the comic's comic

Alter-egos: 10 comedy character acts who have had a life of their own

When I heard that Pee-Wee Herman would be returning to the stage this November in Los Angeles, part of me was excited and intrigued to see how Pee-Wee's childish naivete would play now that actor Paul Reubens is 57. You can watch any of these 10 videos of Pee-Wee Herman in action to relive some of his great moments since Reubens first developed the character as a member of The Groundlings in the late 1970s. There's a part of me, though, and perhaps a part of you that has wondered about Reubens over the years since he ran afoul of the law in 1991. That incident put a kibosh on Pee-Wee, but what about the comedian/actor who was Reubens? Although he has had some delightfully quirky character parts recently on shows such as 30 Rock and Pushing Daisies, Reubens never really has gotten us to forget about Pee-Wee. Is it typecasting when you cast the type yourself? It really couldn't surprise anyone, then, to see Reubens going back to the well once more.

He's not alone, though.

Comedians have created and pulled off countless characters over the years (just think of your favorite sketch groups or shows, such as Saturday Night Live, Monty Python or Kids in the Hall, for plenty of examples). But every once in a while, a comedian creates a character so memorable that the alter-ego takes on a life of his/her own, so much so that the comedian's ego is fed by the alter-ego. Here are 9 more comedy acts, who, for better or worse, are known for being someone else.

Larry the Cable Guy (Dan Whitney)

Dan Whitney grew up in Nebraska and Florida, and went about pursuing his stand-up career in the 1980s. It was going well enough, one would suppose. Here's a clip of Dan Whitney performing on TV at a "Comedy From the Caribbean" show. S'ok, but let's just say it was not getting it done. Then Whitney's radio career took a twist, and during a period in which he was calling in to radio programs with various characters, he hit upon Larry the Cable Guy, a redneck with family values and a catchphrase. "Git-R-Done!" would not only make him a comedy club headliner, but catapult him to stardom, and after going on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, he began becoming as big, if not bigger, than his cohorts. A 60 Minutes profile in 2006 revealed how many millions of dollars "Larry" was raking in, despite a couple of "Larry" movies that didn't go anywhere. It's rare to see or hear him out of character. And when you can turn that catchphrase into a foundation that can make a $1 million donation, as he did earlier this month, well, we don't blame him for continuing to put on a fake accent and sleeveless flannel. He played to a stadium crowd at the University of Nebraska this July 4, and will release the "Tailgate Party" performance as a CD in September.

Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein)

Would you believe that Bob Einstein is a comedy genius? Just ask his younger brother: Albert Brooks. Einstein was a writer for The Smothers Brothers on TV in the 1960s, but he first appeared as an inept parody of daredevil stuntmen in the early 1970s, when Evel Knievel had the nation's rapt attention. While Knievel retired, Super Dave Osborne just kept going and going, from Showtime's Bizzare in the 1980s to his own variety show and animated series. He still shows up as Super Dave on Jimmy Kimmel's show and Spike TV agreed to air a four-part Super Dave special this summer.

The Celebrity Apprentice now officially a sitcom

Speaking of comedians in places you don't expect to see comedians...the second edition of The Celebrity Apprentice starts on Sunday night, because, well, I don't know why NBC has trotted the Trumps back out, but I'm almost compelled to watch this. Why not have a silly rich man who's always going bankrupt while claiming to have the "#1 show in America" even though that's not true, playing pretend boss to a silly sparkly comedian who thinks the time-space continuum stopped in 1989 because he's still on TV saying he's the "#1 comedian in America." Yes, my friends. This shall be meta. It's a comedy-heavy Apprentice, with Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Green and Joan Rivers, not to mention some "celebrities" who themselves are "jokes." Dennis Rodman is laughing at himself in the first episode for making yet another bad life decision. There is a Kardashian. And a Deal or No Deal suitcase holder. It sounds like I am making this up but, sadly, no. Someone else thought this up and put it on our televisions and Internets for all of the world to see.

Did I mention they're competing by gender, and Trumpy McTrumperson says their first task is making cupcakes? Tune in March 1 and tells me all about it! Roll the clip:

Andrew Dice Clay rocks and rolls Las Vegas

The first time I ever heard Andrew "Dice" Clay, his words were spoken by a teenager -- one of my high-school classmates was cracking up the lunch table with Dice's ribald versions of our childhood nursery rhymes. It was the late 1980s, and Dice quickly rose to the top of the comedy kingdom, playing sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. A lot has changed since then. But the Dice man is back on the road, working clubs and performing stand-up. When I met up with him before his show Saturday night in Vegas for The Comedy Festival, I wasn't sure what to expect. He still has a big ego. Can you blame him? Or, rather, would you want him to be less assured of himself? In this brief interview, he tells me why he's still in the game after two decades of ups and downs.

That said, I could not help but wonder if his jacket had had a run-in with the Bedazzler. A couple of minutes later, the crowd in the Palace Ballroom began chanting for their headliner. "Dice! Dice! Dice!" And off he went, into the fray once more...

The Comedy Festival (Vegas) unveils full slate of headliners

Anyone who doubted whether TBS could or would pull together a full slate of A-level comedy talent for its first edition of The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas without HBO as a partner, well doubt no more. Over the weekend, TBS unveiled its first look at the official schedule for Nov. 20-22 at Caesars Palace, which includes Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Dane Cook, Katt Williams, Jim Breuer, Kids in the Hall, Russell Peters, Jim Norton, a roast of Cheech and Chong, David Alan Grier, Jeff Dunham, Laffapalooza hosted by Tracy Morgan, Andrew Dice Clay, Mike Epps, John Oliver, and Caliente Comedy with Gabriel Iglesias, Pablo Francisco and Anjelah Johnson. The network also says it'll have 25 up-and-coming stand-up and sketch acts performing in a separate LOL Lounge. Full sked after the jump!

