Jay Mohr is a hard man to pin down.
An actor, producer and stand-up comedian, Mohr seems to saturate the media — popping up on radio, TV, stage and film and in magazines and newspapers.
His new series, “Gary Unmarried,” made its debut in September, a few days before his final appearance as a recurring character on “The Ghost Whisperer.”
Mohr broke into TV as a featured player on “Saturday Night Live” from 1993 to 1995 and into films playing the sleazy sports agent who fires Tom Cruise’s title character in the 1996 hit “Jerry McGuire.”
Mohr created, hosted and was executive producer of “Last Comic Standing,” which NBC canceled near the end of its third season but later revived. He had a short run as a sports talk show host on ESPN’s “Mohr Sports.” Mohr sometimes can be heard on the syndicated sports talk show “The Jim Rome Show” out of Southern California.
He will perform his stand-up act at the Orleans tonight through Sunday.
On being busy
I’m pretty busy, but it’s good busy. I really love what I do. To call a radio station because I like what they’re talking about or going on the Jay Leno show, that’s fun. To go to Vegas to a big theater where George Carlin had his last show — it’s not stuff I feel like I’m cramming in. It’s stuff I’m really looking forward to. I truly love doing everything I’m doing. The thing about a multicamera sitcom, like “Gary Unmarried,” is it’s a very steady routine. Every day is the same — Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every day. So I’ve landed into a nice routine and it gives the illusion I’m busier than I am.
On “Gary Unmarried”
It’s a fun series because I get to be funny all the time. I’m almost 40 years old and finally there’s a sitcom that falls into my lap. As you know, the formula for a sitcom is you walk in, say as many funny things as possible, and you walk out. That’s perfect for me. We are all narcissists anyway, comics.
I was laying in bed. It was 9 o’clock at night and my agent and manager called and said CBS has a show they’d like me to do. I said, “OK, let’s hear about it.” They said, “If you want it you’ve got to go over at 9 in the morning for a table read.” I said, “Well then, I pass.” They said, “Don’t you want to hear any numbers?” I said, “No. I just don’t think a life-changing decision should be made right before I fall asleep.” Basically, a week went by. I read the script and they asked me again and I said yes.
On sitcoms
The return of the sitcom, for me, is very welcome. I was raised on sitcom television. A lot of my sense of humor comes from the timing that I watched on sitcoms — Michael J. Fox on “Family Ties,” Bill Cosby on “The Bill Cosby Show,” the strangeness of Harry Anderson on “Night Court,” Sam and Diane on “Cheers,” but mostly Bob Newhart on “Newhart.” My timing is all just from the way I watched people deliver the same thing. It’s all the same thing. There’s no “completely different, this has never been said before” sitcom around. It’s just a matter of how you deliver the lines. So I’m thrilled that the sitcom is back. With all the reality shows and hourlong dramas, it’s comfort food. Sometimes you just want meatloaf or grilled cheese and chicken soup instead of sushi.
On “Last Comic Standing”
The guys I was doing comedy with were funnier than anybody anyone had ever heard of. When people asked me who my influences are and who makes me laugh I always rattle off names nobody knew. David Tell. Tom Segura. Ralphie May. Nobody knew these people. I thought, “This is absurd. Let’s create a show where the guys who people should know who they are — get people to know who they are. These guys deserve more credit and more attention than they get, so let’s have a show where they can be on television in front of 10 million Americans every week doing their own act.” Then NBC was very gracious in taking it on.
I have a vested interested in the long-term success of “Last Comic Standing.” But if you watch it long-term, over all the seasons, you can probably make your own conclusion as to when I stopped being involved in the day-to-day.
On stand-up
Completely different than it ever was. I started getting panic attacks onstage about four years ago and I stopped doing comedy for two years. My wife told me that I’ll go back one day and I’ll really love it. The reason I was having panic onstage was I didn’t love it anymore. I was just doing a bit. It was all an act. You go up onstage because you want to meet girls, you want to be impressive, you want to look cool while you’re up there, and that’s not what comedy should be at all. Comedy should be truthful. I once heard Mike Myers (“Austin Powers”) say, “Comedy should be where ‘ha ha’ meets ‘ah ha.’ ” So my wife said one day I would go back and tell stories and be truthful to myself, and that’s what happened. I really don’t have a planned format when I go out there. I know what I want to talk about — a little current events, a little bit of local humor. Most of it is stories that have happened to me.
“As you know, the formula for a sitcom is you walk in, say as many funny things as possible, and you walk out. That’s perfect for me.”
IF YOU GO
What: “An Evening With Comedian Jay Mohr”
When: 8 tonight through Sunday
Where: Orleans Showroom
Tickets: $39.95; 365-7075
Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.
Copyright 2008  Las Vegas Sun
