Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.
Tom Papa isn't about to let Hollywood break his spirit.
Lesser comedians would likely still be grousing had they endured what he did last summer, when the plug was abruptly pulled on his NBC sitcom, "Come to Papa," just weeks after the series debuted in June.
Instead of pointing fingers or bad-mouthing network execs for the show's demise, Papa -- who performs Saturday as part of "The Hollywood Comedy" tour at the Palms -- has picked himself up and is planning to climb back on the proverbial horse.
The New Jersey native, who lives in New York and Los Angeles with his wife and toddler daughter (the couple are expecting another child in May), says for now he plans to remain on the West Coast, where he's already crafting ideas for his next television project.
"It was a real positive experience. It was a lot of fun, and that's why I'm staying in L.A., because we're trying to make the next one," Papa said during a recent call from Phoenix, where he was providing the entertainment for a private corporate event.
Besides starring in "Come to Papa," the comedian also co-created, wrote and produced the show, which was loosely based on his real life and stand-up material. It followed his aspiring-comedy-writer character who worked as a newspaper reporter and interacted with his family.
For four weeks the series aired as part of NBC's "Must-See Thursday" prime-time lineup. "The only thing I could have asked for is if it was on for about eight more years than it was," he laments.
Wearing so many hats behind the scenes, however, "was a lot of work," he concedes. "In the middle of it, I didn't feel like it was that much pressure, but my eye was quietly blinking on its own, so I think there was pressure, but I think I was able to handle it OK."
Though "Papa" began its short run with decent ratings, he says a "regime change" at the network ultimately led to its cancellation.
"There was a new president of NBC put in ... and it was kind of a changing of the guard in the middle of our little show -- they couldn't keep it going," he insists, explaining, "It was kind of out of our hands."
Still, the cancellation hardly marked the end of his world.
"Listen, my show was on for four weeks in the summer. It wasn't like it came out in the fall and had all these big expectations and then it failed. It was kind of this quiet, more personal thing," Papa, 37, says. "It definitely stung ... but the advantage of being a comedian rather than an actor is that you have such a thick skin from performing and bombing."
Stand-up comics, he contends, are "very resilient, otherwise they couldn't be comedians. So then, when you're dealt with the rejection of a TV show it's like, 'All right, that's OK.' You take the hit, you shake it off and you're back performing (comedy). I was performing the night that I knew (the series) wasn't going on."
Papa got his start in standup 11 years ago when, fresh out of college, he hit New York's open-mike scene. He went on to write bits that his buddy Colin Quinn used while hosting "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live." In 2001, Papa starred in his own stand-up special on Comedy Central.
In recent years, he has toured as the opening act for another pal, Jerry Seinfeld, with whom he's performed twice at Caesars Palace. The pair are scheduled to play a pair of East Coast dates next week.
Seinfeld "was very helpful" during "Come to Papa's" short run, Papa says. "Really, if they hadn't gone through that change at NBC, we probably would have been able to follow his advice of just making things very funny and letting the rest take care of itself."
Papa, who had a role in the 2002 comedy "Analyze That," prides himself on his ability to work clean, with jokes about married life and fatherhood among the everyday topics that compose the bulk of his act.
"It's easy to be dirty, and it's very titillating and you can get some cheap, easy laughs that way," he says. "But I always felt from watching comedians, the guys who really made me laugh took the harder road.
"If you're able to make people laugh from that material, and you're not depending on cheap energy, or you're not depending on saying (expletive deleted) every other word and you're getting laughs, then you're creating a comedy that's a lot more potent. It's a lot stronger and it can play everywhere."
Though, he says, he has comedian friends who favor foul language in their acts, "For me, it's not who I am, and I wanna play for everybody. I never wanna walk into a room and have to ask, 'How long do you want me to (perform) and how clean do I have to be?' Those are two obstacles I'm not interested in."
Especially since he takes to the road for gigs "pretty often" (at least a couple of weekends each month), and makes the rounds regularly at comedy clubs in Los Angeles and New York.
"The only reason I want to do a television show is so more people will come see my live shows," he insists.
While sitcoms may come and go, "You can never take away my stand-up -- it's impossible, no matter what you do," Papa contends. "I can write my jokes, I can go onstage and I can blow a room away, and they can't take that away ever."
Out for laughs
Comedian Joe Rogan, host of NBC's gross-out reality show "Fear Factor," is set to play House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on March 25. Tickets range from $20 to $32.
"Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again," the follow-up to the wildly popular "Blue Collar Comedy Tour," premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday on Comedy Central (Cox cable channel 56). Ron White, profiled in Laugh Lines last December, rejoins Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall (of WB's "Blue Collar TV") onstage for another round of redneck-inspired laughs.
Vic Dunlop headlines the "It's a Rap Comedy Time" show at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight and Saturday at Rampart Casino. Comic Keith Nelson is also on the bill.
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