Spade in Full

Kirk Baird

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 2:56 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

March 13 - 14, 2004

Who: David Spade.

When: Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.

Where: Danny Gans Theatre at The Mirage.

Tickets: $77.

Information: 792-7777.

The first question I was asked after telling someone I interviewed David Spade: "Is he a jerk?"

The answer is, no. He's friendly, good-natured and chatty.

But in defense of my friend who asked the question, to him and most of Spade's fans the lanky comic actor will always be that smarmy, tell-it-like-it-is cutthroat as seen on five seasons of "Saturday Night Live" and in a dozen or so movies.

That same acerbic persona will also be showcased when Spade takes the stage Friday and Saturday nights in the Danny Gans Theatre at The Mirage.

But as with most comedians, what you see onstage, on TV and in movies is only a portion of the puzzle.

There was that humbling and scary attack in November 2000 by Spade's 29-year-old personal assistant, David Molloy, who went after the comedian with a stun gun in a robbery attempt. Spade suffered minor injuries and Molloy was later arrested and charged with suspicion of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a stun gun.

More recently Spade has reined in his acidic humor for more family-friendly fare in the sitcom "8 Simple Rules." Spade plays C.J., the ne'er-do-well nephew of Cate Hennessy (Katey Sagal). Originally scheduled as a guest star on three episodes of the sitcom after the death of series star John Ritter, Spade's role went over so well that he signed on as a regular for the remaining season.

The Las Vegas Sun recently interviewed Spade as he was taking a break from filming.

Las Vegas Sun: Now that you've signed on for the rest of the season of "8 Simple Rules," is this something that could develop into a permanent role?

David Spade: Um, I would say, if we get picked up, yeah. I'm having a good time. I see no reason to leave unless we run out of stories, but right now we're coming up with some funny stuff.

Sun: Was there some hesitancy on your part in taking the role, considering the show's star passed away?

Spade: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, I knew John Ritter a little bit, he was an acquaintance ... and I knew of the show and I knew he was a big part of it. I didn't know what they would do. But when they continued it -- obviously, you have to go somewhere. I just did "Dickie Roberts" with kids and I thought that was kind of funny. For me it's something kind of new to bounce off of that people haven't seen. They're good actors. I thought the show was well-written, it's a sweet set and it's a little more of a family show, so why not shake it up a little bit?

It's turned out to be a good match for all of us. This show has been doing fine (and) in the past. But when "American Idol" came on, it's gone into the Witness Protection Program.

Sun: After hosting two award shows last year -- the Video Game Awards and the Teen Choice Awards -- is this a new career move?

Spade: Actually, I do less hosting than I should. It's usually pretty good money and pretty good exposure. There was a point where I turned down the Video Music Awards on MTV and co-hosting the Emmys because those things are hard to do well. And if you're a comedian, I've seen it backfire. It's a lot of work and a lot of stress.

Sun: So if the Academy Awards called you up and asked you to host, you would turn them down?

Spade: I don't know if I could pull that off. It would be really tough, that's a tough job. Billy Crystal had some nice moments, but I just think overall it was just dragging. You can't be funny for four hours.

I thought Steve Martin was my favorite on there. He had pretty much the highest percentage of great jokes. And they're hard. You've got to please the world. That's a billion people (who tune in). I'd rather please a comedy club.

Sun: You've been on Howard Stern's radio show numerous times. With his escalating war with the FCC, do you think he'll go off the air?

Spade: I heard him say things that I thought were kind of interesting. He said, according to indecency laws in radio, he's just not allowed to say seven words -- like the George Carlin's seven words you can't say. That's a law. The FCC is saying, here's what we say you can't say. And Stern's argument is, "Let's take it to court and whatever the court says I'll go along with." But if he takes the FCC to court they'll take him off of the air. He can't even get a fair fight. I thought that was a little odd.

I think Stern might eventually go off the air and go to XM Radio, which is kind of like cable, where he can just do whatever he wants, which probably makes him happy.

Sun: Are you concerned how this might affect you?

Spade: Well, look, I work on ABC. I can't say, "Dang!" I'm already in a tough spot. There's a lot of jokes I can't get out there. The fun of stand-up is there's no boss, it's really one of the reasons I still do it. It's the one place where I don't have to answer to anyone.

Sun: In your stand-up, you've always shied away from being political. Should comedians avoid being political?

Spade: I don't think they should, I think they could. I've gone this far in my career without having any opinions and I'm going to keep it that way. How can you say, "I think we should let illegal aliens across the border." You'd lose half your audience. Half of them agree and half of them hate you. And I don't want to do that ... so I keep my opinions to myself. My politics is basically what's the funniest joke.

Sun: Considering the attack on you by your former employee, are you more careful about about who you hire as a personal assistant?

Spade: I choose ones that I can take. Mine right now is a 100-pound girl. It'll be a good fight, but I think I'm gonna win.