He was the funniest thing about one of cable’s most underrated shows, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist; he was voted one of the hundred funniest comedians of all time by Comedy Central; he’s got two CableACE Awards; he’s appeared on pretty much every major talk show as well as on the Holy Grail of sitcoms, Seinfeld.

But hey, forget about it. Dom Irrera, who’s headlining the Playboy Comedy Club this week, holds a special place in my heart for a very singular reason: He got the honor of driving around a very loaded, White Russian-toting Dude as the limo driver in The Big Lebowski (you know, the guy who says: “I got a rash so bad on my ass I can’t even sit down! But you know me; I can’t complain!”). Guy has earned his pop-culture props as far as I’m concerned.