Q+A: DAMON WAYANS

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

What: Damon Wayans

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Where: The Orleans Showroom

Tickets: $54.95; 365-7075

Family is important to comedian/actor Damon Wayans. Which is good, because there is so much of it.

Wayans was the third of 10 children. His brothers include performers Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn, and sisters Elvira, Diedre, Vonnie, Kim and Nadia . And then there are his children, who seem to be following in their father's talented footsteps - sons Damon Jr. (24) and Michael (21), and daughters Cara Mia (20) and Kyla (16).

Damon Wayans followed his brother Keenen to California and landed roles in "Beverly Hills Cop," "Saturday Night Live" and "Earth Girls Are Easy." But he may best be remembered for his sketches, including Homey the Clown, on his brother Keenen's TV classic "In Living Color."

Wayans recently spoke to the Sun from his home in Los Angeles.

Q: How are you and where are you?

I'm at the beach swimming, playing with stingrays. Nah, I'm home, just looking out at the water.

What's your opinion of Las Vegas?

I love Vegas. I don't love Vegas. I hate Vegas. The idea of Vegas is great but I never have fun there because I don't gamble, so it's like going to a whorehouse and not having sex.

What was it like growing up in the Wayans household?

It was a fun hell, because there was no food. You have like five boys and five girls, and when boys reach a certain age they inhale food, so there's never food in the house. My father got hip to us. He'd go shopping and two days later everything's gone, so he would shop daily; $10 a day to feed 10 kids.

Is comedy a genetic trait of the Wayans family?

I'm starting to think it is because I see it in my kids, and it's not just my son. All my kids are funny. I took my youngest daughter to an improv class this weekend, and she's never really done it before. She walks in and they want a volunteer and she runs up on stage and I see the light and go off and I think, "Oh my God, she's got it."

Is it a blessing or a curse?

I think it's a blessing if you use it for what it is. It's a curse because - I realize we have creative imaginations; very imaginative - but if there's no outlet for it, I think they call it paranoid schizophrenia. I think we hear characters in our head and you know we tend to embellish on things not necessarily true.

Do you still do a lot of writing?

I write onstage. I used to write all the time. I've got eight scripts I've never produced or tried to produce because I just love writing. I've gotten a little lazy over the years because I've been writing with partners, but I still love it and I'm trying to rediscover my love of writing, just writing for myself.

What was working on "In Living Color" like?

It was like legal crack. It was great fun. A great rush. Nobody thought we should be being paid for this and I didn't think anybody ever was going to put it on the air. The fact that we got both was doubly amazing. Nobody had any experience in the business - maybe a commercial or a failed pilot - but that was it. Nobody had an ego. It was a true collaboration. It was a special time in my career.

What do you have coming up?

We just finished "My Wife and Kids." Now we're working on "The Underground," waiting to see if they pick it up on Showtime. And I'm taping a stand-up special. We'll tape it in March. I'm only doing it because I'm allowing myself to be affected by what's going on in the world these days. I guess I woke up black again.

What's the difference between doing stand-up and doing comedy on TV?

There's a huge difference. The difference is, there's no retake. When you do stand-up, it's almost like doing a play. You just go for it. If it doesn't work, you got to improvise and get back on track, get the audience back into what you're doing. It's fun. To me, it's probably the hardest thing to do, because if you're working in front of 4,000 people, there's nothing quieter than 4,000 people.

But I love stand-up. Now, I'm apologizing up front. It's a new thing. When Isaiah Washington and Mel Gibson, they say something that offends and then they go around and apologize. I go onstage and apologize up front.