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player ready...Bobby Slayton was holding court a few months ago. Sitting at a table that had been set up for a meal, he grabbed the ears of friends, French-Canadians and countrymen.
“It’s the (crummiest) service at this table that I’ve ever had in my life!” he said with mock crabbiness.
Slayton was performing at the Montreal International Comedy Festival, one of the largest gatherings of its type in the world. He was clearly in his element.
“I’m doing an interview, big interview,” he shouted to one comic, who just chuckled, partly because of Slayton’s sarcastic crack and partly because of the location of his interview.
Slayton’s “table” was actually a big decorative prop set up by the Delta Hotel, headquarters for the Just for Laughs (no relation to this column) Festival. The restaurant table setting was stationed on a wide ledge just off a wider staircase in the lobby.
“You got a problem?” Slayton barked at a hotel assistant, a bemused young man in a neat dark suit eyeing Slayton as he sat at the mock table.
“Yeah,” he called back with a smile, “my general manager told me to kick your (rear) upstairs.”
Spying the GM not far away, Slayton yelled in his patented raspy growl: “Hey, general manager! The service sucks here! I need a waitress!”
Slayton, 42, celebrating his 20th year as a comedian, is serving his fans his first CD this fall. Its title is under discussion, but Slayton has one he’s fond of.
“Since they call me the Pit Bull of Comedy, I wanted to call the album `Raging Bully. . . .’ “
“Hi, Dave!” Slayton waved to comedian Dave Attell. “He’s a lunatic, this guy . . . one of the funniest men.”
Slayton recently did a guest appearance on Comedy Central’s “Dr. Katz” cartoon series. He said it was “so cool” to see the animated version of himself. Apparently, so did Slayton’s young daughter.
“My daughter said she really liked the cartoon daddy better than the real daddy,” he cracked. “She loves Real Daddy, but Real Daddy’s kind of one-dimensional. The cartoon form seemed to have more depth, more personality. . . .
“I know I owe you a bottle of wine!” Slayton shot to someone associated with the legions of agents, managers and television executives who attend the festival every year. They flock to Montreal to find the next Tim Allen, Roseanne or Drew Carey, all of whom got their first taste of success in Montreal.
Slayton wasn’t worried about industry types discovering him. “I’ve given up trying to be discovered,” he growled. “Everybody’s discovered me, and nobody’s done anything with me.”
Getting a television comedy isn’t among Slayton’s goals in life anymore. “I’ve done my share of trying to sell shows to the networks,” he explained. “I came up with one show where I thought to use just comics, and (the executives said), `Well, we need well-known actors, we need this and that.’ And I’d pick comedians who all had great acting credits, more than most actors. And who knows how to do comedy better than comedians?”
The idea, about comedians running a casino on the border of Utah, wasn’t embraced by any of the networks.
“I remember a couple of years ago I was pitching a show about this angel,” Slayton said. “Of course they went, `Well, we’re not doing any heavenlike shows.’ ” His eyes looked heavenward, thoughts of “Touched by an Angel” dancing in his head.
“This is my interview, get lost, where are you going?” Slayton said to a passing Mark Schiff, another talented comedian.
“I’m gonna go for a walk,” Schiff said.
“Why do you have, like, your expedition backpack with you?”
“I’ve got my camera in there, I’ve got a headset in there, I’ve got a picture of your wife in there.”
Slayton grinned, clearly in his element.
Bobby Slayton will be in his element Friday and Saturday, as one of Zanies’ most popular acts makes special appearances at the club’s Vernon Hills location, at 230 Hawthorn Village Commons. For show times and reservations, call 847-549-6030.
The standup lineup
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Here’s who’s working at the clubs. Current sets are scheduled to run through Sunday; all new acts begin on Wednesday unless otherwise noted. Lineups are subject to change.
– Arnez J., one of the stars of WGCI-FM’s morning show along with George Wallace and Jeanne Sparrow, comes out of the soundproof booth to perform this weekend at All Jokes Aside, 1000 S. Wabash Ave.; call 312-922-0577.
– Rabbi Bob Alper, a true standup comedian and motivational speaker, performs Saturday and Sunday at the Apple Tree Theatre, 595 Elm Pl. in Highland Park; call 847-432-4335.
– Damon Williams, host of All Jokes Aside’s Wednesday talent showcases, and now a roving reporter for “Jenny Jones,” has started hosting comedy shows every Tuesday at the New 50 Yard Line, 14720 S. Halsted St. in Harvey (next week he’s joined by Shay Shay and Tony Sculfield). Call 708-339-5050 for more details.
– Chicago Comedy Works has a performance set for Sunday at the Neon-Bop Shop, 1146 S. Wabash Ave. Tim Joyce leads a corps of comedians, the Holy Family gospel group gets funny and other surprises are planned. For other details, call the Bop Shop at 312-922-3233.
Yuks on the tube
HBO’s comedy gets hot starting Friday. The talented Chris Rock begins a new season of his cutting talk show at 10:30 p.m., with special guests recording artist Sean “Puffy” Combs and Arsenio Hall set for this first show. At 11 p.m., bizarre, off-center sketch comedy returns with another season of “Mr. Show,” starring the very funny, and very strange, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.