Comedian banks on nerdy character

By John Benson

An evolved nerd is how comedian Stuart Mitchell describes his onstage personality Heywood Banks, who is dressed like a dork, tells odd stories and plays quirky songs.

“Heywood is definitely a nerd and has kind of evolved and had therapy since then, so he’s less of a nerdy thing now,” said Mitchell, calling from Michigan. “At first it was just there were a whole lot of comics that were suburban-looking guys playing guitar and doing some jokes. So by becoming Heywood, all of a sudden it was something different and people remembered it.”

While in the early ’80s Mitchell’s stand-up career was that of a nondescript suburban comedian, he actually started out before that as a folk singer who told funny bits in between songs. In fact, that’s where he honed the idea of performing clean, meaning no four-letter words.

“I’m clean for no other reason than I was a folk singer and nobody sings ‘Puff the blankety-blank Magic Dragon,’” Mitchell said, laughing.

The funnyman said it wasn’t until he dressed in a plaid jacket and started wearing dark-rimmed glasses in the late ’80s that a transformation occurred. On stage he started creating his own comedy universe while off stage audiences started reacting to the material.

So far, Heywood Banks has appeared on A E’s “Evening at the Improv,” MTV’s “1/2 Hour Comedy Hour,” CNN’s “Hollywood Minute,” “Caroline’s Comedy Hour,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Showtime Comedy Club Network” and “Dr. Demento Show.” He also is a frequent guest on the nationally syndicated “The Bob and Tom Show,” which airs locally weekday mornings on WNCD-FM 93.3.

Mitchell has also released a few Heywood Banks comedy CDs, the latest of which is “Big Butter.” However, it’s a song off his previous album “Pretending I’m Not Home” that has evolved into somewhat of a YouTube phenomenon. The song is called “Toast.”

“It’s become part of the culture,” Mitchell said. “Kids all over the world are making videos of it and winning their talent contest in school or doing it at church camp. They’re putting their videos up on YouTube and doing that.”

Mitchell said “Toast” has received roughly 300,000 hits on the Internet.

“Mostly they just play the song and mime it or do an animation,” Mitchell said. “It’s usually attributed as a Bob and Tom song 60 percent of the time, a Weird Al song 15 percent of the time and then there’s no credit at all at 10 percent and finally around 5 percent of the time they actually list my name.”

Equal parts genius and buffoon, this songwriter-comic-singer-poet-musician has become a cult hero and a pop icon, with a show that appeals to college students, stoners, businessmen, Yuppies, rednecks, punks, kids or even your grandmother.

“I have absolutely every type of human being come out to my show,” Mitchell said. “People bring their kids, grandmothers. There are teenagers, twenty-somethings, hip people with tattoos. Everybody seems to enjoy the show.

“But just because I’m clean doesn’t man it’s not edgy. It’s an adult show you can bring a kid to, but it’s not ‘Sesame Street.’ There’s a lot of different stuff in there. I always say bring your kids, a ticket is a ticket to me.”

After a brief pause, Mitchell said, “They’re not my kids, what do I care? ‘Daddy, what’s a colostomy?’”