Comedy John Lovitz takes a

John Lovitz takes a stab at stand-up

BY DESDEMONA BANDINI

Daily Titan Staff

He has an unmistakable face that draws you in. It feels familiar and approachable and just his name alone creates an anticipation of laughter.

He is John Lovitz, the man who created characters like Master Thespian and Hanukkah Harry during his fi ve-season run on "Saturday Night Live" and is the voice behind the animated character Jay Sherman (based on himself) in the TV show "The Critic."

He is John Lovitz, the movie star, who has appeared in movies such as “The Stepford Wives,” “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star,” “Rat Race” and “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curlyʼs Gold.”

Now, for the fi rst time ever, he is John Lovitz, the stand-up comedian.

Lovitz comes from a family of comedy prone doctors where he, his twin sister and three older sisters were raised in Encino, Calif. His father was one of the founding doctors of Tarzana hospital, and who loved to make people laugh and make prank phone calls to the hospital.

Lovitz was a typical Jewish kid from the San Fernando Valley and though most people in his family

Laugh Factory

John Lovitz makes his stand-up debut at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. His performances are every Wednesday at 8 p.m..

went on to become neurosurgeons and lawyers, he knew he wanted to his profession to involve the love of laughter that his family shared.

He studied theater at UC Irvine, was member of the Groundlings comedy troupe and not long afterwards found his way to New York and "Saturday Night Live" where he excelled and established his career as a professional funnyman.

Stand up comedy, however, is a completely new career move and something he has never tried before.

His buddy Norm Macdonald pitched him on co-headlining some stand-up gigs and soon Lovitz was offered a weekly gig at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood.

Currently, he is leaving his audience in stitches with his musical piano renditions of Beatles songʼs with lyrics he has replaced to explain how corn can cause odd bowel movements.

“The thing I like about stand-up is that I can sit around my piano (he has been playing piano since age 8) and write these lovely funny tunes about pooping and make fun of my friends and then share them as a gift to the world,” Lovitz said.

During his show he takes jabs at Republicans and Democrats and wonders out loud if John Kerry will have shot at a commercial future with Viagra like runner-up Bob Doyle did.

He laments about the horrors of going bald and fi nding grey pubic hairs comparing aging to decaying.

With that unmistakable face, he is able to manipulate his audience into fi nding the humor in his point of view.

Lovitz has often played the part of lecherous lothario, though he can count on his two fi ngers his big love scenes, the ones that were with Tia Carrere in "High School High" and Kim Basinger in "My Stepmother's an Alien."

“I am so sick of hearing these stars complaining about doing love scenes and sitting in bed all day with beautiful women," Lovitz said. "Give me a break. I will take that job any day.”

Lovitz was given advice about stand-up comedy from Johnny Carson, Seinfeld and Robin Williams.

“Get to the punch line in the jokes quicker. Try out what you think is funny to you," he said. "I am always fi nding humor in things and then it snowballs from there and ends up in my act. It is all about timing and the set-up leading to the punch line. Cut the fat and get to the jokes quicker.”

You can catch Lovitz hot new routine every Wednesday night at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood.