Doug Stanhope (born March 25, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, author, political activist and podcast host. His stand-up material favors caustic and often obscene observations of life in the style of Bill Hicks and Bill Burr, which he delivers while consuming alcohol. Politically, he has favored libertarianism and once endorsed the Free State Project, a proposed political migration of at least 20,000 libertarians to a single low-population state to foster libertarian ideas. Early life Stanhope was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to a middle class family. His father Russ was head of science at Stanhope's school, and died in 2000. His mother Bonnie (née Kirk) was a waitress. A recovering alcoholic, she divorced her husband when Stanhope was ten years old, quit drinking and moved to Florida. In 1998, he persuaded her to live near him in West Hollywood. In her later life she suffered from emphysema. In 2008, at her request, she wished for Stanhope to be involved in an assisted suicide with a mixture of cocktails and prescription morphine. Stanhope waited until the statute of limitations had expired for the ensuing credit card fraud before telling the story in his stand-up act and his second book. Stanhope has an elder brother, Jeff. At age 12, Stanhope's school psychiatrist wrote a letter to his mother detailing his concern with Stanhope's tendency to sketch gory images and adult-themed cartoons, suggesting he was "in need of professional help". Stanhope quit school at fifteen. Among his early comedy influences were Monty Python and National Lampoon. Before he started comedy full-time, Stanhope worked in telemarketing, "borderline legal stuff, trying to scam people basically". Eventually Stanhope left Worcester and lived in Los Angeles for six months. Following this he moved around from Florida, back to Massachusetts, to Oceanside, California, back to Massachusetts again, to Idaho, before settling in Las Vegas. He now lives in Bisbee, Arizona. Career 1990s Stanhope began his stand-up comedy career in 1990 at age 23, first performing at an open mic night at a Las Vegas bar. He developed his act in Las Vegas before moving to Phoenix, Arizona, where he landed a gig as a house MC at a comedy club. In 1995, he settled in West Hollywood which he "hated [...] so much" partly due to the slump in comedy acts at the time. Among his regular spots were the Hollywood Improv or The Comedy Store, before he