May to spread his laughter to the Hu Ke Lau
|
 | |
|
Ralphie May
|
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
For Ralphie May, it didn't matter that he didn't win the first season of "Last Comic Standing." He told Reminder Publications that his loss only made his fans "more vehement."
"They've stuck with me for 17 years," he said.
May, who has become well known through his appearances on "Last Comic Standing," "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, "Jimmy Kimmell Live" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," will be appearing at the Comedy Connection at the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee for the second time on Dec. 9.
"I'll be on the set of 'South Pacific,'" May say referring to the Polynesian themed show room.
May has recently released his second CD "Girth of the Nation," which is also the subject of a special for Comedy Central.
May started his career in comedy at age 17 and recalled how he had to have his mother bring him to some of his appearances because he was too young to be in a bar by himself.
"It was an adventure," he said.
He said that it has taken him 14 years to make a living as a comic and the relatives who told him he should have gone to college aren't telling him that anymore.
At 17, he won a talent show that gave him a chance to open for the late Sam Kinison.
"He was a heck of a guy," May recalled. "He was very nice to me and showed me there are no boundaries [in comedy]."
May isn't concerned about boundaries and freedom of speech.
"I slam everybody," he said. "I have a major problem with political correctness."
May is concerned about the fallout from the highly publicized incident concerning the language used by actor Michael Richards in a stand-up performance.
"He's our Janet Jackson, " he said, referring to the controversy over Jackson's Superbowl half-time performance that resulted in a Federal Communication Commissions crackdown on broadcasting standards.
Richards, he emphasized, is not a stand-up comedian, but rather "a crazy homeless man with money."
He also was critical of the Rev. Jesse Jackson becoming involved in the Richards issue. He said Jackson has been silent on the slow re-building of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the erosion of voting rights of African-Americans.
He said that some people might believe that comedy "can't offend anyone, but comedy has always been about offending someone."
May said that like other stand-ups comics he wouldn't mind doing a situation comedy, but that it would have to be "really good, like 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' or 'Seinfeld,' or 'The Honeymooners.'"
He said he and his wife, fellow comic Lahna Turner, had considered starring in a reality show about their lives on the road. Besides "Last Comic Standing," May has appeared on another reality show, "Celebrity Fit Club."
He said ultimately he and his wife rejected the ideas because every couple that has had such a show has broken up and that he doesn't want to lose his wife "because she married me when I was fatter, broke and not famous at all."
"I'm extremely lucky," he added.
|
|
