Ex-Las Vegan Kimmel cavorts on ‘The Man Show’

Wednesday, June 16, 1999 | 9:38 a.m.

So, former Las Vegan Jimmy Kimmel, got any zany anecdotes about your days growing up in Sin City?

"There was the time me and a bunch of friends got arrested."

For real?

"Yeah, with a fire extinguisher ..."

A fire extinguisher?

"... on the Strip."

Don't tell me.

"... spraying people from a car."

Oh, no.

"... A cop saw us, pulled us over, read us the riot act for two hours, telling us how dangerous it was."

He was right, right?

"It was just filled with water. No damage done. Just got a few people wet."

Those were the days, eh?

"Las Vegas was a lot smaller back then. You could cruise the Strip a lot easier, get away with a lot more."

These days Kimmel has grown up, at least biologically. He's 31, an Emmy winner and cornerstone for two shows on Comedy Central. He's become easily recognizable as a the quirky right-hand man to Ben Stein on the game show "Win Ben Stein's Money," for which he and Stein shared a 1999 Emmy for best game show host.

And tonight the Kenny Guinn Junior High and Clark High School grad joins co-host Adam Carolla to unveil the subtle-as-a-sack-of-cement "The Man Show," which follows "South Park," at 10:30 p.m.

As the show's title suggests, "The Man Show" is an unabashed tribute to testosterone, adding to a growing TV trend that also includes FX's "The X Show." For any guy who has suffered snicker spasms while watching the Three Stooges, "Blazing Saddles" or Benny Hill, "The Man Show" is truly must-see TV.

The format has Carolla (from MTV's "Loveline") and Kimmel anchored in a studio in front of a live audience, and both introduce segments dedicated to cliched, hackneyed, man-related topics.

Examples: Kimmel and his young son Kevin star in a recurring segment called, "Father and Son with Jimmy and Kevin Kimmel," in which father shares life lessons with his impressionable child.

"Kevin, what's eight plus three?" Kimmel asks. His son happily answers, "Eleven, daddy."

"And what do you when the dealer has a six?" Kimmel asks in a lilting voice.

"You double down, daddy!" Kevin says.

"That's right, son," a positively beaming Kimmel says.

There's a feature called, "Man-O-Vations," inventions developed by and for men, such as World Wrestling Federation books on tape and the automated affection phone, which men can use to appease angry wives or girlfriends by merely pressing a button for a recorded response such as "I'm sorry honey" and "Of course I love you."

One of the show's more involved segments has Kimmel and Carolla portraying movie critics in a skit entitled "Movies Men Don't Want to See."

Targeted faux films include "Broken Quills," in which Robbie Benson portrays a calligrapher whose life crumbles when he's stricken with carpal tunnel syndrome, and "Going, Going ... Gone," starring Charles Durning as an auctioneer suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The show begins and ends with the same bits every week. Every episode is ushered in by the man billed as "The Fastest Beer Drinker in the World," Bill "The Fox" Foster, who plays the piano and energetically throws back a couple of drafts as the crowd cheers.

And each show concludes with the program's dance troupe, the Juggy Dance Squad, bounding around on trampolines. In between there's a "Manologue," "Household Hints from Adult Film Stars," "Get to Know Your Juggies" and "Great Moments in Stupidity."

"It's an answer to Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters and political correctness in general," Kimmel said during a recent phone interview from Los Angeles. "It's what Adam and I think is funny and it translates to men everywhere."

The show's very premise is certain to repel a full 50 percent of the viewing audience. There is nothing to be found anywhere at any time on "The Man Show" that would appeal to women.

No matter.

"If we can get half of the population, we'll be in good shape," Kimmel said. "We're targeting one half and offending the other."

Kimmel lived in Las Vegas between the ages of 9 and 18. When he was in high school, he became interested in radio broadcasting and conducted a weekly interview show on UNLV radio station KUNV.

"I'd interview local celebrities, when I could get them," he said. "I'd interview the hairstylist to the stars, the dry cleaner to the stars, anyone I could get. My big 'get' was Ben Stepman. That was a big moment for me."

After graduating from Clark High School in 1985, Kimmel spent a year at UNLV and worked as a disc jockey for KYRK 97-FM.

"I was doing characters voices, like Mike Tyson, Karl Malone, Snoop Doggy-Dogg," he said. "One person who worked there, Anthony Miles, really helped guide me and get my start. If there was one person in Las Vegas who really helped me, it was him."

After a year at UNLV, Kimmel transferred to Arizona State, then embarked on an odyssey of FM radio stations in the western United States. He worked in Tempe, Ariz., Tampa, Fla., Palm Springs, Calif., Tucson, Ariz., and, finally, Los Angeles.

"I was fired several times," Kimmel said, laughing. "The problem was usually content."

He found his footing in L.A. at KROQ 106.7-FM, working for five years as a morning personality. He also spent two years as the television spokesman for the Fox network in Los Angeles, where the creators of "Win Ben Stein's Money" took notice and invited Kimmel to audition as Stein's co-host.

"Me and Ben hit it off immediately, even though we're really different types of people," Kimmel said. "He's smart, distinguished, and he hangs out at Morton's (Steakhouse). I can't even get past the dress code at Morton's."

Kimmel, in his third year on the show loosely modeled after "Jeopardy" -- but with a much more sardonic attitude -- plans on staying with "Win Ben Stein's Money," even with his duties on "The Man Show."

"They don't want me to leave," Kimmel said. "They don't want anything to change. It's too successful to mess with. But there is a major commitment to 'The Man Show.' "

Comedy Central has committed to 22 episodes and given Kimmel, Carolla & Co. a choice time slot following the hugely popular "South Park."

"Most shows usually get six (episodes)," Kimmel said. "You're lucky if you get 13. It's a big commitment."

Kimmel says he visits Las Vegas frequently and often mentions the city in sarcastic asides on "Ben Stein" and plans on further odes to Las Vegas on his new show. One segment on an upcoming "The Man Show" features Kimmel and Carolla in a bit entitled "How To Eat at a Buffet."

Kimmel is an expert in the field.

"My family lived at the Stardust buffet, at $2.39 a plate," Kimmel said. "My dad would look at my plate and if I had mashed potatoes he'd yell at me. Salads were a real no-no and I can remember my dad yelling, 'Forget the lettuce! That's where they make their money! Go for the prime rib, man!' "

Many of Kimmel's Las Vegas memories center around his so-so academic career. He's happy to have the last laugh, in more ways than one.

"All of my teachers at Clark High always said I was too smart to be doing stupid stuff," Kimmel said, laughing. "Well, I've got bad news. You're all wrong."

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