Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Many moons since ‘Night,’ Havey recalls talk show

Lisa Ferguson

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 8:51 a.m.

Before "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "Ellen," "The Wayne Brady Show" and "Dennis Miller," there was "Night After Night."

Although Allan Havey's name never quite attained the household status enjoyed by some other comedians-turned-talk-show hosts, he garnered plenty of fans from 1989 through '92 while serving as a co-creator/producer/writer and host of "Night After Night" on the Comedy Channel (in the midst of a merger with the rival Ha! network in 1990, when it became Comedy Central).

The premise of the late-weeknight show: Havey sat on a relatively bare-bones set before its trademark studio "Audience of One" member, chatting about current events and the goings on in his life between comedy clips, spoofed commercials and other wacky segments. Then he'd interview such wide-ranging guests as fellow comics Jerry Seinfeld and Lily Tomlin; filmmaker Michael Moore; actors Kevin Pollak and Daniel Stern; musicians Willie Nelson and B.B. King; and rapper Tupac Shakur.

"Looking back on it, I thought we did test some new ground there," Havey, who headlines through Sunday at The Improv at Harrah's, said during a recent call from his Santa Monica, Calif., home. "Comedy Central -- then the Comedy Channel -- gave us total creative freedom, especially at the beginning. We didn't feel we had a lot of people watching, so we really went all out and had a ball."

By "we," Havey refers to the entire "Night After Night" crew, whom he credits for making it a "unique" show. "We had the best writers," he says, including his sidekick/emcee Nick Bakay, who went on to voice Salem the cat on sitcom "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," as well as write for ESPN and CBS' "The King of Queens."

Despite developing a solid following during its run, the plug was eventually pulled on "Night After Night" in what Havey suggests was "a political move" on the part of Comedy Central. "The ratings were going up; it was getting great press. I think the new people that were taking over Comedy Central wanted a new slate."

A dozen years after its demise, Havey says he is still greeted by "Night After Night" fans. "To this day, I have 'Audience of One' members and people writing my Web site (www.allanhavey.com) and saying how much the show affected them, how much they loved it. It's really a source of pride."

Nevertheless, Havey insists neither he nor the show "paved the way" for any of the comic-helmed gab fests that have followed. "I don't think I broke any ground in talk shows ... A lot of people got a kick out of it, and I think it was a unique show, and I don't think there's a show on today like that show was."

Of course, if given the opportunity, he says he would jump at the chance to replicate it. "If Comedy Central called me tomorrow and said, 'Come back and do "Night After Night," ' I'd be there in a heartbeat," he says. "I could bring back a few of the same writers. It would work as well today as it did 12 years ago."

That's not to imply St. Louis-born/Miami-bred Havey has nothing but time on his hands. After 23 years in the business, he calls himself "a respected veteran of stand-up comedy," having gotten his start in New York as part of a comedy duo called Two For Nothing. In the early '80s he struck out on his own, and in 1984 was cast on "The New Show," a short-lived comedy series produced by Lorne Michaels of "Saturday Night Live" fame.

In '86, Havey made his first of nine performances on David Letterman's NBC and CBS late-night shows (his most recent appearance was last year). By then his acting career was under way; he's enjoyed roles in such big-screen flicks as "Rounders" and "Knockaround Guys," as well as on television's "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Most recently, Havey played several characters on six episodes of MTV's prankster series "Punk'd," pulling the wool over the eyes of such celebs as songstress Brandy, supermodel Tyra Banks and "American Pie" siren Shannon Elizabeth.

"They needed a guy that was angry, so they got me," he explains of portraying a police officer, lawyer and a film-commission representative, among others, on the show created by actor Ashton Kutcher. "It worked out well, so once they knew I had a talent for messing with people's heads, they shot as many as they could."

Havey, who was twice nominated for Cable Ace awards for a pair of HBO stand-up specials, says stand-up comedy remains closest to his heart. He takes to the road for gigs about 12 weeks each year. "Even when I was doing 'Night After Night,' I was working five days and nights a week (on the talk show); on the weekends I would still do stand-up ... It was just a great, creative time in my life."

These days, his act touches on "some topical stuff. It's mostly just (about) trends in society that are happening" -- typically items that ruffle his personal feathers, such as the smoking ban on beaches near his home. "It's usually the angry stuff that works over the funny stuff."

"Stare into the Sun: The Best of Allan Havey Volume One," recorded last year in Washington, D.C., is the title of the comic's recently released first CD. After two decades in the biz, "I just felt it was time" to produce a disc, he says. "There's not really a great market for comedy CDs, but I felt I wanted to get some stuff down on record that I was proud of."

That pride is what has kept Havey (who says he's "in my 40s and holding") from participating in such shows as NBC's "Last Comic Standing," which he contends has "kind of tainted" stand-up comedy as an art form.

While he won't knock young comics -- grasping at better visibility and bigger paychecks -- for auditioning for the reality series, he does say, "It's kind of idiotic to be like Miss Arkansas and have them call your name" as a contestant. "I've been doing this too long to let myself get into a situation like that."

Instead, Havey says he's content "just to keep doing stand-up and writing" his material, witty essays (several of which are posted on his Web site) and screenplays he says he hopes to someday sell. Penning the latter, he says, is "hard work" compared to the former.

"The thing is, I can write a joke this afternoon; I can go up (onstage) tonight or tomorrow night and see how the joke flies," he explains. With screenplays, "It takes awhile before you get any kind of positive feedback. So I've been spoiled over the years: I have instant reaction to what I do, which is kind of the juice and what I enjoy about being a stand-up."

Out for laughs

Dates for this year's Las Vegas Comedy Festival have been announced. The festival -- to feature a slew of comedy workshops, seminars and an awards banquet, as well as other events -- is set for Oct. 13 through Oct. 17 at Golden Nugget.

Many of the details are still being worked out, though according to the official Web site (www.lasvegascomedy festival.com), legendary comic and Laugh Lines friend Shelley Berman is scheduled to teach a pair of seminars. Meanwhile, at least two new awards will be handed out this year: The Diller (bestowed upon the female Comedy Club Standup Comic of the Year) and The Rodney (to the male counterpart).

Also, in conjunction with the festival, the Laugh Across America contest kicks off early next month. Auditions will be held in 15 cities in an effort to find the funniest amateur and pro comics in the Youth, Impersonators, Variety, Standup Pro-Am, Comedy Club Pick and Wild Card categories. The Las Vegas auditions will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at a venue to be announced. To register and for complete contest rules, visit the Las Vegas Comedy Festival Web site.

Paula Poundstone -- who chatted it up in this space on March 5 -- is set to guest tonight on "The Late Show with David Letterman," airing at 11:35 p.m. on Channel 8.

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