ENTERTAINMENT
(3)
xals.mt
HORN
PI ME
PO 0 13
Comedian, Actor
Is At The Top
OF SOUTHFIELD
353-3232
Thank Everyone For Their Wonderful Support During
Our New Ownership and Management Change
26200 W. 12 Mile Road, Just East of Northwestern Hwy.
We Gratefully Wish All Our
Customers and Friends
The Very Best in Health and Happiness
On The New Year
DAILY DINNER SPECIAL
GOOD ANYDAY! ANYHOUR! OPEN 24 HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK
FRESH BROILED
WHITE FISH $ 649
INCLUDES: SOUP OR SALAD OR COLE SLAW,
VEGETABLE & POTATO & ROLL & BUTTER.
EVERYTHING ON OUR MENU, INCLUDING SPECIALS,
ALSO AVAILABLE FOR CARRY-OUT
Offer Expires 12-31-91
BOB MATLEY
PETER'S K
Restaurant
And The Staff Of
25920 GREENFIELD at Lincoln
Oak Park
—4060
II ALAI ALI
WISHES ITS
FRIENDS &
CUSTOMERS
A HEALTHY
AND
HAPPY
NEW YEAR
Restaurant
31196 Haggertty Rd., Just S. of 14
788.0505
Wish Their
Customers and Friends
A Healthy and Happy
New Year
VAL - Taut,
II
44 ouhei
A Tradition Since 1934
Wish Its
Customers 6-)
Friends
A Healthy 6-) Happy
Y
Virginia, Ken & Our Staff
at
Virginia's
MID-EAST CAFE
Wish All Our Friends
A Healthy, Happy & Prosperous
New Year
2456 Orchard Lake Rd. • Sylvan Lake • 681-7170
132
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
New Year
Choice Meats and
Fresh Fish Daily
ALL FRESH FRUIT PIES,
APPLE STREUDEL,
COGNAC TORTES
1128 East Nine Mile Road
(A Mile East of 1.75)
Hazel Park, MI 48030
(313) 541-2132
RITA CHARLESTON
Special to The Jewish News
A
lthough he grew up
with a father who was
hilariously funny at
home and a mother who was
a real show-business fan,
Robert Klein, a self-described
class clown, was encouraged
to seek a career deemed
suitable for a middle-class
Jewish boy from the Bronx.
So the closet comedian
entered Alfred University as
a pre-med student.
"My cover story was that I
wanted to be a doctor, and I
really believe part of me did
want that until my freshman
year in college," says Mr.
Klein. "I like to say a few
things got in my way of con-
tinuing in pre-med however,
namely calculus, physics,
biology, zoology, chemistry,
reading, spelling, comprehen-
sion, behavior, inclination,
aptitude and talent. Other
than that, I was rarin' to go!"
So while he was struggling
with the curriculum, Mr.
Klein joined the school's ac-
ting company, and by the time
he graduated in 1962, two of
his drama professors convinc-
ed his father he should pur-
sue a career in acting. Yale
drama school beckoned, and
Mr. Klein was on his way.
He finished a year at Yale,
followed by summer stock.
The following fall, in order to
subsidize himself, Mr. Klein
took a job as a substitute
teacher. -
In March 1965, he audition-
ed for Second City, the
Chicago Improvisational
Company, became a member
of the troupe and there spent
the single most important
year of his career. After his
return to New York, Mr. Klein
next was seen by producer
Mike Nichols, who gave him
a role in his Broadway
musical, Apple Tree.
"From the Shubert Theater
where we were doing the play,
I would take my makeup off
on the street and head for the
Improv (a New York City
nightclub), which was the on-
ly game in town at the time
I began practicing comedy.
And that became my instant
ticket out of anonymity," Mr.
Klein recalls. "There's
nothing harder than starting
out, even with talent, at the
bottom of the rung with a
small part in a Broadway
show and constantly trying to
get more roles. Doing stand-
up comedy gave me defini-
tion. I was good at it."
He was also lucky, he says.
.
Robert Klein
"One night, Rodney Danger-
field saw me and became in-
terested in me. By the fall of
1966, he recommended me to
the men who managed Woody
Allen, Dick Cavett, stars like
that. So I think it all boils
down to talent, tenacity, ex-
cellent timing and good for-
tune. I was lucky. I had it all."
Mr. Klein was soon cast in
two more Broadway shows:
Morning, Noon and Night
and New Faces of 1968. In
1970, he starred in "Comedy
"There's nothing
harder than
starting out, even
with talent, at the
bottom of the rung
with a small part
in a Broadway
show and
constantly trying
to get more roles:'
Robert Klein
Tonight," the CBS summer
replacement for Glen Camp-
bell's show. Mr. Klein and the
show were highly acclaimed,
and it was becoming clear
that the comedian was here to
stay.
In 1973, he released his
first album, "Child of the
'50s," a collection of material
that brought him a vast au-
dience and won him a Gram-
my Award nomination for the
Best Comedy Album of the
Year. Two more albums
followed: "Mind Over Mat-
ter," also nominated for a
Grammy, and "New Teeth."
Mr. Klein's latest album,
"Let's Not Make Love," was
released last October on
Rhino Records.