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March 31, 2010
Once ‘banned’ from banking, comedian Dave
Anderson enjoys multi-media life
Comedian Dave Anderson has
seen the ups and downs of the comedy scene over the years. He told
me that when he was starting out as a comic in LA, he went to the
bank to get a car loan. Even though he had great credit, the bank
wouldn’t lend him the money; and the bank had a sticker on his
file that said something to the effect of “Comedian – Income
Scary.”
Now, in 2010,
Anderson says the comedy scene is a whole
industry in itself, and even bankers know people who are “in the
"business.” Anderson
describes his style of comedy as a clean PG-13 show. It’s not
strictly just for kids, but the whole family should be able to
enjoy the program. Gleaning material from each unique audience, he
knows each show will be different, and that’s fine with him.
“I try to find out things about the
audience members (kids, interesting jobs) and work off of that.
It’s definitely a more natural and fun style for me in that
sense.”
I asked Anderson
how he landed his upcoming gig for the Next Door benefit on April
3. And wouldn’t you know it — this stand-up comedian got the job
by word of mouth.
“I got the Next Door gig through another
comic who did a show for them and he gave them my name. I love
driving out to the Hood
River area.”
I asked Dave how he got into the comedy
business, and who were his favorite comedians growing up.
“I knew that’s what I wanted to do since I
was a teenager and by 18, I was making people laugh and writing
jokes. When comedy took off in the ‘80s huge, I got to ride that
wave. My favorite guy was Bill Cosby. I’ve seen Cosby several
times, and years ago I got to meet him backstage. I spent a
half-hour talking to him, and I got to introduce him on a radio
station show. I’ve got a picture of me and him, and when my kids
come in with their friends, they’re like ‘Wow, you know Bill
Cosby?’ He’s influenced generations of people.”
Yeah, I know — I’m of those people. Cosby
was the first stop on my “Laugh More Tour 2010.” It’s always nice
to meet people who have met people you like.
Besides being a co-host on KATU’s “AM
Northwest” television show, Dave is also co-host of the “Mark and
Dave Show” on 1190 KEX radio. I
happened to be driving around Portland
the other week, and I couldn’t help notice the huge billboard
advertising the radio show. It’s a photo of two guys kind of
dressed up as Batman and Robin. So I just had to ask him about it.
“Well, we had to get new promo photos
taken. We’re not serious guys, but when the original photos came
out, they were kind of boring — we’re just two old white guys, you
know. They did the mock-ups for billboards, and they were boring.
But the management didn’t want to spend money for new pictures. So
someone wound up hand-doodling the pictures with the “Batman and
Robin” theme, and that’s what got printed for the billboards. I
don’t think I’m quite comfortable being Robin, though.”
Finally, I just had to ask the “age-old”
joke question. Exactly why did the chicken cross the road?
“I think he was chased by someone looking
for the egg!”
n
So far, Jim Drake has tracked down 10
Bill Cosby recordings.
Dave Anderson will be performing for The
Next Door’s “Laugh Till it Helps” event on Saturday, April 3, at
the Columbia
Center for the Arts in
Hood
River. There are two shows, 6 and 8
p.m.
Tickets are $20 adults, $10
students, available at Waucoma Bookstore, and at the door just
prior to the event.
For more info visit
www.columbiaarts.org and
click “Other Arts.”
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