Wednesday, May 25, 2016
By John Benson
Apparently when you grow up in the Midwest, there are certain things you can’t avoid that are hilarious. At least that’s the case for comedian Kevin Farley, whose material delves into life growing up in Wisconsin.
“I talk a lot of my experiences moving from the Midwest to the West Coast,” said Farley, calling from Los Angeles. “I talk about growing up in a Midwest family and the Midwest diet, where it’s a lot of cheese, a lot of buffets and a lot of size triple-X stores.
“When I moved to California, I missed the meat and cheese diet I grew up with. But it’s not too hard to find a buffet out here. You have to search them out.”
These days Farley, who is the younger brother of the late “Saturday Night Live” actor Chris Farley, is doing more than searching out acting roles. Instead, he’s started to craft a career in stand-up comedy.
The actor said it was roughly five years ago when he started dabbling on stage at the famed Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard.
“I really started to get into it,” Farley said. “Ever since then, I’ve just been constantly doing it. It’s been a lot of fun, challenging, but fun. I’ll probably do it the rest of my life.”
So far Farley has opened for the likes of David Spade, Chris Rock, Norm MacDonald, Jeff Ross, Todd Glass, Kevin Nealon and Jeff Richards. Now his comedy brings him to the Mahoning Valley for shows Friday and Saturday at the Comedy Cellar at Mojo’s Pub-N-Grill.
Despite his growing comedy career, Farley said he’s still focused on acting. His credits include feature films “An American Carol,” “White Knight,” “Crowning Jules,” “Frat Pack” and “Joe Dirt 2,” as well as guest television appearances on “Hawaii Five-O,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Rules of Engagement,” “The Neighbors,” “Just Shoot Me” and “United States of Tara.”
Up next for Farley is the brand-new Billy Ray Cyrus show “Still the King,” which airs this summer on CMT.
“I play his parole officer,” Farley laughed. “I’m the guy watching after him. I’m a regular character, and I’m the straight man. I don’t mind it. It’s a lot more fun. You don’t have to do the heavy lifting.”
In terms of heavy lifting, Farley said he knows people will always connect him to his brother, but he doesn’t mind the baggage. With that in mind, what does Farley think Chris would have to say about his stand-up comedy?
“I don’t know what he would say,” Farley said. “Chris was always very supportive. We always got along really well. If I did bomb, he’d be the first one to laugh and give me a pat on the back. He was always supportive, never a bully kind of guy.”
Farley said he plans on talking about his famous brother at his upcoming shows, as well as the aforementioned buffets. Speaking of which, should Youngstown-area all-you-can establishments be on alert?
“I’d recommend they beware,” Farley laughed. “I usually have a way of finding them.”