Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 5:07 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION Dec. 6 - 7, 2003
Comedian Robert Klein has been a familiar face on television and stage and in films for the past 38 years, a tireless performer who glides smoothly from one venue to another.
In March the 61-year-old native of the Bronx, N.Y., will co-star with Judith Light in a new CBS television series, "The Stones," about a couple who divorce after 25 years of marriage but continue to live in the same house, which they share with their adult children.
Klein has appeared in two recent films, "How to Lose a Guy in Ten days" (2003) and "Two Weeks Notice" (2002).
He is also putting the final touches on a book for Simon & Schuster. He is preparing for his eighth HBO comedy special, and he keeps a busy schedule performing stand-up around the country.
Three years ago Klein was asked to be a spokesman for the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and its fight against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which afflicts 24 million Americans -- Klein among them.
COPD, better known as chronic bronchitis or emphysema, primarily affects smokers. Klein, a former smoker, has a relatively minor affliction of COPD, compared to victims who must carry tanks of oxygen with them.
Monday, Klein will deliver the keynote address at the AARC's 49th International Respiratory Congress at Las Vegas Convention Center. At 2 p.m. Tuesday he will visit the American Lung Association's Better Breathers Club at 1701 N. Green Valley Pkwy. in Henderson to discuss COPD. The public is welcome.
During a recent telephone interview from his apartment in New York City, Klein discussed his career and his fight against a condition that is the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States.
Las Vegas Sun: How did you get your start in show business?
Robert Klein: I started with Second City in Chicago in March 1965, working with people like Fred Willard and Peter Boyle.
Sun: When did you first perform in Las Vegas?
RK: I opened for Barbra Streisand at the Hilton in 1970. It was very exciting, my first real money gig. She and Elvis were kings of the hill, making $125,000 a week. I was the hot kid from the Improv in New York.
Sun: You've had such a diverse career. What is your preferred medium?
RK: Stand-up is my bread and butter. I'm working on my HBO special No. 8. I did the first one ever in 1975, "Robert Klein on Campus," when there were only a few hundred thousand homes that had HBO.
John O'Conor, of The New York Times, saw it as a significant event. I did my act without worrying about language. I did "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson 82 times and had endless conversations with his producer, Freddy De Cordova, about language. On HBO you have the privilege of practically saying whatever you want.
Sun: Who inspired you?
RK: Lenny Bruce and Jonathan Winters. Bruce couldn't get a job, and now what he did onstage seems tame, almost graceful.
I met Jonathan Winters recently for the first time and got to spend five hours with him. It was at an art gallery in Beverly Hills where his pictures were on display. We went across the street to Hamburger Heaven and talked. He was absolutely delightful, but he has a lot of underlying anger.
Sun: Would he have been as creative without the anger?
RK: Tennessee Williams, in a preamble to "The Glass Menagerie," said he was thankful for all of his neuroses, because they were the sand in the oyster.
Sun: Do most entertainers have issues they are trying to cope with?
RK: There is a lot of that in this business. When I was a teenager I saw comedian Jack E. Leonard perform at Basin Street East in New York. After the show I followed him into a restaurant -- he sat by himself at the counter, so lonely.
And Sarah Vaughan. I opened for her at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago. She was so elegant, so impeccable, and after the show she sat alone at the bar.
Sun: You don't seem to have time to be lonely. Do you have high hopes for your new TV series?
RK: It's a nice opportunity for me. In March we will be following "King of Queens" on Wednesdays, splitting the season with "Becker."
Sun: A couple of years ago you were on the short-lived series "Bob Patterson" with Jason Alexander. In 1993-'96 you were one of the stars on "The Sisters." Why haven't you done more television?
RK: All my career I've avoided getting too involved in series because I didn't think anything could be as good as "Sgt. Bilko" or "The Honeymooners."
Sun: What has changed?
RK: I think one of the exciting prospects about a hit sitcom is that everything changes. Not a lot of people were standing in line to see Ray Romano before his series, "Everybody Loves Raymond," became a hit. Now, he sold out Carnegie Hall.
Sun: You're in Las Vegas to focus attention on COPD. Tell us about your respiratory ailment.
RK: Ten years ago I went in for a checkup and the doctor discovered a small amount of irreparable damage to my lungs. I had been an on-again, off-again smoker -- a couple of packs a day -- for 20 years. I haven't had a cigarette now in 13 years, but I have to keep vigilant all the time.
Sun: How serious is your condition? Is it debilitating?
RK: I don't feel it, usually. I work out with a trainer to stay healthy. On occasion, maybe in the middle of a sentence, I have to take an extra half breath. Some victims can't walk a block, and they think it's normal.
Sun: What is your prognosis? Has it dramatically affected your life?
RK: There's a chance that it could get worse, but it has stabilized over the past 10 years. The important thing is that I not smoke.
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