Brian Regan finds humor in daily life

4/20/2006

Gosh darn it, sometimes it's hard to be a "clean" comedian.

Just ask Brian Regan, a comic who will stop at the Stranahan Theater tomorrow as part of his 74-city tour. "I showed up at a comedy club one time and they had a big marquee, 'Brian Regan, good clean fun,' and I said, 'Guys, please, I know you mean well, but that's so lame,'●" Regan said from his home in Las Vegas.

Though he doesn't swear in his act - or, in comedic parlance, go "blue" - he said he never likes to promote that his comedy is generally pretty wholesome and clean.

"It's like putting a G-rating on a movie. Some people just won't come out to that movie," he said. "I just enjoy working that way [no swearing], but it has nothing to do with being wholesome or a prude. I just like the challenge comedically."

Regan, 47, focuses on "everyday things." A married father of two, he said he enjoys talking about fatherhood.

"I was doing a show recently and asked a guy in the front row how many kids he had and he said, 'five or six.' What? What kind of answer is that?" Regan laughed. "Nobody has 'five or six' kids, it's either five or six."

He also enjoys talking about stuff in the news that ought to make people laugh.

"Like with steroids. What kills me is when these athletes say they never knowingly took steroids. But come on, how naive can you be? 'Why do you keep sticking that needle in my butt?'●" Regan joked. "Or the Saddam Hussein trial. You know how a defense attorney will always put the defendant in a nice sweater? They should put Saddam in a big, white sweater with some nice snowflakes on it. 'Ladies and gentlemen, does he look like a butcher to you?'●"

Regan got his start in comedy while attending Heidelberg College in Tiffin. He went to Heidelberg to get an accounting degree, but quickly realized most accountants weren't very funny.

He changed his major to communications and while taking a speech class realized he always tried to make his speeches funny. One thing led to another and he eventually left college to try and hone his skill as a stand-up comic.

He always regretted not finishing college, though, so in the mid-1990s he began taking classes again and in 1997 received his degree from Heidelberg in communication and theater arts.

"I wanted to do the [commencement] walk, the whole thing. I got in line, and my mom and dad were there, too. Everyone was confused who this grown man was standing in line with them getting a degree."

Brian Regan will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd. Tickets, $33.50, are available from the box office or Ticketmaster. Information: 419-381-8851.

Contact Luke Shockman at:

lshockman@theblade.com

or 419-724-6084.