‘Regular guy’ Bill Engvall to perform at Paramount
By Randall G. Mielke For Sun-Times Media October 13, 2011 10:10AM
Comedian Bill Engvall would like to tackle more dramatic acting roles.
Bill Engvall
♦5 and 9 p.m. Oct. 22
♦Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora
♦Tickets, $59.50-$69.50
♦(630) 896-6666;
paramountaurora.com
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Updated: October 13, 2011 10:10AM
When comedian Bill Engvall performs, he likens his act to a bunch of friends just getting together to have a good time.
“I’m like the guy next door,” said Engvall, who will appear on Oct. 22, at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. “I view my show like we’re all just sitting around like neighbors and I happen to be the funny one.”
Engvall finds humor in everyday situations. In his show he talks about things like marriage and vacations and has general observations about life.
“I talk about family, and about getting older,” Engvall said. “You know, I find that I visit the ointment aisles in the stores more often now than I used to.
“People identify with what I have to say,” he continued. “I don’t cuss. I keep it where everyone can have a good time.”
For the Paramount show, Engvall plans to have a lot of new material.
“The new stuff keeps me from being bored and with comedy, once it’s heard, it’s heard,’ he said. “It’s not like when you go see the band Aerosmith, for example, and you want to hear them play ‘Walk This Way’ and their other hits. With comedy you have to have new material.”
Engvall, along with fellow comedians Ron White, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, performed for several years in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. The tour’s success led to “Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie,” which premiered on Comedy Central in 2003, and a sequel, “Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again,” which also appeared on Comedy Central. Engvall also appeared in “Blue Collar TV,” a sketch comedy series for The WB network.
Engvall starred in the TBS sitcom, “The Bill Engvall Show,” and later was the host of the Country Music Television’s show “Country Fried Home Videos.” He has made several appearances on both “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Show with David Letterman.”
In 2011, Engvall had a three-episode guest role playing Detective Jimmy Dupree on TNT’s drama series “Hawthorne.” Currently, Engvall hosts the Game Show Network’s series “Lingo.”
It is the dramatic work that Engvall is now leaning towards.
“I will continue to do stand-up, but I would like to do more acting,” he said. “I did ‘Hawthorne’ and I also did the show ‘Leverage,’ in which I played a heavy. So now we are trying to create a dramatic show for me.”
Engvall’s reasons for delving into dramatic roles are two-fold.
“First of all, you stretch yourself as a performer,” he said, “and secondly, my fans can say ‘I didn’t know he could do that.’”
But whether he pursues comedy or drama, Engvall thinks his performing days might be limited.
“In 10 years I’m hoping to be done,” he said about his future. “My wife says that I’ll never retire, but I would like to do maybe just 20 dates a year. I love outdoor stuff: hunting and fishing, and I’d like to be able to do more of that whenever I wanted to.
“I’ve been going hard for 30 years,” continued the Galveston, Texas, native who now lives in Los Angeles. “I think in 10 years I’ll probably be living back in Texas and walk into the feed store and someone will say, ‘Hey, Bill.’ You just don’t get that when you’re living in L.A.”
