Morgan rocks a stand-up vibe

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Mitchell Haaseth / NBC

Tracy Morgan

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Tracy Morgan pulled his car over to the side of the road because it's illegal to drive in New York while talking on the phone, and illegal is something he wants to give a wide berth. After being dragged through the tabloids for drinking and driving, he's had enough.

The success of his brilliant, deranged Tracy Jordan character on the Tina Fey-created 30 Rock is giving him the best times of his life and boosted his post-Saturday Night Live career and fame. From a poor childhood in the Bronx to one of the most acclaimed shows on television is a trip most don't get to make, and Morgan, 39, doesn't want to blow it. He's doing two nights of stand-up this weekend at Comedy Works, where he'll talk about his life.

Did the writers' strike hurt 30 Rock's momentum?

"No one wants to strike. I'm just glad this strike is over. For me I wasn't necessarily worried. I do stand-up and I do movies so I had that to fall back on. You don't want a strike because you're worried for people. It affected other people."

What does doing stand-up do for you?

"What does stand-up do for me? It's instant gratification. It's not therapy. If I need therapy I just go back to my old neighborhood and remind myself where I came from and where I can end up at if I don't get my act together. Stand-up to me is just stand-up. It's fun."

Do people confuse you with the show and expect you to show up as the Tracy Jordan character?

"Sometimes. Sometimes I'm at a club just chilling out like regular, listening to music, and people stare at me and expect me to do something crazy or jive, when that's just an act. That's just a character. That's not how I am in real life. I'm with my lady now and we're just having a normal conversation. I'm not trying to make her laugh. It's just a normal conversation between a man and a woman. As long as I know how to separate the two that's what's important."

You've feuded with the paparazzi and tabloids. Are you fed up?

"They're dumb-ifying the culture. They're trying to vilify all artists and all celebrities. We make mistakes. We're human. We're born to make mistakes. But they're making a living out of it. I guess they have a job to do too. It's my job to stay out of trouble. I had one that followed me in the bathroom . . . in the airport, taking pictures of me on the (expletive) toilet bowl. Incredible. I told him I was gonna (expletive) kill him when I get off this toilet bowl. And he ran. I see the dude through the crack in the door and heard the (expletive) camera going click click click."

Is Tracy Jordan based on real people you know?

"My character on 30 Rock is based on my alter ego. It's a chance for me to show my alter ego, that's all it is. Tracy Morgan is nothing like him. He's more subdued, reserved. He's a father. He's a friend. He's a man."

Sometimes people don't understand you do non sequiturs on purpose. On your David Letterman appearance you were a riot but people posted on YouTube that you were drunk.

"Those are ignorant people. They just can't believe a black man can be that (expletive) funny without being intoxicated. I've been doing this (expletive) my whole life. I know how to turn it on. I know what I'm doing out there. People think I got this career because I won Lotto or something. They do not understand that this is not chance, this is all choice. David Letterman loved me. People on YouTube had to say I was wasted."

Is it great to be able to make someone like Letterman laugh?

"People lose their sense of humor when they become adults. So much tragedy and (messed) up (stuff) happens to them in their lives they have nothing to laugh about. That's why you need people like me. Funny people. My life is just fine. God has given me the ability to make someone who's (messed) up laugh. That's great. I'm going to heaven after this. I hear you laughing. You've been laughing this whole interview."

Who influenced you besides Martin Lawrence?

"My dad. My dad was the first influence in my life. He was funny like Richard Pryor. He was a comedian in Vietnam and a musician. I'm like a third-generation entertainer. I was due for this. All the family never made it. I made it. That's confirmation, God's confirmation to me, that all the people I lost made it to heaven. They got me to my success. Through all my drama and all my (expletive) mistakes and all that my angels are with me. My dad is with me. And he was the funniest (guy) in the world. He was the first one to make me laugh when I was a baby. My father made me laugh when I had no teeth. That's what your daddy's there for, when he tosses you up in the air."

You don't do many interviews because you've said people twist your words.

"Sometimes I'm too real. Sometimes people will get degenerate. They let things get degenerated. The questions start to degenerate. You, you're legit. You've done your research."

You never duck the hard questions though. Has that ever backfired on you?

"No. Because as long as I'm telling the truth I don't have to defend it. If I'm being harassed for telling the truth I don't have to defend nothing."

What can fans expect at your show?

"You know how excited I am? I'm seeing someone new in my life. I'm seeing her and I know she's a positive motivating factor in my life. I can't wait to be on the road with her. I can't wait for her to experience this stuff. It's an exciting time in my life. People are so used to seeing me on TV and in movies doing characters. My stand-up is a way for me to connect with my audience in a personable way. They're gonna take a little bit of me home with them. I'm going to talk about my experiences as a black man, I'm going to talk about my experiences as a human being, I'm going to talk about my experiences in show business, I'm going to talk about my experiences as a father. This show is not going to be just a comedy show. It's going to be a (expletive) experience."

Tracy Morgan

* When and where: 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, Comedy Works, Larimer Square

* Cost: $30

* Information: 303-595-3637 or comedyworks.com

Lorne Michaels let us down

The fact that Tracy Morgan was feloniously under-utilized on Saturday Night Live is without question. But just which of his two recurring characters was worth staying awake for is open to debate:

Astronaut Jones

The simple beauty of Morgan's Astronaut Jones character was the absolute lack thereof.

Allow us to explain: The sketch was, without fail, the same every time - a long theme song intro followed by about 15 seconds of "action," usually involving hot space broads and a lascivious suggestion from Mr. Jones, finishing with the same long theme to end it.

Content, not its strong suit. But that song! Years later, we recall it, like old men on a porch talking Rogers Hornsby. "Rocket/I'm taking a rocket/I'm packing my suitcase/Hey, look out, moon!" It haunts our every waking moment.

The Brian Fellow sketch may have been drawn out a little more thoroughly - a very little - but, with its reliance on "structure" and "jokes," could never hope to achieve Astronaut Jones' place in the comedic firmament.

-Alex Neth, Rocky Mountain News

Brian Fellow

Brian Fellow was like a build-your-own-sundae that just got better the more scoops of demented comedy Morgan piled on the plate.

A TV show host with a sixth-grade education who pretended to be a zoologist? Oh, that's good.

And the host keeps reminding his guests and audience just who he is? ("I'm Brian Fellow!") Better yet. And the host has no filter between his addled thoughts and his mouth? ("I once saw a video of a monkey washing a cat . . . That's crazy!") And this was all in a two-minute sketch.

Then came the crazy thought balloons - like a parrot stealing his identity - which with Fellow would argue out loud ("That bird is a liar! He better not be running up my credit!"). And we knew then we could ask for nothing else to sate our thirst for quality comedy. Astronaut Jones better than Brian Fellow? That's crazy!

-Mike Mehle, Rocky Mountain News

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