Monday, Aug. 8, 2005 | 8:18 a.m.
Dom Irrera is emphatic that he doesn't miss not having his own sitcom.
He's much too busy working on his stand-up material, he says, than to worry about headlining a pedestrian series in which, "my father dies and on his deathbed I promise him to stay home and care for my mother and the laundromat."
But a reality show in which the cameras trail the comedian's every step? That's something the 48-year-old comedian would consider.
"You can tell them to sign me up for that," Irrera said in a recent phone interview from a hotel room in Montreal.
"They would see a variety of things, from me having my eight meals a day to watching unlimited adult entertainment to keep my finger on the pulse of what's happening today."
Although Irrera jokes about having his own reality series, the six-time American Comedy Award nominee takes his comedic career seriously.
On a nationwide tour of comedy clubs, Irrera stops in Las Vegas for a weeklong gig beginning tonight at the Riviera Comedy Club. On the road, he works on new bits. And when taking a break from touring, he still stops by comedy clubs in Los Angeles to stay in practice.
"I remember Charles Barkley once said about (basketball), the game got easier for him," Irrera said. "From doing so much stand-up, and because I love it so much and practice so hard, it really has become easier.
"People always ask, How good are you?' I don't look at it like that. I like to look at it as, if I don't keep improving, I'll get worse."
Perhaps another driving force in Irrera's work ethic is the repugnant horror (and humor) he recalls about a string of jobs in his early years.
Landscaping. Parking cars. Waiting tables. Working construction. Even shoveling rocks from a driveway.
"I've had some (expletive) jobs," he said.
But by 1980, by working steadily in commercials, Irrera had enough savings to pursue his dream job of working as a stand-up comedian.
And in 1987 Rodney Dangerfield gave the young comic his first performance break on one of Dangerfield's "Nothing Goes Right" comedy specials on HBO.
It proved to be the national exposure Irrera needed to take his career to the next level.
Nearly a year after Dangerfield's death, Irrera still misses the veteran comic, who was as well known for his famous quip, "I don't get no respect," as he was for his generosity to up-and-coming comedians such as Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne, Robert Townsend and Sam Kinison.
"He meant a great deal to me personally," Irrera said. "He was always better to me than my own father was. It wasn't just in my career, it was him as a person. It was always, 'Kid what can I do for? What can I do for you?' I said, 'Rodney, you know what you can do for me? You can just be my friend. You've already done enough for me.' "
Irrera says he follows Dangerfield's example and tries to help struggling comedians as much as he can. Still, he acknowledges there will never be another entertainer as generous as his mentor.
"I've got friends who are movie stars and they wouldn't help you. These guys, they would hurt you before they would help you," he said. "They don't put you in their movies because they don't want you in their movies."
Not that Irrera is hurting for work in film and television.
The Philadelphia native's resume has had don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-him parts in "Big Lebowski" and "Hollywood Shuffle," as well as guest spots on "Seinfeld," "The Drew Carey Show," "The King of Queens," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Home Improvement," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist."
Irrera also has just finished voice work as Duke the Dog in Nickelodeon's animated film, "Barnyard," due out Thanksgiving. And he can be seen, along with many top comics, in "The Aristocrats," which opens in wide release Aug. 26.
Directed and produced by Paul Provenza and executive produced by Penn Jillette, "The Aristocrats" is a documentary-style film that casually analyzes an age-old joke among comedians that's as much improvised jazz as crude yarn.
Filled with enough foul language to make Ozzy Osbourne blush, "The Aristocrats" has already met with controversy, including the AMC theater chain's refusal to show the film.
Irrera said the negative press is only going to help the movie's appeal, as curious moviegoers will want to know what all the fuss is about.
"It makes it more controversial and more appealing in a kind of taboo way," he said.
The veteran comedian tells his version of the joke in the movie and acknowledges using the bit in a Showtime special more than a decade ago; however, "The Aristocrat" is not a joke Irrera would spring on audiences today.
"They never laugh at the punchline because they really don't get it. It's really a comedian's joke," he said. "I guess the movie has a way of translating it to regular people.
"It's really a joke about jokes in that sense."
archive
