Stand up comedian Brian Regan’s sense of humor has not only sparked a successful career, but he’s fired up a fan following that includes the likes of Jimmy Fallon and Jerry Seinfeld.
“I like to make anybody laugh but the fact that people who do what you do, like what you do, is an extra level of compliment,” Regan says, “I like making audiences laugh. I consider myself a creative pig…I want everybody to like what I do.”
• Regan has made history with Comedy Central’s first stand up live broadcast with his hour special, Brian Regan: Live from Radio City Music Hall
• He’s appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and made his final appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (his 28th, the most of any comic since the show moved to CBS in 1993)
• He was recently, been featured in Jerry Seinfeld’s web series, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Palm Springs Life caught up with the funnyman as he prepares for his appearance July 16 at the Agua Caliente Spa Resort Casino in Rancho Mirage.
Q: When you were a kid…what did you want to be?
BR: When I was a kid, I didn’t think about being a comedian. I had a few phases:”
• “An airline pilot. I sent away for information on becoming a pilot. I remember receiving books in the mail … age appropriate. I was like 10 years old, how planes fly, and how wings work. It was awfully nice of someone to send those books out. I wish I knew who it was so I could thank them.”
• “I thought I would be an accountant. I went to college thinking I would be an accountant.”
Q: Were you a “funny” kid?
BR: “Yeah, I think so. It depends. You are only funny if you are around people who think you are funny…or else you are just a goof. I wasn’t the class clown. I was kind of shy. I was the clown of my own small circle of friends and family.”
Q: You’ve had a successful career …what would you like to do but haven’t yet?
BR: “I would like to shoot a special from the North Pole…just kidding. I would like to have a crack at a TV show…some network, somewhere, to say, ‘do what you want and if people like it, we’ll keep it on the air.’”
Q: As an “observationist” much of your material comes from everyday life…is there something that you don’t think is funny?
BR: “I think every subject is fair game. Every situation can include laughter. Every subject can have jokes associated with it. People can laugh at a funeral and it doesn’t mean they are being disrespectful. There’s something called ‘gallows humor’…people make dark jokes in the most difficult of times. It can be a coping mechanism or a way to pop the bubble. When people understand the heart is good, then jokes, like that, can be therapeutic.”
Q: Pet peeve?
BR: “Those scrolls you can open up…I have a list of pet peeves. You don’t have enough ink in your pen to write out my pet peeves. A major one is people who don’t realize that there are other people in this world. We are all trying to fit in here…let’s be kind here.”
Q: What can we expect at your show?
BR: “Singing, dancing, and comedy… or one third of that, anyway!”
Brian Regan, 8 p.m. July 16, Agua Caliente Spa Resort Casino, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, 760-321-2000; www.hotwatercasino.com