Friday, March 20, 2015 | 1:19 p.m.
Brad Garrett seems the quintessential club comic, the way he adroitly works the room from his own stage at MGM Grand. One of his more effective icebreakers: “Ma’am, the Titanic exhibit called. They have your luggage.”
But in Las Vegas, where he has performed for nearly 30 years, Garrett never worked a club until he opened his own.
“I was always lucky enough to play the big room, as an opener, and never did play the Riviera Comedy Club or the Comedy Store at the Dunes or any of those places,” he says.
Thus, Garrett was the warm-up act for such greats as Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra.
His stages were Celebrity Theater at Bally’s, the Crystal Room at Desert Inn and Circus Maximus at Caesars Palace. Years after he was an established TV star on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” he co-headlined with Ray Romano at the Mirage.
Today, Garrett is working the clubs as a comic and operator, slugging it out at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in the Underground at MGM Grand. This is the place he reliably reminds is “next to the pretzel stand and the magnet shop and across from Haagen Dazs,” references that are funny and accurate.
Garrett celebrates his third anniversary at MGM Grand the week of April 6-12, appearing with club vets Steve “Mudflap” McGrew and Quinn Dahle. The 300-seat room is typically filled when Garrett is onstage, and ticket prices are boosted whenever he’s in town.
Garrett also has reached an important milestone in his career with his new book, “When the Balls Drop: How I Learned to Get Real and Embrace Life’s Second Half.” Published by Simon & Schuster, the book is available for pre-order with online retailers such as Amazon.com and Target.com and is due for release May 4.
This tome is a self-assigned piece of homework that took Garrett 14 months to complete.
“Writing a book is really hard,” Garrett says. “It’s grueling. The book market is so tough right now.”
It would have been an easier task had Garrett recruited a writing partner. But he didn’t want his written rants to run through any filter.
The book is a mix of Garrett’s barbed humor and a genuine chronicle of what it feels like to enter midlife and how to deal with that reality.
“I wrote it like I rant. It’s edgy, honest; it’s an account of how I got to where I am and why I feel this way,” says Garrett, who turns 55 on April 14. “It’s a memoir talking about how I started in Las Vegas and what I was like and what my standup was like before I broke.”
And how does Garrett feel? It’s never a mystery.
“I’m a piss-timist, which is an pessimistic optimist with an attitude,” he says. “I’m a glass-half-empty kind of guy. I know that the glass really is half empty, it is not half full, and you have to be realistic about it. The glass is never going to be full again.”
This all makes perfect sense if you know Garrett, who carries the innate ability to elicit laughs while grousing about his spot in life. One of his heroes, Rodney Dangerfield, was a master at that craft.
“I’ve discovered, through the years, that I am a realist. I am not totally pessimistic,” he says. “I am consistently disappointed, yet sometimes pleasantly surprised.”
Garrett continues to perform across entertainment mediums, as his TV career was given a boost with his role in the FX series “Fargo.”
The show is entering its second season in September and the cast is stacked with Kirsten Dunst (“Spider-Man”), Jesse Plemons (“Breaking Bad”), Patrick Wilson (“The Conjuring”), Ted Danson (“Cheers”), Jean Smart (“The Brady Bunch Movie”), Kieran Culkin (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”) and Bokeem Woodbine (“Ray”).
Garrett has been cast as a heavy in the series, playing the role of Joe Bulo, the overlord for the northern expansion of an organized crime syndicate operating out of Kansas City. He is bringing a corporate mentality to Fargo, hoping to take control of the town.
Even as he conveys his angst, Garrett has to concede that his life is set up pretty good.
“I play the odds in life like I do when I gamble,” he says. “I know what to expect, but you know what? It’s good right now. The club is doing great, and I’m very excited to be coming back for the anniversary. It’ll be a great time.”
And if you’re in the club for those shows, be sure to enjoy a glass of your favorite beverage. Fill it to the top, even.
MGM Grand, a AAA Four Diamond resort, offers 5,044 rooms and suites.
MGM Grand features KÀ by Cirque du Soleil; Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club; and world-class entertainment at the Grand Garden Arena and Hollywood Theatre.
The resort offers signature restaurants by celebrity chefs including Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak, Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Fish House, Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill and Michelin three star and Forbes Five Star restaurant, Joël Robuchon.
As part of its ongoing “Grand Renovation,” MGM Grand has remodeled all rooms and suites in its main tower and is adding several new experiences to its lineup including Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub, a new upscale dining/nightlife concept (coming in April 2013).
MGM Grand also features a state-of-the-art, non-smoking conference center, the Grand Spa, Cristophe Salon, "CSI: The Experience" and an inviting pool complex featuring the tantalizing daylife of Wet Republic.
Upscale accommodations include The Mansion, an exclusive hotel within the hotel; the luxurious two-story SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand; and The Signature at MGM Grand, a luxury all-suite, non-gaming hotel located adjacent to the main resort.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy