Las Vegas comedians keep audiences laughing

Movie stars go to Hollywood. Actors move to Broadway. For the men and women who make us laugh, the top of the world is the Las Vegas Strip.

Years ago, the bar was set -- and frequented -- by the likes of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jerry Lewis.

And Sin City was their base of operation.

Today, the Strip is home to stand-up stars George Wallace, Louie Anderson, Carrot Top and Rita Rudner. And other comedians make Las Vegas a frequent stop, including Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson and Jerry Seinfeld.

"Headliner comedians in Vegas is as old as Vegas itself," Anderson says. "Every comedian, when they headline in Vegas, that's a highlight. You feel like you made it.

"It's one of the greatest places to perform there is," Anderson says.

The reason: "The crowds are great."

Anderson remembers his first headline show in Las Vegas. It was Nov. 21, 1984. It was the night after he'd performed on "The Tonight Show" for the first time.

"We were at the Comedy Store at the Dunes Hotel. It was me, Blake Clark, Sam Kinison, Jim Carrey and Roseanne Barr. It was 15 bucks for five comedians."

He has been a part of Las Vegas ever since. Anderson just began his fourth year as a permanent headliner at Excalibur. Before that, he spent 11 years at Bally's.

Doing a permanent stand-up comedy act wouldn't work in most other American cities, Anderson notes.

"You have to remember Vegas is bringing in people from all over," he says. "You would run out of audiences in other cities."

As a comedian, Anderson spent more than 20 years on the road. "It becomes your life in a sense. It's an every weekend thing," he says. Having a permanent show, "it's like going to work at a regular job."

Wallace has been doing stand-up comedy for 32 years. Twenty-seven of those years he spent traveling through the nation's airports taking his routine across the country, like a traveling salesman hawking his product in America's concert halls and nightclubs.

"Las Vegas was the ultimate goal when I was coming up," Wallace says. "Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, they had shows here all year long."

While Wallace knows he could make more money on the road because he would be playing in larger theaters and to bigger audiences, he says it's not like he isn't making money here in Las Vegas.

"I make enough money to enjoy it. And it's comfortable to sit down. You don't have to travel and go through all the airports. It's rough on the body," Wallace says.

Plus, Las Vegas is a great town for material. "You can have some fun here," he says.

"We have 24 Hour Fitness Centers. Look at the sign on the door. It says open from 6 a.m. to midnight," he says.

And Wallace is not afraid to joke about other local shows.

"We got a $100 million magic show," Wallace says, referring to magician Criss Angel's show "Believe" at Luxor. "For $100 million, I better not see no rabbits out of a hat. I want to see it come out your (expletive)."

While the local jokes are plenty, Wallace still gets most of his material from CNN and USA Today. National jokes appeal to the broader audiences Las Vegas comedians appear before, he says.

For Anderson, he says he not only benefits from North American tourists coming to Las Vegas, but also from those folks coming here from around the world.

In recent years, Anderson's cartoon show "Life with Louie" has been playing overseas. Now international tourists visiting Las Vegas are coming to his show. "It's really cool. I don't know if I would have had the opportunity to see those people on the road, unless I went overseas," he says.

Having a permanent show also enables comedians to be a part of the community, Wallace says. The comedian has immersed himself in local charitable efforts including the Andre Agassi Foundation.

Even though he has been here for years, Wallace still finds it funny when people ask him why he's dining out at a local restaurant, whether it's Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ or El Pollo Loco. "I'm (expletive) hungry," he says.

Meanwhile, even these comedic mainstays are feeling the pinch of the faltering economy.

"Vegas hasn't been this bad in 30 years," Wallace says. "Everybody's feeling the crunch."

Wallace is combating it by increasing his marketing efforts, including appearances on television shows "Chelsea Lately" and the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

Anderson has a different approach to smaller audiences: "I'm thinking of doing the show from my living room," he says.

The problem with that idea is "you can't get the people to leave when the show's over and they're always putting their feet up on the living room table," Anderson adds.

Joking aside, Anderson admits there has been a drop in ticket sales, "but it's not as bad as what I've heard other people are experiencing."

"I think Vegas will suffer for a little while, but as the economy gets better, ticket sales will go back up," Anderson says. "I think Vegas needs to keep doing all we can to encourage people to come here."

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.