Comedian Drew Carey has been a constant presence in entertainment for nearly three decades.
“It’s all about love and kindness.
Not about comparing yourself to anyone else,” he said.
“This is a really good fit.
In other words, Carey’s career has taken him to many different stops along the way.
Read on for a look back at the stunning transformation of Drew Carey.
Drew Carey’s childhood was tough
Drew Carey’s childhood was a lonely one.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1958, the youngest of three brothers.
Unfortunately, his father got sick when he was young.
“I still have very few memories of him when he wasn’t sick,” Carey wrote.
His father even had an eye removed when Carey was seven.
“I thought it was cool because he wore a patch,” Carey recalled.
The following year, still struggling with his grief, Carey was molested.
He kept the pain bottled up.
By writing about it in his book, Carey said, he could move past it.
Dealing with his loneliness after his father’s death, Carey turned to television to cope.
As a child, Carey also began to read joke books.
“I thought it would make people like me more.”
He struggled with depression in college
When Drew Carey reached Kent State, he was severely depressed.
“Back then I was so full of a lot of self-hate,” he toldABC News.
“I wasn’t as good as they were.
I wasn’t as worthy as they are,” he told himself.
“And all that stuff makes you just hate yourself and judge yourself.”
Carey turned to drinking.
“I partied all the time and stayed drunk.
I would be angry a lot,” he told The Baltimore Sun.
“One time I punched my dashboard and broke it in two.”
Eventually, Carey attempted suicide twice, seeking help after thinking about the afterlife.
He toldSuccessthat he turned his life around after reading a number of self-help books.
Check your watch.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
A few years later, he moved to San Diego, living with his other brother, Neal.
Not a big deal."
He had tried to tell jokes onstage before enlisting, back when he was living in Las Vegas.
He toldNPRthat it went poorly.
“I was terrible … “Oh my god, it was the worst …
I can’t tell you how bad,” he recalled, laughing.
“I rolled around, talked in tongues, all that stuff you hear about.
After receiving Carson’s blessing, Carey knew he was destined for this life.
“The Drew Carey Show” featured an affable version of the comedian starring as himself.
Yuppies that have minor problems.
This show’s about one person: a dumpy white guy who lives in Cleveland.”
The show was a ratings success, which proved to be a blessing and a curse.
In a 1999 interview withEsquire, Carey fully admitted that he’d done the show for one specific reason.
“I did this all for the money, you know,” he confessed.
“I think it’s to my detriment.
I think I’ve changed in certain ways I don’t like.”
“I only tried to do a good show,” Carey said.
“After that, it’s out of my hands.”
Drew Carey helmed Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Instead, it was their love of the improv craft.
They all regularly appeared at the Improv in Hollywood when they weren’t filming, including Carey himself.
With Carey behind the host’s desk, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Still, the comedian toldThe Washington Postin 2014 that he still got recognized for that show the most.
“I think ‘Whose Line’ is always going to be around forever and ever,” he reflected.
“I knew when I was doing that show, it would be my legacy show.”
However, in 2000, Carey decided to make a change.
“I was getting tired of being denied all this stuff.”
“The second bad thing about it is I can see myself naked in the shower now.”
In 2001, Carey participated in the WWE’s Royal Rumble … sort of.
“I don’t think Drew really understands what he’s gotten into here tonight!”
one of the commentators warned (viaYouTube).
“The Big Red Machine’s a carnivore, and Drew Carey’s a porkchop!”
Sure enough, after Kane lifted Carey up by the throat, he quickly fled the ring.
We hope we’re not crushing any dreams by saying outright: Wrestling is fake, folks!
He was even introduced by his former rival, Kane.
What I had done?
Everybody was talking about Drew Carey.
Drew Carey stole my spotlight.”
National Soccer Playersthat he was a fan first before he was a photographer.
“I needed an excuse to be on the field for games,” he joked.
“Photography seemed like as good an excuse as any.”
Sure enough, Carey became a regular sports photographer, frequently photographing soccer games in Los Angeles.
“And I take pride in what I do.”
At first, he wasn’t interested in stepping into such an iconic role.
“I thought, ‘Never take over for a legend because people just treat you badly.’
“That isn’t a job,” he said.
“That’s a good time.”
When Carey took over, he focused on keeping things the same.
“Can you believe it?”
The job seems to have agreed with Carey.
In 2023, he celebrated 15 years at the show, remaining humble in an interview withEntertainment Tonight.
The contestants were the draw, he said, not him.
“It’s just average people having the best day of their lives.
That’s the secret sauce of the whole show,” he said.
In a 2010 interview withParade, however bluntly titled “Drew Carey: No More Mr.
Fat Guy” the comedian revealed he was on a weight loss journey.
Instead, he focused on changing his relationship to food and alcohol.
“I went to Africa and hiked around and never got tired,” Carey said.
Nevertheless, Carey revealed that he wasn’t too hard on himself.
“I was at a wedding on Saturday, and I ate cake,” he said.
“I’m not a maniac about it.”
I was already good aerobic-wise.”
Still, Carey admitted that he struggled with learning the correct moves.
That’s really difficult to do every week," he confessed.
Carey seemed moved by the connections he’d made with other contestants.
“Everybody’s so nice.
Carey toldTODAYthat he had one major regret.
“It killed me.
“I think I did pretty good for a guy who’s never danced before.”
In early 2012, he called off an engagement to Nicole Jaracz; they were engaged in 2007.
They got engaged in January 2018, according toPeople.
However,Us Weeklyreported later that year that they’d gone their separate ways.
In early 2020, Harwick was murdered.
An ex-boyfriend named Gareth Pursehouse was charged and ultimately convicted of killing her.
Thankfully, they briefly spoke over text messages shortly before her death.
“And I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to do that.
I love you,'” Carey recalled.
The in-person conversation would never happen; she would be killed two days later.
He also did a very good deed.
For the duration of the strike.
Dine-in only, Tip included.”
The strike ended in October, after 146 days of picketing.
His Swingers total was unclear.
“He should never pay for another meal in his life.”
