Some tough questions for comic Steve Harvey:
Are you going to be giving up standup comedy?
“Oh, no, absolutely not,” says Harvey, a standup for 10 years. “I mean, standup is the one thing that’s mine, and truly mine. That’s the one thing that God has given me that’s just mine. And nobody can take that from me.”
So did you become a standup comic so you could get a TV show, just like some comedians are doing now (Harvey stars in ABC’s “Me and the Boys” this fall)?
“A lot of people go in reverse. They want the standup to get them to this point,” says Harvey, 37, who has hosted “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” for two years, and will come back for a third year.
“Well, I used the standup to get me to this point, so I can go back and do more standup. Bigger standup on bigger stages, with more people seeing me.”
Why don’t other comics follow your example and stick with standup after television and movie success?
“I think that a lot these guys, like I said before, have used standup as a vehicle to attain a television sitcom and a movie. Instead of as a way to enhance the standup, they’re hoping to replace the standup with these things.
“And then a lot of guys come out here, and what happens is the money is so tremendous, that it becomes very difficult to do your standup, it really does. It’s hard to say, okay, I’m gonna go out (and perform) for $35,000, when somebody says, `Hey, man, we’ll give you $100,000 this weekend if you just stand over here at this function for us and represent your TV show.’ “
But if you’re going to be making so much money, why do it anymore? Why deal with going out and performing on the road, which is such a grind?
“I’ve always loved the road. I love the road today. I don’t mind living in a hotel. I don’t mind working out of a suitcase. I don’t mind not knowing where a restaurant is to eat. I don’t mind jumping on the plane.”
So what’s “Me and the Boys” about (that’s not too tough a question, but pretend that it is)?
“It’s a sitcom about myself who is a widower. And I have three sons, and my wife died a couple of years ago . . . and I moved my mother-in-law in with us.”
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Another comedy about bickering in-laws?
“The mother-in-law (played by Madge Sinclair of “Roots,” “Trapper John, M.D.,” and currently giving voice to the lion/mother in “The Lion King”) and I have a really great relationship, as oppose to the typical relationship that you usually see with a mother-in-law.”
Is this show, like “Roseanne” and “Seinfeld” and “Home Improvement,” based on your standup?
“The entire show is based on my standup. I’ll actually have a writing credit on the show, because a lot of the bits on the show are taken directly from my standup.”
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Steve Harvey, who has been on WGCI-FM subbing for Doug Banks’ afternoon show all this week, is performing through Sunday at All Jokes Aside, 1000 S. Wabash Ave. Call 312-922-0577 for reservations and show times.