Published: May 09, 2008 10:33 pm            

PROFILE: Local comic to perform for Elks

Comedian Blane Kelly, 52, never stops writing new material, even when times get tough.

The American Axle employee, now on strike, has plenty to occupy his time.

He said there’s nothing funny about the company’s recent turmoil, or the hardship it could create for working-class families.

But most anything else potentially is fair game.

He got his start in stand up as an eighth-grader in Williamsville, when an English teacher there wrote a bit for him to perform at the school talent show.

“It was about the Vietnam War, you know, we made it funny,” he said.

Since then he’s taken his own direction — “fast-pace, family, kids, cats,” were words he used to describe his niche. A guitar features in his act and adds another level to his routine.

But despite mentioning the word “family,” he says his brand of laughs result from a style that is definitely “adult.”

He agreed PG-13 was a good approximation.

Kelly has been a part of the scene here, working with many famous comedians when they first got their start.

Brett Butler, Dennis Miller and Rich Hall make the list of professionals he’s worked alongside over the years. He is a big fan of the late Rodney Dangerfield.

He worked at the Buffalo comedy club Yuck Yuck’s from about 1987-’90.

In 2004, he beat 47 other comedians to earn the little “Last Comic Standing,” which meant performing every Wednesday for eight weeks.

Before that, in 2004, he took second-place in the USA World Showcase comedy division held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

He said the local comedy stock took a hit when the Comix Cafe closed last year.

Kelly is a self-described “Army brat.” His father was in the Army and he spent his childhood on a military post in Virginia before moving to the Amherst area. When he was 18, Kelly joined the Army himself, working first as an illustrator and writer of propaganda leaflets, and later as a drill instructor in the reserves.

“At 18 I knew either my dad or myself had to leave the house, and he owned it,” Kelly said.

He related a story about how he learned to play the guitar as a 15-year-old boy. He and a friend had taken the family car out for a joy ride and were promptly arrested. Kelly’s father grounded him for nine months after that.

“He stuck to it. I had nothing else to do but sit in my room.”

The comedian offered some insights into the lifestyle a comedian leads.

“It’s tough, you know, when you’re on stage and talking for 45 minutes. It gets old, it’s kind of like (being) a salesman, you have to sell what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re always writing, you get a base of what you want to talk about . . . you’re never done writing when you’re a comic.”

He’ll bring his act to the Elk’s Club on Main Street in North Tonawanda at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, along with two other area comedians — Nick Syracuse and Dave Pordom.

Syracuse is a freelance writer who has written bits for Jay Leno, and Pordom books comedy as well as working clubs and college gigs.

The event will also feature 15-cent wings and a bar, with proceeds going to support the Elk’s Club on a national level.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.

        

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