Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 8:43 a.m.
There's a fine line between becoming a household name and ending up overexposed.
Ron White is navigating that tightrope as best he can -- most importantly, without spilling a drop of aged scotch from the trademark glass he clutches onstage.
In the last three years White has soared from relative stand-up obscurity to being one of the hottest comics in the country, courtesy of a little phenomenon called "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour," which gave redneck humor the kick in the Wranglers it required to join the ranks of mainstream comedy.
The tour -- which ran from 2000 through 2003, and also featured Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall -- last year spawned a movie and a million-plus-selling DVD of the same title; the follow-up DVD, "Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again," was released this week.
In July the sketch-comedy series "Blue Collar TV" debuted on the WB network. The hit show stars the aforementioned threesome (White is not a regular cast member, though he occasionally guest stars).
"I'm shocked," White says of "Blue Collar's" success. These days he's reaping the benefits, and makes his Las Vegas headlining debut tonight with a pair of shows at Mandalay Bay Theatre (where Larry the Cable guy performed last weekend, as part of the National Finals Rodeo-themed entertainment offerings; Engvall takes the stage Saturday at Stardust).
Flying solo suits Texas-bred White just fine: His live shows have sold out in cities around the nation, including a performance this year in Minneapolis, where 1,000 tickets were snatched up within two minutes of going on sale.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta resident's 2003 comedy CD, "Drunk in Public," sold more than 300,000 copies. His DVD, "They Call Me Tater Salad," has sold upwards of 400,000 copies since its June release.
"It just continues to snowball," White said during a recent call from inside his tour bus, parked "somewhere in Virginia." "Towns I've never heard of, I'm selling just beaucoup records and tickets. It's fun."
This from the guy who scoffed when his buddy, "Blue Collar" mastermind Foxworthy, initially presented the idea for the tour. "I said, 'That's retarded. There's no room in a show for four comedians.' "
On the other hand, "Foxworthy has always been frustrated with my work ethic," White says. "I told him the other day that I'm sure glad I didn't try any harder because I wouldn't have gotten any further."
In January, White is scheduled to return to Las Vegas to tape "Ron White: Live from Las Vegas," a comedy special for the WB. A hotel from which to base the production has yet to be announced.
The special is set to air in February and will serve as the pilot for a series starring White. If it's picked up by the network for a minimum 13-episode run, he'll return to town to tape the installments.
The scotch-sipping, cigar-smoking comic (he recently abandoned cigarettes) spent several years opening shows for Foxworthy at the Las Vegas Hilton, and previously performed at The Improv at Harrah's and Riviera Comedy Club.
"I just have a good time in Vegas," he says, "and I guess that's what the show is gonna kind of personify. The theme is gonna kind of be, 'Live wrong.' "
Do not, however, expect a carbon copy of "Blue Collar TV." White, who will maintain the bulk of the creative control, says his show will be comprised of "a lot of man-on-the-street stuff," as well as music and even some animated segments.
Network bigwigs, he explains, "were willing to give me whatever I wanted -- and they may have given me too much."
White assures he won't tweak his R-rated repertoire too much in an effort to please TV censors: "We're not gonna tone me down a bit. It's not gonna be for everybody."
This won't be the comedian's first foray into television: Last year he shot a sitcom pilot for the Fox network called "Senor White," which was based on his former life as a pottery factory owner in Mexico.
"It was as funny a little piece of film as you've ever seen," he says. The show was scrapped, however, before it had a chance to air.
White is confident his Vegas special "could do really well" as a series, "but I really don't harbor any illusions that just because something is a good idea means it's gonna stick on TV. Or, just because it's a bad idea doesn't mean it won't get on TV."
The worst-case scenario: "We shoot something I don't like and (network execs) decide to buy 22 episodes of it. Then I gotta do it all year long, making less money than I make doing stand-up."
That's the last thing White wants to happen, especially since he's successfully transitioned from playing small comedy clubs to headlining large venues. "I know a lot of guys who never made the leap, and they were hilarious, so I really feel lucky," he says.
"And at the same time, I also had the goods. The (act) was always really strong. A lot of times, somebody will get their big break and they don't have the show to back it up ... You've gotta be ready for it, if it ever happens. And, fortunately, I had a show people like to watch."
Contrary to popular opinion, White contends that, "My comedy is really not all that blue-collar," though he won't argue with fans who may think differently: "Just keep buying tickets and records."
Also, "I can't do anything about this voice," he concedes of his Texas drawl. "So, people are always gonna peg me as Southern. But if you listen to the content on the record, it's really not that Southern, I don't think."
White -- a former drug-abuse counselor and one-time window salesman, who broke into comedy in the mid-'80s -- says he is "desperately" writing new material for his stand-up act.
"I try not to do anything off 'Blue Collar,' " he insists, but knows he'd be in a heap of trouble with fans if he failed to include his signature "Tater Salad" bit (about an unlikely alias that once appeared on his arrest record) and "Drunk in Public" story during shows.
"The bottom line is, I think people want to see me do some of these jokes again ... so you do some of it. You try to keep it fresh and just do the best show you can. I think the show's in really good shape right now."
As is White, who appears to be taking his newfound fame in stride. "I started living like a Kennedy, that's what I did," he quips.
"I'm glad it happened to me now, at 47 years old, because if it'd happened at 37, it'd be over with already. I've always been a little bit on the wild side, and maybe I'm a little less wild now; it depends on who you ask. But if you ask me -- and I would know -- I would tell you I'm a lot more calm now."
Out for laughs
Look for Dom Irrera -- profiled last year in Laugh Lines, and who headlines at Riviera Comedy Club Monday through Dec. 17 -- to lend his talents to a pair of upcoming features films, including the animated comedy "Barnyard"; and "Behind the Smile," directed by "My Wife and Kids" star Damon Wayans.
On "The Problem is You," the DVD starring "Last Comic Standing" alum Corey Holcomb, which dropped in June, the funny guy riffed on such topics as dating and marriage. Catch Holcomb (aka "The Ghetto Dr. Phil") when he shares the stage tonight and Saturday at Monte Carlo with fellow "LCS" contestants John Heffron and Tammy Pescatelli.
The Comedy Stop at The Trop closes shop Sunday through Dec. 24. The club reopens Dec. 25 with comics John Fox, Kathleen Dunbar and Kevin Knox on the bill.
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