Drinking, smoking & cussing with Ron White

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

You can’t tame comedian Ron White.

Whether it’s ex-wives, rehab or life, the former window salesman has become one of the biggest funnymen around with his in-your-face cigar-smoking, scotch-drinking material.

Though early in the 2000s the Atlanta resident became a mainstream favorite alongside his “Blue Collar Comedy” brethren — Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy — today the 53-year-old comic and New York Times Best-Seller List author is a one-man wrecking crew, who last year released his latest comedy album, “Behavioral Problems.”

The Vindicator talked to White about his friendship with Dr. Phil, his love of four-letter words and why your kids aren’t welcome to his Friday show at Powers Auditorium.

Q. Considering you recently went through some personal issues, did your good friend Dr. Phil offer any advice?

A. I tell you, that’s one of the oddest things about Dr. Phil, he doesn’t give unsolicited advice or solicited advice. I was going through a painful divorce, and these lawyers were just kicking me in the gut everyday. So one day while golfing I said to Dr. Phil, “Doc, I think this thing is killing me.” And he said, “Just keep your head down when you putt.” I was like, “Alright, thanks for the sympathy.” But my putting has been better since the divorce.

Q. Recent sports news had former NFL head coach Tony Dungy speaking out about heavy amounts of cursing by his peers. Had Dungy contacted you to clean your act up?

A. No, he hasn’t reached out to me, but my fans would kick me out of the boat. My fans don’t want it cleaned up. They want both barrels uncensored and my opinion. And that’s what I give them. That was a choice I made — to be true to my nature and just go ahead and be me onstage. Even though it’s cost me millions of dollars of corporate money, it’s also made me a lot of money because what I’ve found is most people in America smoke and drink and cuss. So I don’t know why I’m trying to act like I’m not. There are a lot of people out there like me, and I think that’s kind of the common denominator for a lot of successful comedians is that they were true to their nature, whether it was (Richard) Pryor or (Bill) Cosby or (Sam) Kinison. That’s basically who they were.

Q. Speaking of cleaning up, has anyone tried to curtail your partying ways?

A. I checked myself into a rehab about three years ago for a month because it seemed my life was going out of control. And in rehab, they did these tests on me and then said, “Your liver is fine.” I was like, “I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got some drinking to do.”

Q. With or without scotch in hand, what can Youngstown expect from your upcoming set?

A. You can prepare yourself for the full tater swat. I cover Tiger Woods real thoroughly, and I talk about love and life and happiness. It’s the same thing we all run into all day long. It’s just my take on it. I don’t think it’s really a departure from anything I’ve ever done. It’s the same stuff, just me.

Q. Finally, last time you spoke with The Vindicator, you gave this great quote, “The last time I was in Youngstown, just like the Edmund Fitzgerald, I left fully loaded for Cleveland.” Do you have any prepared quips to end this interview?

A. I don’t remember that one (laughs). How about don’t bring your kids to my show, and I won’t come cuss at your house. And then you can repeat that Cleveland line. Maybe people won’t even remember it.