Where the heck did Larry the Cable Guy go?

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Larry the Cable Guy was standing alongside the biggest names in comedy. 

His tenure with the Blue Collar Comedy tour set the 61-year-old up for success, but it was his performance in 2006’s Cars that truly launched his career to new heights. Following the film’s release, calls of “Git-R-Done” echoed through school halls and down suburban streets everywhere, and the Larry the Cable Guy fandom absolutely exploded.

But there’s only so much you can do with such a targeted bit. Larry leveraged himself into a stellar position with his approach to comedy, which saw him develop an exaggerated southern accent and zero in on his redneck alter-ego, but eventually the bit got old. Once that Mater money stopped rolling in, the shows started slowing down, and by the 2020s, Larry the Cable Guy was a relic of the past.

So just what happened? Did people just get sick of him, did the ever-present shifts in comedic norms make him irrelevant, or was there another factor that forced Larry the Cable Guy from the spotlight?

What happened to Larry the Cable Guy?

The spotlight is ever shifting, which lands all but the most high-profile of celebrities in the same boat eventually. If they’re lucky, a celeb can reach that lofty tier of mega-fame where everyone around the nation — sometimes around the world — knows their name, but what rises must fall eventually. Aside from unshakeable stars like Meryl Streep or Keanu Reeves, most celebrities see their popularity fade eventually, and for Larry the Cable Guy, that started happening in the 2010s. 

After enjoying a career high through a fair chunk of the 2000s, Larry the Cable Guy saw his star start to fade in the years after Cars hit its height. That gradual decline continued through the 2010s and into the 2020s, and by 2024 he’s largely history. It’s not to say his career has ground to a complete halt, but the once-prevalent comedian is no longer cropping up in Pixar flicks or selling out comedy shows. It’s not due to some massive controversy or harsh backlash, either. He’s just another victim of the fickle nature of entertainment. 

Larry the Cable Guy continues to appear in the occasional release — his latest stuck to his claim to fame with 2022’s Cars On The Road — but that’s not to say he’s entirely irrelevant. That much was made clear in 2023 when a viral hoax claimed the then-60-year-old had died. That was entirely false, of course — the comedian is alive and well — but the concern it sparked among comedy fans underlined how popular our boy Larry remains.

He’s not planning for a major return to the comedy circuit, and a fresh Cars release isn’t likely, but Larry the Cable Guy is still doing well. He’s worth a hefty $100 million, thanks to all those comedy tours and the persisting popularity of the one and only Mater, and he’s quietly thriving with overstuffed savings, his longtime wife, and two little ones to share those comedy chops with.