Tim Cavanagh known for good, clean fun

3/18/2005

Comedian Tim Cavanagh says he's always been a sensitive guy. As a child, he burst into tears the first time he ever wore mittens. Why?

"I thought they were hand puppets who'd gotten their faces torn off in a horrible puppet accident," he explains.

Since then, the 51-year-old Cavanagh graduated from Chicago's Loyola University with a degree in philosophy, taught religion at an all-girls Catholic high school, and then embarked on a career in comedy, specializing in clever song parodies with titles such as "99 Dead Baboons," "Get Drunk with Dignity," and "Really Safe Sex."

He appears tonight and tomorrow night at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase.

During nearly two decades on the club circuit, Cavanagh has earned a reputation for having a squeaky-clean act - as well as a playful wit that enables him to write amazingly creative song parodies. His upbeat style and profanity-free material have also made him a favorite among corporate booking agents, who have hired him to perform for hundreds of business groups, including IBM, AT&T, Xerox, and Pillsbury.

"Oh, I wouldn't say I'm 'squeaky' clean," he says in a telephone interview, "but by comedy club standards, I guess it's pretty clean."

Cavanagh is a regular guest on several drive-time radio shows across the country, including the syndicated Bob & Tom Show, heard in Toledo on WIOT-FM (104.7). One of his radio specialties has been the "One Minute Song," and two of his three CDs are collections of those brief numbers - things like "Fry Up an Eagle," "What Would Jesus Eat," "Naughty to the Bone," and "Monster Ash."

Tim Cavanagh will appear tonight and tomorrow at 8 and 10:30 at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, 314 East Liberty St., Ann Arbor. Tonight's first show is nonsmoking. Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 at the door. Information: 734-996-9080 or www.aacomedy.com