Comedian’s alien act morphed after gig as Klingon

Towering at 7 feet tall and equipped with a crude sense of humor, Mark Weitz’s Halloween spirit shines year-round.

The Spring Valley resident performs full-time as the Alien Warrior Comedian at venues, competitions and festivals across the nation.

“A comedian is really an observer of everything,” Weitz said. “You notice details and things that people just miss in their day and don’t give a second thought to. The day you start comedy, life changes because you start paying attention to details.”

The science fiction enthusiast developed a love for aliens and monsters as a child by watching “Godzilla,” “Aliens” and “Outlander” with his father.

“Science fiction has always been part of my life. I’ve never grown out of it,” Weitz said. “When I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do in life, I thought about going down to the studios and being an effects artist because I wanted to work with monsters.”

As a teenager, Weitz developed a passion for stand-up comedy. He began attending open-mic events and comedy clubs during college and started doing stand-up in 1988.

“I saw Eddie Murphy when I was about 13, and that’s when I became obsessed with stand-up,” Weitz said. “I think that’s where it starts for a lot of us. We just see someone that is awesome and delirious, and it strikes something within us.”

In 1997, Weitz moved from California to Las Vegas when Star Trek: The Experience cast him to perform as a Klingon at the former Hilton, 3000 Paradise Road.

Weitz toyed with the idea of performing as an alien for years when he finally debuted the Alien Warrior Comedian on Oct. 31, 2006.

“I kept it very separate from Star Trek: The Experience,” Weitz said. “I wanted it to be my own franchise and my own ideas. We were very confined to the Star Trek universe at The Experience, but (the Alien Warrior Comedian) allowed me to really do things the way I wanted to.”

After performing as an improv alien with The Experience for nearly a decade, Weitz said transitioning into the Alien Warrior Comedian full-time was a natural progression.

“I’ve done improve jobs and played an alien for so many years now, I know how to jump right into character,” Weitz said. “Your mind is a muscle, so by working the mind and taking improv classes, you learn how to compose humor.”

Weitz was named a semifinalist twice in the World Series of Comedy and in the Riviera Comedy Club competition for a new Las Vegas headliner.

He also appeared on NBC-TV’s “Last Comic Standing” and performed locally at the National Atomic Testing Museum, 755 E. Flamingo Road, and Vegas on the Mic at Money Plays, 4755 W. Flamingo Road.

“He’s really a well-mannered, introverted kind of guy as he’s watching the acts and waiting to go on stage,” said Mike Ziethlow, founder of Vegas on the Mic. “Once he’s on stage, the personality really comes out, and he’s a crude, wise-cracking jerkwad from another dimension on a mission to crack up the room, and he really does it.”

Ziethlow said Weitz’s greatest attribute is the ability to stay in character and work the crowd.

“You have to be really witty and truly funny to work a crowd while in character,” Ziethlow said. “(Weitz) is a professional through and through. His word is good. His act is polished. He puts in more effort than the vast majority.”

Weitz spends most of his time trying to land gigs and developing his costume. Once he books an event, he said it takes him at least an hour to apply his mask and makeup and jump into character.

“People don’t know the work that goes into spending all day emailing a ton of people, then spending the time to put on all that makeup and wardrobe, then traveling to a show or open mic only to see five or 10 minutes of stage time,” Ziethlow said. “It’s a Sisyphean effort, but unlike Sisyphus, I believe (Weitz) is going places.”

The Alien Warrior Comedian is set to perform at 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at Sapphire Gentleman’s Club, 3025 S. Industrial Road, Suite 200.

For more information, visit aliencomedian.com.

Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.