The Comedy Festival reveals 2008 headliners for Vegas

With festivals on the brain, time to check in and see what TBS has in store for the 2008 version of The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, going it alone this November since HBO seemingly got out of the comedy confab business (still listed down low on the site as a sponsor, though). They'd already announced that Ellen DeGeneres would return with another variety TV broadcast at Caesars Palace, and now we see they're bringing Jerry Seinfeld back, too, with other headlining slots going to Mike Epps, David Alan Grier, Russell Peters, Andrew Dice Clay and Tracy Morgan. Tickets go on sale Sept. 26. More info to come...

HBO gets "Down and Dirty with Jim Norton" this fall

This is an early review! HBO just taped four episodes of a new stand-up showcase, Down and Dirty with Jim Norton. It'll air this fall (update! debut is midnight Oct. 4, with other episodes premiering Oct. 11, 18, and 25) They taped two episodes last night and two tonight at the BergenPAC in Englewood, New Jersey. At last night's tapings, things got, well, down and dirty.

Al Jackson, who I'm watching on Last Comic Standing as I type this, deserves special honors for his work warming up these rowdy crowds. He got some serious laughs and comedy points during the intermission between shows (an intermission that didn't allow the crowd to move) with material about being a teacher and a story involving his first trip to Starbucks.

Fans literally lined up around the block in this suburban Jersey town for the shows, which Norton promoted on his MySpace and via the Opie & Anthony show. Did I mention the crowds were rowdy? Alrighty then. I still haven't gotten full confirmation from HBO on this, but the first night's shows sure seemed like a suburban, white, rock version of Def Comedy Jam. Norton hosts all four shows and does about five to six minutes upfront, and there's a special podium set up for Lemmy from the band Motorhead, who introduces Norton and contributed the theme song. The fans clearly were on board with Norton from the get-go, welcoming him with a standing ovation.

In the first show, Norton opened with a funny bit about our past and present New York governors and their sexual tendencies. Russ Meneve came out first, and when some guy in the audience shouted out during Meneve's first bit, I got more than a bit worried that this crowd wouldn't know how to behave at a TV taping. They settled down, though. And they laughed and laughed. They gave Meneve an applause break when he joked that his last four girlfriends had died in sailing accidents. They continued laughing throughout the night. Joe DeRosa, whom I first encountered opening for a rowdy audience waiting for Dave Chappelle, certainly held his own with an opening bit about what life really is like for comedians on the road. Ari Shaffir went next, though, and attempted to steal the show when he ended his set with a joke about being ready for a blowjob anytime, demonstrating such by dropping his pants and his underpants for a full frontal moment. A moment that continued when he stood like that, then walked away with his pants still down. Hours later, Shaffir told me he didn't warn the HBO folks about his Full Monty moment, because he figured a warning might only result in HBO telling him not to do it. Then again, it is HBO. Moreover, he didn't really give them any chance to edit around his penis. So to speak. Let's see Carlos Mencia try to steal that bit. Norton's retort? "He looks like me, if I was taller and had a clit." Jim Jeffries got introduced as a special guest and had a funny opener about getting a ride home from an audition, followed by his story about coming down with a case of penis cancer. Audience naturally loved him. But they gave a standing ovation welcome to the first show's headliner, Andrew Dice Clay. Yep. He had his leather jacket, giant belt buckle, sunglasses and cigarette. No nursery rhymes. Instead, some different ancient premises that boiled down to dick jokes, black dick jokes (Siegfried and LeRoy???) that resulted in his philosophical outlook on how black men are ruining us. Or something like that.

The second show last night couldn't help but seem tamer. Norton opened that show with a few quick jokes about breaking up with his girlfriend (somehow Facebook alerted this to me first?!) before launching into his extensive breakdown of a video that I have seen (thank you, Joe Rogan?) of a man dying in Washington state a few years ago after allowing a horse to have sex with him. Indeed. I did say this show seemed tamer, though, and that was because the first few acts weren't quite as aggressive, even if they were still raunchy. Louis Katz introduced his own sex move, the Vengeful Louis, and closed with reasons why premature ejaculation is not necessarily a bad thing. Kevin Shea, introduced as Korean-born, also informed the crowd that he was college roommates with one of the YouTube founders-turned-billionaires. Jason Rouse, Canadian, living in England, started with a topic DeRosa had covered earlier but took it in a different direction. Rouse's jokes weren't just filthy but also somewhat misguided. After one joke, Rouse even said, "I know I'm going to Hell for that joke. But f#@k it, it's warm, and I'll know people there." Patrice Oneal closed out the second show with 15 minutes about how he's gotten creepy as he's gotten older. It's funny because it's true. But also because he's really not that creepy.

They filmed two more episodes tonight, with headliners Bill Burr and Artie Lange, and a lineup that looks more subversive (wish I'd seen that!) and includes Anthony Jeselnik, Whitney Cummings, Andy Andrist, Sean Rouse, Geoff Keith, Jacob Sirof and Jim Florentine.

Set your TV: Rodney Dangerfield, "Nothin' Goes Right"

HBO Comedy features an early-morning treat at 5:25 a.m. Tuesday with the rebroadcast of Rodney Dangerfield's 1987 young comedians' special, "Nothin' Goes Right." What makes this special special? How about an early look at what would become Andrew "Dice" Clay, on the same lineup with Bill Hicks, Carol Leifer, Dom Irrera, Robert Schimmel and Lenny Clarke. Haven't seen this show in a year or so, but I can tell you already that Clarke's bit about terrorist hijackers might not wear its age so well. Let's give the whole episode a new look-see and reconvene here tomorrow.