For high-energy comic, a double life’s just fine

By John Benson

Cal Verduchi says he’s found his niche with imitating celebrities.

Stand-up comedian Cal Verduchi admits he’s living a double life.

For nearly a decade and a half the Boston-area native and New Jersey resident’s onstage personality has belied his offstage persona.

“When I first started out, I was more of a mellow kind of guy and then the audiences would just sit there and not react,” said Verduchi, calling from his Garden City home. “So one night I sort of flipped out onstage and it just kind of stuck. Now I’m just this high-energy comic, which in real life I pretty much take a nap while I’m walking.”

The busy funnyman has built his reputation around solid impressions, which nowadays includes everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Farley to Kermit the Frog and Prince. Recently he added Chris Hansen of “To Catch a Predator” fame into the mix.

Considering not many Gen X comedians dabble in impressions, this 33-year-old comic said he’s found his niche with imitating celebrities. As for perfecting voices, that process is somewhat arbitrary.

“It took me a long time, and I don’t even do it in my act anymore, to learn Christopher Walken,” Verduchi said. “It was one of those voices that you had to practice over and over again, but there are some voices where you just do them once and they come right out. I’m not sure how that happens.”

Fittingly, the one voice that Verduchi has yet to master is from the comic who even in death still gets no respect.

“I could never do Rodney Dangerfield no matter how many times I tried,” Verduchi said. “I love Rodney Dangerfield, and it was just one of those voices that didn’t come out right no matter what I would do.”

He added, “My entire act isn’t impressions. I mix it up, too. I do impressions, and I do a lot of regular stand-up as well. Some topics now are jokes about how I pretty much have given up on losing weight altogether. How I basically was watching ‘The Biggest Loser’ one day and knew I had given up because I ordered a pizza.”

Having recently released his comedy CD “What’s Wrong With Me???,” Verduchi said he’s looking forward to his upcoming July 3 show at The Funny Farm in Boardman.

“If they’re looking for a mellow comic that is going to put them to sleep, they won’t get that from me,” Verduchi said. “As soon as I get up on the stage my purpose is to entertain people. I want to get people’s attention right away and make sure they laugh the whole way through.”

In fact, Verduchi is so frenetic and full of high energy that he jokes his shows leave audiences so pumped they need help in winding down.

Laughed Verduchi, “Yeah, when I leave a town, there’s a lot more sleeping pills off the shelves.”