BRAD GARRETT Back to funny roots

YOUNGSTOWN -- The laughter is just beginning for comedian/actor Brad Garrett.
Mere days after the airing of the series-ending finale for "Everybody Loves Raymond," on which Garrett has spent the last nine years portraying the wacky Robert, the talented performer will be returning to his stand-up past with a headlining show Thursday for the 22nd annual Community Corrections Association Benefit at Powers Auditorium.
"That's my roots, that's how I started out," Garrett said calling from Los Angeles. "And when I started on the 'Raymond' show, I stopped performing stand-up. I was burned out on it, and I really didn't start to miss it until about a year and a half ago. I went to see Ray [Romano] in Vegas, and he brought me on stage as a surprise. So, we started riffing, going back and forth, and the audience loved it, and I got the bug back."
The bug, which he had for the 17 years prior to landing the "Everybody Loves Raymond" show, has indeed returned for this veteran comic, whose resume is as impressive as he is tall. After growing up just north of Los Angeles, the 6' 8" comedian lasted only six weeks at UCLA before he sought an education of a funnier sort in the comedy clubs of Southern California.
Opening for big names
Eventually, he landed on "Star Search," where he won $100,000 and, more importantly, earned a shot at performing on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" at the young age of 23. From there, Garrett worked and worked, touring the nation from one club to another and opening for such heavyweight artists as Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
In fact, he spent two years opening for Sinatra and was the last opener for Sammy before he passed away.
"When I got a job opening for Sinatra and Sammy, this was literally the holy grail for me," Garrett said. "This was what it was about. I would sit in the wings every night and watch these greats. And I learned about crowd control, as far as how to work an audience, how to make it an intimate situation. These guys were not only major superstars but they just had an incredible control over their audience and a mystique. There was no one classier than Carson, and there was no one that could work a room like Sammy Davis and I don't think you could get bigger than Sinatra."
Naturally, Garrett characterizes the experiences as invaluable. From a comedian's perspective, being an opening act for such icons was a pressure-packed affair, requiring an A-game every night for an audience that oftentimes could care less.
Current projects
That is definitely not the case today. Garrett -- who is currently pitching a new show for HBO, working on Pixar Animation's next blockbuster and may be going to Broadway this fall -- is a big-name television star who will attract audiences 10 times larger than during his club years. Still, the comedian remembers his roots, which is why he's beginning his return to comedy with the people he loves. "That's what it was about for me, places like Cleveland and Indianapolis," Garrett said. "These are places where people would stand in line through the snow, pay their $9 for a ticket and that's where I was at. And I'm incredibly grateful, and I'm picking little towns along the way, where I can say 'Hi' and see if anyone gives a crap."
Invariably, many people will give, well, pay attention to Garrett when he visits Youngstown this week.
"If you're into comedy and if you're a fan of the 'Raymond' show and you want to see me not be overshadowed by Ray, it's a great opportunity," Garrett said. "There is just something great about going out there on your own. You're your own writer, your own director, your own producer and you live and you die by it. It's exciting."