Comedy's working-class hero

Larry the Cable Guy brings his goofball heart back to Alaska

By Matt Nevala
Daily News correspondent

Published: November 27th, 2009 02:08 AM
Last Modified: November 27th, 2009 02:32 AM

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DAN STEINBERG / The Associated Press

Comedian and roastee Larry the Cable Guy arrives at his Comedy Central Roast in March 2009.

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In the sweet science of comedy, Larry the Cable Guy isn't the professorial type prone to politically nuanced rants or arcane, over-your-head references.

One of America's most-popular and beloved comedians, Larry proudly wears his goofball heart on his trademark lack of a flannel sleeve.

"It's nonsense -- it's funny one-liner jokes is pretty much what it is," he told the State College Collegian earlier this month.

Larry the Cable Guy, the good 'ol boy persona Nebraska-born Dan Whitney created almost 20 years ago, brings his "Tailgate Party" to Anchorage's Sullivan Arena on Thursday. He performs at Fairbanks' Carlson Center on Friday.

The trip to Alaska is Larry's first since April 2006.

Best known for his "Git-r-done" catchphrase and Blue Collar Comedy Tour membership, Whitney's body of work includes seven comedy CDs, seven movies, a book, two Christmas specials and numerous other television specials and appearances. His new Christmas television special -- "Larry the Cable Guy's Hula-Palooza Christmas Luau" -- premiered on the CMT network last week.

The "Tailgate Party" shows should feature material from the new CD of the same name, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard comedy charts when it was released in September. But hardcore Larry fans should be ready for a healthy dose of "Git-r-dones" as well.

"If you went to see Skynyrd and (the band) never did "Freebird", people would be pissed off," Larry said. "It's kind of like my "Freebird," I gotta do it."

Whitney, 46, grew up on a pig farm in a small Nebraska town, a real farming community full of cornfields and cattle, he said. He moved to Florida as a teenager and began entertaining years later when friends convinced him he was funny and should go on stage for a comedy night a bar.

Before his 2006 Alaska visit, Larry told the Daily News it took years of plugging away before his comedy went anywhere. He wrote loads of material, performed show after show and used morning radio venues to create his loyal following.

A following he repeatedly thanks.

"All my fans honestly are amazing, and I'm very grateful to them -- they always come to laugh," he told the Collegian. "I always want to give them 110 percent because I don't want to disappoint them."

It's hard to imagine he could. Positive or negative, Larry's comedic style has been regularly classified working class, an everyman's take on living, sex and bodily functions delivered with a quick-hitter Southern twang.

Larry and Blue Collar brothers Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy and Ron White showed something when the tour kicked off in 2000. Its success led to a 2003 movie and a pair of follow-ups.

"We were just regular guys talking about regular stuff," Larry said.

The regular guy, er, Cable Guy certainly hit the comedy jackpot. He's been twice named to the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the hottest and most successful people in the entertainment industry.

Fellow comedians paid mad respect to his career earlier this year when Comedy Central presented the "Roast of Larry the Cable Guy." The celebrity roast is a comedy staple of the '70s and early '80s made famous by Dean Martin and legendary pals like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles and Dom DeLuise.

Comedian Jeffrey Ross has long taken over "Roastmaster General" duties from Martin and is the one to tell audiences "we only roast the one's we love."

In Larry the Cable Guy's case, Ross said that shortly before he asked, "how come nobody talks about your other personas that didn't work out so well. You know, like Dan the Comedian."

Comedian Greg Giraldo put it more bluntly when he screamed "how the (expletive) are you so popular?"

Larry took the verbal jabs in stride and even delivered a few knockouts of his own to comedians nothing like himself.

He's built a successful career doing comedy seldom done and or seen these days. Too many comics, Larry said, stand on stage and act like they're smarter than the room, pontificating about politics and how dumb people tend to be.

"That's the last thing they need is some freakin' lackey who just got done smoking pot and drinking beer telling them how to live their life," Larry said. "I just do goofy jokes and hope people laugh at them."

Larry the Cable Guy

Thursday, 7:30 p.m Sullivan Arena

$43.75

More info at ticketmaster.com

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