Sitcom stardom eludes Irrera

Kirk Baird

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 9:31 a.m.

Dom Irrera is the sitcom equivalent of a bridesmaid.

He's appeared in numerous bit parts in half-hour prime-time shows "Seinfeld," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Becker" to name a few.

But when it comes starring in a series of his, the networks have yet to make the comedian an offer.

"Bruce Willis had an idea for a show for me and even pitched it to the networks. (The network) hired a set of writers but they didn't like the story," Irrera said recently from his hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla. "If Bruce Willis can't get you a sitcom, then ... "

Perhaps it doesn't say much when one of filmdom's most bankable stars can't get a sitcom developed for a friend. Then again, it also doesn't say much that Irrera is unable to get a deal on his own.

Appearing Saturday at Club Madrid at Sunset Station, the 48-year-old Irrera is a veteran of stand-up comedy. He's paid his dues, working his way up from the comedy scene in his hometown of Philadelphia.

In 1989 he won his first ACE (Awards for Cable Excellence) for Best Stand-Up Comedy Series or Special for his HBO special "One Night Stand." Six years later he won his second ACE in the same category for a series he hosted on Showtime, "Full Frontal Comedy."

He has also been nominated six times for the American Comedy Award's Best Male Stand-Up award.

Still, the networks would rather turn to the latest comedian-of-the-moment than a veteran such as Irrera.

Irrera, however, doesn't seem to mind being overlooked. There is always the chance that the show he and Willis developed about a lounge comic who becomes a cable-access star much to the consternation of the networks could be picked up and turned into a series.

And, Irrera insists, his lack of TV success so far is not an indication that he's a poor comedian.

Irrera knows he's funny, and he doesn't mind talking about who isn't.

David Spade, for example.

"A funny guy who's not really a good comedian," Irrera said.

And Damon Wayans, on whose ABC sitcom, "My Wife and Kids," Irrera briefly appeared. While funny, Wayans was not the easiest to get along with on the set, Irrera said.

"Damon is a bad guy," he said.

Irrera's candor is borne of a comedian who has been around long enough so that he no longer worries about what others think.

"What are they going to do to me?" he reasons.

And, truth be told, there is nothing comedians could do that Irrera hasn't already been through.

Example: Irrera had a brief feud with late Sun entertainment columnist Dick Maurice in the mid- to late-'80s. Irrera had unintentionally insulted Maurice during a backstage encounter at a show Maurice was reviewing. Maurice responded by shredding Irrera's performance.

"It had nothing to do with my show. He kept focusing on what I said to him," Irrera said.

The comic fired back at Maurice on a local TV show the following morning.

While the back-and-forth insults made for entertaining television -- fellow comedian and friend Richard Belzer later remarked to Irrera how funny it all played out, and what good publicity it had been for him -- to this day Irrera maintains he never intended to insult Maurice.

When asked if the ordeal had somehow taught him a lesson to be careful about what he says and how he acts onstage, Irrera shrugged off learning a moral to the story.

"I wish I was deep enough to think like that," he said.

Instead, the comic would rather focus on his career now, and the rewards it has given him -- with or without a TV show.

"I enjoy certain things," Irrera said, listing money, occasional recognition and the attention of attractive women.

"I have a beautiful French- Canadian girlfriend," he said with the not-quite-sure confidence of someone who knows they're fortunate enough to be dating above their league.

So, would he still be dating her if he wasn't a semi-famous comic with all the perks?

Irrera laughed. "No. Although she thinks I would. She says, 'I don't care about that.' Then she says she wants to go to Europe a lot."