Damon Wayans Has Plan to Stay Funny

[felicitylen]

By JUSTIN LEONARD, For The Associated Press
Tue Jun 14,11:07 AM ET



Damon Wayans has ditched the wife and kids for life on the road.

After five years on the air, his sitcom "My Wife and Kids" was canceled by ABC last month. Wayans felt it coming, so the second-oldest brother of the comedic clan that includes Keenen, Marlon and Shawn is on a standup comedy tour, preparing to film his show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He spoke to The Associated Press about censorship, grandmother groupies and who's the funniest Wayans.

AP: What happened with your sitcom?

Wayans: American Idol (was) killing us. So I'm starting a new project on my own. It's called 'The Underground.' It's a sketch comedy. I'm going to do it on my own, with my own money. It's going to be reminiscent of 'In Living Color.' I'm going to be doing a bunch of different characters. It's going to be super sexy. I have about 30 sketches we're ready to shoot. I got Iraq's funniest home videos, dope sick cops, a gang of funny commercial parodies, viagrid, valtrex, herpes. The streets will be talking about it for sure. I think we might go straight to DVD. People want something they can't get on TV. I have 500 channels of nothing. DVDs give you the option to watch what you want when you want.

AP: You're touring now for an upcoming show.

Wayans: This will be my first time back to the Apollo in about 12 years.

AP: Any history at the Apollo?

Wayans: Oh, definitely. I used to perform there a lot. I've won a few talent shows there in the past. It's always been a spot that you can measure your material against. If you can go in there and make them laugh then you got some really funny stuff. 'Cause they are a tough crowd, but when they laugh there's nothing like that room.

AP: How do you prepare to do standup?

Wayans: Get in the clubs. I went to an open mic the other night. Just testing my material, keep working and grinding making sure the material is what you hope is going to be funny. I like to put myself in tough rooms. When you go to these open mic nights they see a bunch of bad comics so the audience isn't feeling anybody. So when you get up there they have preconceived ideas of what you do. They're tired of listening. That's the time to test your material.

AP: Do you write all your material or do you improvise?

Wayans: I'm improvising within a structure. You always have to work within some kind of structure. You don't want to be improvising in front of 4,000 people. By the time I get to the Apollo the routine will be tight.

AP: What's the difference between telling jokes on stage and on a TV set?

Wayans: With a sitcom you have keepers of the gate, and censors. You are protecting Mickey Mouse ears. They don't want you to say anything that can make them liable for a suit, and it's 8 o'clock prime-time. People don't want irreverence at that time a night anyway. They just want to sit down and enjoy a meal and smile. It took me two seasons to figure that out. I was frustrated because you can't say anything at 8 o'clock on ABC anyway. It's like, 'Wow, I can't say hump. They actually told me I couldn't say hump. And I was like, 'Isn't this the same network that brings you wife swap?'

AP: What's the funniest thing that happened to you on stage?

Wayans: Oh man. I just did this Nike gig out in Portland. Nike has the most cutting-edge commercials and media. So I'm thinking these are going to be hippest cats ever. I'm going to Portland to this gig, it's at five in the afternoon with no alcohol. They brought me in this room and it was the coldest reception. I felt like I was at a Klan rally. I did it as a favor for this woman and I don't think she knew what she was getting. She had seen 'My Wife and Kids,' which was what she was expecting. So they were a little surprised. They were trying to get me off the stage after about 10 minutes. It was so strange. I met everyone before I went on stage and they were saying, 'Oh we're so happy you're here, we love you.' I met the head of Nike and they invited me to design my own shoe. Then 10 minutes into it they were flicking on the lights. Not only did they make me leave Nike, they made me leave Portland.

AP: Tell me about the first time you got on stage.

Wayans: Ever? Man, it was like the Nike experience. It was in New York City in 1982. It was cold outside so I had my leather bomber jacket on, and when I got on stage I felt the heat. Literally. I guess it was my nerves. I broke out in a sweat. My first joke was, 'I come from a poor family, we were so poor my father drove a 1974 Big Wheel.' The audience cracked up. I felt real hot so I took my jacket of and threw it, but I had my jokes in the pocket. I had no idea what to say. From there I got a couple of paid laughs, but it was a bad experience. That was the longest five minutes of my life.

AP: What's up with your boy Dave Chappelle?

Wayans: I don't know. I just heard he checked himself into a mental institution in South Africa. That's not the place for a brother to rehab.

AP: Why not?

Wayans: Have you ever heard of apartheid? He must have lost his mind, he needs to go down to Miami or something. I don't know what happened. He must have smoked some bad weed or something. But I've been meaning to call him and tell him to take all that pressure off himself. Now that he has the $50 million he has all this self-imposed pressure. There really is no pressure. You just have to go out there and do what you do.

AP: Who's the funniest one in the family?

Wayans: Marlon. Marlon is crazy. If he were not in show business he'd be in South Africa chillin' with Dave.

AP: If you and your brothers had to go head to head on 'MTV Cribs' who would come out on top?

Wayans: Well, Keenen just got divorced so he's out the game. Marlon has a really nice pad. I used to have the baddest crib. It was in Beverly Hills in this place called the summit. Michael Jordan was my neighbor for a few months. He stayed next door when he shot that movie with the rabbit? Then I got divorced. I gave the house to her and she sold it.

AP: Who has the most groupies?

Wayans: Marlon and Shawn. The girls love Shawn and Marlon. It's ridiculous. I used to do all right, but I'm starting to get grandmothers. That's when it's time to stop keeping tabs.


I've always liked Marlon, and I always thought he was the funniest.

[Yeldarb]

I wish Censorship would just DIE already!