Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 8:26 a.m.
Heath Hyche was born more than a few decades too late.
How else do you explain a 32-year-old comic who, in this day and age, goes against the mainstream by refusing to pepper his stand-up act with profanities and risque humor, opting instead to tip his hat to the quaint comedy of vaudeville's heyday?
"I think for me creatively, it's more of a challenge to make an entire room of 200 to 300 people laugh at something that's not blue," explains Alabama-born-and-bred Hyche, who performs his prop-laden shtick through Saturday at Palace Station's Laugh Trax.
Not that he takes issue with the questionable language and/or subject matter favored these days by most other comics -- it's simply not his style: "There's a way to embarrass someone into laughter, and there's also a way to create and show someone that you can laugh with a clean theme."
Hyche's theme is so clean, it practically squeaks. During most of his one-man performances, a brief monologue is followed by a cavalcade of character-driven bits that play out with gadgets and scenery he constructs in a workshop at his Los Angeles home.
There's the football-player puppet he straps to his chest ("It looks like I'm running a touchdown, and I have another puppet that comes up behind me and tackles me"); an evangelical preacher backed by an eight-member choir; a pair of dog-fighting, World War II flying aces; a "really bad Elvis impersonator"; and audience-favorite Dale, the "redneck NASCAR fan" who appears in the middle of a simulated race.
"I've been doing him so long, he's become a part of me and all Southerners," Hyche said during a recent call from his L.A. abode. "Once I get in that character and start speaking, he takes over and it's a fun ride."
Hyche's shows aren't as much stand-up as they are sketch comedy -- a throwback to the old vaudeville style of which he is a fan and a nod to his comedy hero, Red Skelton.
"You can still watch a videotape and laugh at things he's done," Hyche explained. "I thought, 'What a legacy that is to ... still get the laughs.' I thought, 'I would love to be able to do something like that.' "
Still, a lot about the world -- and comedy -- has changed since those days, forcing Hyche to work that much harder to gain acceptance and approval for his unusual style.
"I have said to people before, I may not be the most hilarious person speaking to you, but I know you'll leave saying, 'That was the most creative and entertaining thing I've ever seen.' I just try and bring everybody together through the scenery, the props, the wigs, glasses, costumes."
Performing comes naturally for Hyche, who studied theater at Alabama's Auburn University. That's where, 11 years ago, he won a campus-comedy competition (first prize was an audition at a Birmingham-area comedy club). After graduating in '93, he hit the road, playing at clubs throughout the southeastern United States.
These days he yuks it up at comedy clubs around the country and has developed something of a following with the help of his characters. Meanwhile, he continues to create and add new personas and props ("You would be surprised what you can make out of a humidifier") to his stable.
For the most part, Hyche steers clear of tackling topical humor.
"People made a whole comedy career out of Lorena Bobbit; people made a whole career out of O.J. Simpson. And when that's gone, you've got to start completely over. I would rather hone something over the years that's different."
Different enough that he hopes one day a Las Vegas casino mogul will offer him the opportunity to star in his own show at a local casino.
"Everywhere I go across the United States, when people see this show, they go, 'Have you been to Vegas? Have they seen you?' " says Hyche, who performs here several times each year. "I just need that one Steve Wynn to come out and see me and get the green light."
In the meantime, the thespian continues to pursue acting gigs during his comedy downtime. He moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and was quickly hired by funny lady-turned-sitcom-superstar Roseanne to appear on a sketch-comedy series which, unfortunately, failed to take flight.
Hyche has since appeared on the big screen ("Man on the Moon," "The Odd Couple II") and in several TV movies and sitcoms including "The Jeff Foxworthy Show" and "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place."
"I guess I've been fairly lucky -- I've done a pilot almost every year I've been out here, but they just haven't gone," he says. "My goal is to hit on the television side, a la Ray Romano or Kevin James, and then come back to Vegas and have my own theater."
Out for laughs
Golden Nugget's "Funnybone Comedy Showcase" offers up its last laughs on Dec. 20. The decision to discontinue the show -- which began earlier this year and features a trio of comedians in a pair of weekly performances -- was made some time ago, despite experiencing "a pretty good draw" of showgoers, especially in recent weeks, according to Dana Stern, entertainment coordinator at the hotel-casino. While she could not confirm that comic/magician Amazing Johnathan will soon take over the showroom space, Stern did not discount the idea of revisiting the comedy-club-style concept at the property in the future.
Meanwhile, Bil Dwyer takes the "Funnybone" stage tonight and Saturday. The Chicago native formerly hosted the Comedy Central series "Battlebots," and can be seen in frequent reruns of VH1's recent "I Love the '80s Strikes Back" special, musing about the unfortunate fashions, fads, foods, films and such that marked the decade.
Local comic Ron Shock headlines "Night of the Living Outlaws," a special performance tonight at 10:30 at The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana. Also on the bill: comedians Kenny Moore, Scott May, Jimmy Pineapple, Riley Barber and Steve Epstein. Tickets are $19.95 and include two drinks, tax and tip; call 739-2714.
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