Dane Cook Goes Long

Funnyman takes down Dave Chappelle's record with marathon seven-hour New Year's standup routine

By Josh Grossberg Jan 03, 2008 8:19 PMTags

Get Guinness on the horn, Dane Cook's just had a yak attack for the record books.

Sending his rivalry with Dave Chappelle to a whole other level, Cook took to the stage Tuesday night at Hollywood's Laugh Factory and cracked jokes for a record seven hours, besting Chappelle's marathon 6-hour, 12-minute mark for the longest act in club history.

"Quick true or false blurb: Did I really do a record-breaking seven hours of standup comedy last night at the Laugh Factory? True," Cook writes on his Website.

The 35-year-old Boston native got started with his New Year's routine around midnight and didn't let up until 7 a.m. Wednesday—during which time he even ordered take-out to keep his crowd happy and attentive.

"I never sat down or left the stage. The show started with a small mighty crowd of around 60, and 35 of us were together this morning still laughing and recapping 2007 with laughs galore. It felt fantastic," says Cook.

"I thought it was amazing," the club's owner, Jamie Masada, tells E! Online. "Dane kept the energy going. It reminded me at one point of Richard Pryor. He made the audience laugh for seven hours...It was really history-making. It was wonderful.

"If this rivalry keeps up I'm going to turn the Laugh Factory into a bed-and-breakfast."

The battle of the funnymen began when the Good Luck Chuck star performed a routine at the Laugh Factory last April that lasted 3 hours and 50 minutes—his longest performance and one that shattered the club record set by Pryor back in 1980.

That was one-upped a few weeks later by Chappelle, who kept the punchlines coming for six hours and seven minutes. Then on Dec. 4, the 34-year-old ex-Comedy Central star increased his record by five minutes.

Enter Cook, who rose to the challengee.

"I talked about anything and everything. From tigers mauling people to my parents' deaths. Reconstructive surgery to starting my very own race war. Sex, drugs and anything else that my brain served up," he writes. "I knew everyone in the crowd by the end and now they know me too. I dedicate my record-breaking set to all comedians that inspire me past and present."

Cook also calls the Laugh Factory, located on the famed Sunset Strip, "one of the best locations I have ever had the privilege of performing at."

Masada says he's humbled by such sentiments.

"I'm trying to give them a venue to let them work the way they want to, and I respect them because I love comics. I'm watching the greatest art form," the owner says.

As for Chappelle, it looks like he's getting ready for another long night.

Masada says the comedian left a message Wednesday night, saying "Man, okay, when can I come in?"