SNL superstar lights up local stage

By Mike Briotta, PRIME Editor When comedian Jon Lovitz burst onto the national scene in the mid-1980s, he was the odd man out, even among his very strange contemporaries at the NBC television studio that produced "Saturday Night Live." That famous locale, now dubbed "30 Rock," gave rise to a slew of talented comedians of the era - Dana Carvey, Mike Myers and Phil Hartman to name a few - but none were quite so obviously in their own world as Lovitz. He sometimes seemed like an interstellar visitor, whose comic timing was known only to himself. His delivery was more Andy Kauffman than Jerry Seinfield, with a certain nasal twang that's completely his own. Lovitz combines the seemingly divergent elements of his personal nature, and hones a public image that is totally unique. He's a New York-esque Californian; an intentionally mundane "Master Thespian." He's a performance artist of comedic agita. Add to that list a final paradox: a humble celebrity. Looking back on his good fortune, the 52-year-old is still amazed that he was ever tapped on to join the SNL cast. "I couldn't believe I got it when I joined in 1985," Lovitz recounted by phone from a hotel in Denver. He's currently on a road trip spanning comedy clubs from coast to coast; Lovitz will be appearing at the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee on May 22. "Luckily, Lorraine Newman and Charles Grodin put in a good word for me. It was 80 hours a week, performing and writing. I still can't believe I was on it. What's funny about that show is that everything's created new every week. When I first got there, I looked around and said, 'Where is everyone?' I didn't realize that you've got to create it yourself. It's very difficult." Lovitz persevered, launching a TV career with hilariously irritating onscreen personae like "Annoying Man," "Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar" and an-even uglier-on-the-inside cousin to the fictional beast from "Beauty and the Beast"- one who fails miserably when paired on a double-date with a beauty played by Demi Moore. "She [Demi Moore] still talks about that sketch whenever we run into each other," Lovitz said. "She was hosting the show that night. In the spoof, I played like a nerd beast. Conan O'Brien wrote that one and I wrote 'Annoying Man.' You write about half your sketches on that show; and whoever writes it usually gets to cast it." Finding His Voice His resume since leaving the show in the early 1990s has been diverse. Lovitz is as well-known today for his voice acting talents as he was for his characters on SNL. He's lent his voice to several cartoons, including as many as eight characters on the long-running animated TV series "The Simpsons." Of course, he also provided the voice of the main character in the series "The Critic," playing Jay Sherman - a frumpy movie critic whose appearance was clearly based on Lovitz. Sherman was a heavyset, lovable loser with phrases like: "Is the snack bar still open?" "The Critic" ran for two seasons, and was regarded by many observers as ahead of its era. "It actually had a good reception at the time," Lovitz said of the show, which was unceremoniously canceled by network programmers. "It went on Fox after 'The Simpsons' and held 90 percent of the audience. It was baffling why they canceled it. Jim Brooks, of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and 'Taxi' said he had never seen anything like that - a network canceling a successful show." It's been a hallmark of Lovitz's career, however, to bounce back against the odds and find even greater victories around the corner. He didn't wallow in self-pity, but rather found a second wind as a TV pitchman for products like Subway sandwiches, the Yellow Pages and American Express. SNL fans will also recall his spot-on imitation of the iconic Dunkin' Donuts pitchman from the commercials, with whom he shares more than a passing resemblance. "About five or six years ago, the movie roles were drying up," Lovitz said. He's had many movie appearances, including such films as "The Benchwarmers" (2006), "The Producers" (2005), and "The Stepford Wives" (2004). But recently, the lack of movie roles had Lovitz looking for new opportunities. "My former agent and manager both said, 'Sell your house.' Needless to say, I fired both of them and started doing other things. Fear, in my life anyway, is a great motivator." Man With A Mic One of those new ventures, surprisingly, has been standup. Most famous comedians of his era came out of the 1980s standup comedy boom, but Lovitz was not among them. As a young performer, Lovitz was influenced by Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen, but was fatefully steered away from standup in college by a misguided instructor who thought that standup could not lead to a role on a TV sitcom. The idea of being cast as an annoying next-door neighbor on a current sitcom isn't out of the question for Lovitz. He remains open to the idea of a regular appearance on a show, like former SNL stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Spade currently have on CBS. "I would love to do one, but they're not offering as many roles as you would think," he said. "You would need someone to do it with, and the show usually has specific characters in mind. If you don't fit that, they don't want you. They think there won't be the right chemistry." His roots are grounded in developing characters, but he's adaptable to change. It wasn't until fairly recently, in 2003, that he finally tried his hand at entertaining small-club audiences as just one man, standing in the spotlight behind a microphone. "When I started doing standup, I began with my SNL characters, but it didn't work," he said of the onstage evolution. "So I developed new material about sex, politics, men and women. I played the piano and sang funny songs. I started doing jokes, and just being myself, like on a talk show." He continued, "The act is just me, what I think is funny. I'm really silly. If the age of the audience was based on my sense of humor, they would be about eight years old. Some of the jokes are rated R but it's fun. [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels told me a long time ago to write for myself, what you think is funny, because you are the audience." Branching Out Aside from standup, Lovitz would consider other possibilities too, like having his own reality show in the style of comedienne Kathy Griffin. But he scoffs when asked if anyone would actually want to watch him eating his Cheerios in the morning. "They [television executives] hear thousands of ideas every year," he said. "I'm working on some stuff, but as far as a reality show following me around, in my real life I'm very private." Other challenges life has thrown at him included losing his lifelong friend Phil Hartman in 1998, and being called upon to replace him for one season of the TV show "NewsRadio." The two had been friends since their early days in the 1970s in The Groundlings comedy troupe. Right before Hartman's death, they had also been preparing to co-star in an independent film together. It was a devastating loss, however, Lovitz kept on entertaining. His unorthodox approach to comedy means that Lovitz will probably always have a harder time than his peers getting a TV gig. But crying in his beer over lost opportunities just isn't his style. When he's not providing voice-overs, selling products or touring the country doing standup, Lovitz embraces another job: owner of a California comedy club. The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal Studios in Hollywood has played host to fellow famous former SNL-ers including Dana Carvey and Dennis Miller. "My business partner is Frank Kelley, former manager of the Improv in Burbank, a famous club," Lovitz said. "We have a Hawaiian theme, so it's not just another brick wall and black background. I perform there every Wednesday, unless I'm out of town." Judging from the successful comedy career he's managed to establish, Lovitz may be on the road, touring clubs across the nation, for a very long time. The comic is coming to the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee May 22. He's doing two shows, the early show at 7 p.m. and a later performance at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 each plus a $5 charge. Anyone interested in checking out Lovitz's one-night-only standup routine in this area is encouraged to call (413) 593-5222 or visit the Hu Ke Lau online at www.hukelau.com.