Louis Szekely, known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian who stars in the FX comedy series Louie, which he also writes, directs, and edits.
Comedian Louis C.K. doesn't exactly exude holiday cheer, but he's playing Santa Claus to five charities this year after making $1-million from his Internet-only comedy special.
"I've never had a million dollars all at once, never in my life," Louis C.K. said on Wednesday night's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Louis C.K. (real name Louis Szekely) made a big splash last week when he offered his new comedy special, Live at the Beacon Theatre, for $5 online without any digital locks and made a personal plea to fans to pay for the special and not pirate it.
His fans obliged, and the comic found himself with $1-million in sales after 10 days.
"This is just a $5 impulse that 220,000 people had," Louis C.K. said on Jimmy Fallon.
About a quarter of the payday will go towards the production costs of the special, and another quarter will be holiday bonuses for the people who worked for him, the comedian said.
With wry (and sometimes inappropriate) descriptions, he listed five charities that would get shares of $280,000: Fistula Foundation, for women in developing countries who have been injured during childbirth; Green Chimneys, which provides animal-assisted therapy to children; charity:water, which works to provide safe drinking water; Pablove Foundation, for pediatric cancer research and support for families of children with cancer; and Kiva, an internationally renowned micro-loan organization.
Louis C.K. found success with the special by going right to fans, without middlemen or production companies. That lack of filter is in his standup act, which is often filled with comically heightened embarrassing stories about his personal life.
It's also suddenly made him a star for artists trying to attract business online.
As for the remaining $220,000? Louis C.K. said in the interview he's keeping the rest for himself, and will spend it all on, uh, an upgrade to a certain part of his body. Merry Christmas!
Chris Hannay