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Sandra Silfven — Detroit News 29855 Northwestern Hwy. • Applegate Square • Southfield • 353-2757 70: a. : • - Banquet Facilities • Entertainment 7 Nights Italian American Dining At Its Finest Mon.-Fri. 11 to 11, Sat. 4 to 12 Mid., Sun. 2 to 11 DETROIT 4222 Second Blvd. Bet. Willis & Canfield 66 FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1990 Valet Parking ENTERTAINMENT 833-9425 Richard Belzer, A Comic Who's Worn Many Hats RITA CHARLESTON Special to The Jewish News F ellow comic Robin Williams once de- scribed Richard Belzer as "the Marquis de Sade as a game show host." Richard Pryor added that "his comedy is honest." Accolades indeed from his peers for the man widely known for his astute political observations. With an in- satiable appetite for the news (he claims to read about five newspapers a day) Belzer began his career as a reporter for the Bridgeport Post in Connecticut. But he also calls upon his life experiences as a former teacher, census taker, jewelry salesman, dock- worker and several other oc- cupations to spice up his com- edy delivery. It's not that Belzer couldn't stick to any one job. It's just that his sense of humor always seemed to get in the way. A self-admitted class clown, Belzer says he was thrown out of, or asked to leave, every school he attend- ed "due to uncontrollable wit" and a "reflex action that made me unable to resist be- ing funny." He says he knew he was a grownup "when I had my bar mitzvah," even though it took him a little longer to reach his full adult potential. Once he did, however, he began parlaying his talents in the classroom into a new career, getting his first big break in something called Groove Tube, a counter- culture film that went on to become a cult classic. Since then, his comedic talents have been featured in every show business medium from off-Broadway, to radio, to ma- jor Hollywood movies. But Belzer's big break- through has been on televi- sion, including appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," "Late Night With David Letter- man," his own six-part corn- edy series "The Richard Belzer Show," and as host of the live national talk show "Hot Properties" on the Lifetime Cable Network. In fact, it was while hosting "Hot Properties" in 1985 that Belzer had a run-in with World Wrestling Federation champion Hulk Hogan, a run- in that included a front-face- lock on the unsuspecting Belzer from Hogan which resulted in Belzer receiving Richard Belzer: From journalist to stand-up comic. eight stitches to the back of his head and instituting a multi-million dollar law suit that was just recently settled in Belzer's favor. Meanwhile, back on the stage in front of live au- diences, where Belzer loves performing his own special brand of comedy, the audience is never quite sure what Belzer will do next. But neither, for that matter, is he. "When I get up on stage I have a lot of set material which I sometimes do and sometimes don't. It all depends on my mood and the mood of the audience. I love to improvise, but improvising is tricky, so you never know from one night to the next how well it's going to do or how disasterous it's going to be. I rely on the prepared stuff and then I just go from there." Often asked about the world of comedy, Belzer decid- ed to write a tongue-in-cheek book about it. Titled Belzer's Guide: How To Be A Standup Comic, the book is meant to be a guide for the neophyte comedian, presenting Belzer's method of joke-telling and of- fering tips on such topics as how to dress on stage and handle hecklers. On the serious side, Belzer suggests that young comics go on stage as often as possible. "It's one thing to make your friends and family laugh," he concedes, "but it's another thing to make strangers laugh. So I always tell young comics to get up in front of an audience full of strangers as often as possible. After all, there are no short-cuts in this business." Belzer also says you can't really teach people to be fun- ny, "but you can teach them how to find out what's funny within themselves. Then it's up to them to see if they can turn that into something that works on stage. Let's face it, there's enough humor in the world today that, if you have half a brain, you should be able to do something with the wealth of material out there." Next up for Belzer is a visiting artist fellowship from Berkeley University. "I'll be going up there and developing a one-man show for its theater department," he explains. "After that? Who knows. I don't like to make definite plans or wish for too many things or make predic- tions. I just like working. I'm happy to be able to answer the call." ❑