Gaming Today-Bill Engvall by Michele LaFong
Bill Engvall was my guest last week on Las Vegas Backstage Talk Radio Show, in Las Vegas on 1230AM KLAV. He was plugging his appearance at Treasure Island on Friday Dec. 14.
I just had to ask Bill what life was like on the road with “The Blue Collar Comedy Troupe,” and whether the characters of the comics was just an act.
The first question out of my mouth was “who was the most “out of their minds” amongst you? Was it Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, Larry the Cable Guy, or you?” Bill responded without hesitation. “Larry… He also was the sweetest guy. We called him the “Mikey” of the Comedy Troupe. He could be talked into going along with anything.
He also was really the only redneck amongst us.” It’s not at all an act. He pretty much got married on four wheelers!” “So that’s not a costume that he wears?” “Umm…No! That’s part of the reason that he’s so popular and people can relate to him so well because there are no aires, he’s just genuine.”
When asked “which comic was the hardest to follow of The Blue Collar Comedy Troupe, Bill retorted “Ron White. Ron really is one of the funniest guys out there, but when we first started the tour, both Ron, and Larry “The Cable Guy” were unknowns. I was a long-time headliner doing comedy the longest, longer than even Foxworthy.
In fact, the first two years of The Blue Collar Tour, I didn’t enjoy myself. I was too focused on “being bigger than Jeff Foxworthy because Jeff and I were kind of at the same level when we started. Then he just sky-rocketed, and took off. I wanted to be Jeff Foxworthy, and in the process, I forgot to be Bill Engvall.
Then one day, Ron White and I were sitting and talking at a bar…go figure…and he said “Engvall, I remember the days in Dallas I’d go up on stage and just gut the room. I remember thinking “follow that Engvall!
You then would go up there with that slow delivery, and your story telling, and within five minutes the audience was going…Ron who?!” “I thought oh my God, I’ve gotten away from what got me to where I’m at! So I got back to being Bill again, and started having the greatest time of my life.
I made the decision early on to work clean. In fact, I got passed over for “HBO’s One Night Stand” because they said that I wasn’t edgy enough. But in the long-run, I’ve worked ten times longer than those guys that had their “HBO One Night Stands,” so I think I made the right decision.
The Blue Collar Comedy Tour served as a good venue for Bill, although it proved to be a double edged sword. “People don’t assume that you can do anything other than that! “It’s taken me years to break out of that “Blue Collar” Mold. ” But break out he did! Bill Engvall has just sold a pilot which he will soon be starring in a new dramatic role.
Engvall will also be featured in Michele LaFong’s Monthly Syndicated Column, “Las Vegas Backstage Talk,” in Casino Player Magazine.
Bill Envall’s videotaped backstage interview from the TI, with Comedian Michele LaFong is posted on lasvegasbackstagetalk.com, and casinocenter.com.
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