Bill Burr looks forward to Sudbury show

When comedian Bill Burr found out he would be performing in the OHL's oldest arena during his April 4 show in Sudbury, his excitement was audible over the phone line.

“This is going to be one of the great gigs of my life!” Burr told NorthernLife.ca. “I wish I was filming a special up here. That sounds like the coolest thing ever.”

Burr has become well-known as a comedian's comic, with his foul-mouthed act that leaves no politically incorrect stone unturned.

But he also happens to be a major sports fan, and often discusses the latest basketball, baseball, football and hockey games he has watched on his popular Monday Morning Podcast.

Burr grew up in Canton, Massachusetts, near Boston, and is a die-hard Bruins fan.

When past Sudbury Wolves players came up, Burr jumped at the chance to share his favourite Mike Foligno anecdote.

“I remember there was a guy at the Boston Gardens just leaning over the boards screaming at him,” he said. “Foligno just took his stick and went right up to the guy's head. The guy ducked at the last second. He basically just scared the hell out of the guy. It was hilarious.”

The Bruins and Foligno's Buffalo Sabres were big rivals at the time, but Burr said he secretly liked Foligno for that moment.

Burr will perform in Sudbury at the tail-end of a four-city Canadian tour as his career is hitting its prime.

Burr has been a stand-up comedian for more than 20 years, but his career really started to take off in the mid-2000s.

From 2005 to 2007 he was a regular on the popular Opie and Anthony radio show, and his podcast, which he started in 2007, helped him foster a dedicated fan base.

Burr credits his success to a strong work ethic.

“One of the keys to success is not quitting,” he said. “A lot of people start to go down the road to success, and they take a couple of jabs and they kind of stop doing it.”

More recently, he has applied that philosophy to his efforts to learn French.

“What I want to do is I want to buy French children's books. I feel that's how I learned to read,” he said. “But I don't want to own all of those books because I'll look like a creep, so I'm thinking of getting a Kindle to start downloading those. I'll probably be put on a list.”

In 2008, Burr became one of the first comedians to partner with Netflix, and that helped make him known around the world.

“With Netflix, I actually saw them for what they were before other people did,” he said.

After his special “Why do I do This?” aired once on Comedy Central in the United States Netflix picked it up.

“When it went to Netflix, that's when it blew up,” Burr said.

Netflix carried his next three specials, and late last year his animated series “F is for Family” premiered on the streaming service.

The series is loosely based on Burr's childhood, growing up near Boston in the 1970s. He voices the family patriarch, Frank Murphy, and the series also stars Laura Dern, as his wife Sue Murphy and Justin Long, as his oldest son, Kevin Murphy.

Burr said Netflix has given him full creative freedom with the show, which pushes the envelope at times with its depiction of Boston in 1973.

“They're like an HBO 2.0 because as far doing a TV show, the network notes I got from them were 'push it further,' which is the antithesis of what you usually get,” he said.

Burr said he could not confirm the show would get a second season, but said he was feeling confident.

“All I can say is it's looking really good,” he said.

Burr will perform at the Sudbury Arena on Monday, April 4. Tickets are $69 and are available online.