid reason for leaving reality TV.
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Larry the Cable Guy had become really popular, and Dan finally realized that it was negatively affecting his personal life. Not only was Larry touring with his Blue Collar comedian friends, but when the reality show filming got added to his hectic work schedule, Dan often found himself away from home for up to six nights a week.
That’s crazy enough, too. But when you find out how Dan really feels about his superstar success, you won’t believe it either. He started doing stand-up comedy in the early 1990 with one goal in mind: to make enough to pay the bills.
What Is Larry the Cable Guy’s Net Worth?
Before Larry walked away from mostly everything, he was pitching products, starring in movies, filming a reality show, and selling out stadiums doing comedy tours. Celebrity net worth websites calculated Larry’s worth to be a shocking $100 million.
Sources claimed that he’d racked up to $20 million a year just by being a product spokesman. One time in particular, Larry got paid to endorse a pharmaceutical product named Prilosec and reportedly earned tens of millions of dollars for it.
Dan bought a multi-million dollar estate in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also has a main home, a ranch in Nebraska. But while Dan has earned a cushy living by performing as Larry, he’s also confessed some shocking things about Hollywood.
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Dan has revealed that he created Larry to be a country kid that appealed to his target demographic. But in the entertainment industry, Larry has been attacked by some members of the media. Dan says that Larry got stereotyped as a racist redneck. So, Larry has always felt like an outsider in Hollywood.
Who Is Larry the Cable Guy’s Wife?
In his real life, Dan is married to Cara Whitney. Cara grew up in Wisconsin on a cattle ranch. When Larry started touring with the Blue Collar comedians, he did a show in Las Vegas. Cara was working in Vegas as a DJ. They met in Sin City and instantly hit it off.
After a few years of dating and juggling Larry’s crazy work schedule, the two of them got engaged. They got married in Nebraska in July 2005, where Dan grew up, and they both called it their dream wedding. Dan and Cara didn’t exchange vows in a church in Nebraska.
They got married in a field. Dan wore a cut-off sweatshirt, and if you’re picturing Cara in a flowing white gown, you won’t believe this. Cara wore a camp tank top and shorts. After the I dos, there was a laid-back wedding reception. Wedding guests enjoyed reheated lasagna followed by fireworks.
To Dan and Cara, it was perfect — and it only cost them $180 to pull off. Dan has always praised and supported his wife. He’s posted pics on social media with captions poking fun at himself. He likes to joke about how he married a beautiful woman who’s out of his league.
Cara is religious, and she’s published faith-based books and gone on book tours. Dan also loves to acknowledge Cara’s success on social media.
The couple has two kids, Wyatt and Reagan — and Dan is apparently a hands-on dad now that he’s home more. His 180-acre farm in Lincoln, Nebraska, has a dozen horses and lots of dogs and cats. But while life at home has been mostly good for Dan, there have been some challenges, too.
Dan and Cara’s son Wyatt was born with a painful handicap called hip dysplasia. While Wyatt was eventually cured, there were plenty of medical bills. Not only did Dan pay the bills like he’d hoped to when he started doing comedy in the 90s, but he also used his Larry the Cable Guy millions to benefit others in need.
Larry and his Wife Are Philanthropists
Dan and Cara have donated outdoor artwork to his hometown of Pawnee City, Nebraska. He donated money to his old high school for improvements, like new curtains and a soundboard for the gymnasium. Dan and Cara also gave significant donations to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute.
In September 2010, they donated $5 million to a children’s hospital financed by the late golfer Arnold Palmer. Dan and Cara also founded the Git-R-Done Foundation to assist veterans and their children. In November 2020, Dan reappeared as Larry for a Netflix comedy special.
When he performs as Larry now, Dan talks about how Cara put him on a diet. He says that his wife lets him have one diet cheat day, or, as Larry jokes, a cheat day is “any time I drive by a fast-food restaurant when she’s not with me in the car.”
In his comedy special, Larry also made cracks you won’t believe about his mother-in-law. The mother-in-law won a hot dog eating contest when she devoured 40 weiners in 10 minutes. Larry also joked about his wife’s favorite show in Las Vegas. According to him, Cara LOVES the male dance revue Chippendales.
Larry joked: “You know why she likes going to the Chippendales? She didn’t marry very good… she married a ‘chunk-endale.” But when he’s not being Larry, people cannot believe one SHOCKING thing about Dan. He didn’t grow up sounding like Larry in real life.
Dan confessed in interview that his southern accent is all an act, and that people get shocked when they hear his voice and midwestern accent. Some people still can’t believe that Larry isn’t real.
While Larry might just be a character, it looks like he hasn’t completely disappeared after all. That should make Larry’s target demographic happy — and Dan sounds happier, too now that his work-life balance is a little better.
