Friday, March 25, 2005 | 8:32 a.m.
While many stand-up comics eventually make the transition to acting, Carol Siskind did the opposite in establishing her career.
More than two decades ago, while auditioning for an acting role in her native New York, "I met a girl who said she was a stand-up comedian, and it was like a light bulb moment for me because I was always in plays and doing that kind of thing, but I was always very funny," she recalls. "It just never occurred to me that I could do that" for a living.
Soon after, Siskind began taking the stages at off-Broadway comedy clubs.
"I went up without an act, and just would tell stories and people would laugh, and I was hooked."
During the storied '80s comedy boom, "I would do six, seven clubs a night," says Siskind, a Las Vegas resident who headlines Palace Station's Laugh Trax Tuesday through April 2.
She spent six years honing her skills in the Big Apple, performing at "little bars and piano bars and restaurants that had a microphone" before tackling bigger comedy clubs, where the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Bill Maher were regular performers.
"You could go from place to place just to get better at what you do," Siskind explained recently from her northwest Las Vegas Valley home. "I answered phones at The Improv during the day, and at night I seated people. So I got to watch all the really good acts, and then I would go on at 2, 3, 4 in the morning ... It was just such a great time."
One night, she says, she was spotted by a producer from "The Tonight Show" who was scouting New York clubs in search of comedic talent. "He said to me, 'You should be in L.A.,' " she recalls.
Siskind eventually made the move west, and Hollywood proved quite hospitable. She performed at area comedy clubs; on several televised stand-up series, including Fox's "Comic Strip Live," and Lifetime's "Girls Night Out"; appeared on a pair of Showtime specials; and guested seven times on "The Tonight Show."
"In one year, I might do 25, 26 television shows," she says. Siskind also landed small roles on episodes of "Baywatch" and "The Larry Sanders Show."
"They're still airing it," she notes of the 1994 "Sanders" installment, in which she played a woman who grew potatoes that bore resemblance to U.S. presidents. "I'm still getting residual checks. Isn't that hilarious?"
In the early '90s, the funny lady caught the attention of Bob Hope, who requested that Siskind appear on one of his final NBC comedy specials.
Though his advanced age had left the entertainment icon "a little shaky," Siskind recalls Hope's comedic timing remained in top form.
While holding a pose during a publicity photo shoot, she joked with Hope: "I leaned in and said, 'Do you think this would be a good time for me to ask you for a loan?' And without (missing) a beat he said, 'Oh, yeah, this would be the time.' He was very cute, very sweet."
Siskind briefly hit the road with Hope, performing at several private corporate and charity events in Branson, Mo., Washington, D.C., and Southern California, among others.
For a while Siskind made monthly sojourns to Los Angeles for work, even after moving to Las Vegas 11 years ago. She accepted a job performing at and booking other comedians to play Catch a Rising Star at MGM Grand. In the late '90s, she worked in a similar capacity at the defunct Carolee's Comedy Club at Buffalo Bill's in Primm.
"When you're booking other comedians, saying no to other performers is very difficult," she concedes, explaining why she didn't particularly enjoy those gigs. "Being in the position of having to reject somebody ... I know how hard it is to find work, so it was not really the most comfortable fit for me."
These days, the comedian performs her act almost exclusively in Las Vegas at private events, local comedy clubs and shows. Her material, which she describes as "a little neurotic," touches on a multitude of topics ranging from money and family relations to tattoos and reincarnation.
"I'm always writing" new jokes, she says, though not all of them find a place in her act. "You have to try it, and then you have to try it again, and then you have to try it again" in front of an audience, she explains. "Taking a pause, or adding a 'the' can make the difference in whether it works or not. You've gotta give it at least three or four tries before you chuck it."
Last year, Siskind (who declines to reveal her age) spent seven months serving as the opening act for one of her New York comedy buddies, George Wallace, in his show at the Flamingo Las Vegas.
"I'm still working with him, but he's started bringing some other friends in" to perform, she explains. "I was working five nights a week and now it's about two weeks a month ... which is fine in a way because it's great to have a steady gig, but it's also nice to take a breather."
In Siskind's years performing locally, she's watched the comedy scene evolve. "It used to be when I would come here, I would be lucky if I knew one other comedian in town," she contends, "so it's really great to see the progress and how many people are doing well" -- including another of her longtime pals, New York-New York headliner Rita Rudner.
"That's really why it's been good for me to be here," Siskind says of Las Vegas, "because there's so much local work for me."
In her spare time Siskind pens film scripts, mostly romantic comedies. "I've always had that as sort of my backdoor thing as opposed to acting which, to tell you the truth, the older you get the less (roles) there is available."
Her first effort was a script she co-wrote with actor Nathan Lane. "He and I were very close friends and still are but, you know, he's based in New York," which makes collaborating difficult, she explains.
Though she has yet to find a taker to purchase one of her screenplays ("I've been rejected by some of the biggest," she jokes), Siskind remains optimistic. "You just need to sell that one script, get that one film made."
Out for laughs
Bob Golub, who was profiled in Laugh Lines in June, sent a note informing us about plans to take his one-man show "Dodo" -- in which he portrays all of the members of his large Polish family -- on the road for performances this year. A movie version of the show is set to begin production this summer. Also this summer, look for Golub to appear in the flick "Art School Confidential," starring Steve Buscemi and John Malkovich.
The new Gallagher's Comedy Club, at Tuscany on East Flamingo Road, is being touted as a locals-friendly place by Michael Rapport, a longtime comic and club entrepreneur (he ran the former Carolee's Comedy Club in Primm) who co-owns the club with namesake comedian Gallagher. The proof: Area residents receive a two-for-one discount for the 9 p.m. nightly shows. Tickets are $39.95 when Gallagher headlines; $24.95 plus tax for shows featuring other comedians.
Dave Attell, star of Comedy Central's "Insomniac with Dave Attell," will shoot a full-length stand-up concert film July 2 and July 3 in Las Vegas at a venue that has yet to be named. Comics Dane Cook and Greg Giraldo will also perform. The shows will conclude Attell's "The Insomniac Tour," which kicks off in April in Nashville (tickets are available at www.comedycentral.com). The concert film is set to air on the cable network in October.
David Spade performs at 9 p.m. tonight and 10:30 p.m. Saturday at The Mirage's Danny Gans Theatre. Tickets are $70.
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