Bobby Slayton is known as "The Pitbull of Comedy."
Sure, there's a bite to his banter, but like so many bad-boy pitbulls, he is just a little misunderstood.
"I got tagged with that moniker during a radio interview way back in the 1980s when pitbulls were in vogue, mainly because I say too many things people take offense to," Slayton said in a telephone interview. "The moniker just stuck with me after that."
At age 56, Slayton's smart mouth still operates at warp speed. He can wear a person out just listening to him talk, but you will be laughing the whole time.
Slayton will share his sassy opinions with Tri-City comedy fans Jan. 26-28 at Jokers Comedy Club in Richland. Showtimes are 8:30 p.m. Admission is $15 for the Jan. 26 show and $20 for the Jan. 27-28 shows. The event is open to the 21-and-older-crowd only.
Slayton, born and raised in New York, has worked on TV and films during his 30-year career. He played Joey Bishop in the 1998 movie The Rat Pack, held a supporting role in the 2001 movie Bandits and has been a frequent guest on Adam Carolla's cable TV show. But mostly, Slayton lives the life of a busy stand-up comic at venues across the country.
His DVD Raging Bully came after his first Showtime special of the same name. He will release a second DVD later this year, which hasn't been titled yet, he said.
In his younger days, he worked the Las Vegas Strip for several years, which taught him to be a "leaner, meaner" comic, he said.
But Vegas has its down side.
"You know what the worst thing is about working in Vegas?" he said. "I never went golfing or to a strip club while I was there because I spent all my time waiting for dinner reservations. It's insane."
His smart aleck humor has no boundaries, either.
"Doesn't matter if you're married, gay, black, Asian, Muslim or Hispanic," he said. "I have something to say about everything. I'm Jewish, and I poke fun at them too. That's comedy."
He executes the majority of his shtick with very little foul language. A trip to the internet to watch some of Slayton's videos will either whet your comic appetite or sour the deal.
It's rare for Slayton to be serious about anything, except when it comes to pizza and wine.
"I love them both, and I'm not joking about that," he quipped. "And I love my dog Gizmo."
But as much as Slayton pokes fun at life, love and the pursuit of obnoxiousness, he jokes that Gizmo, a miniature pincher, loves him unconditionally regardless of the sass.
"My wife and daughter are a different story. They've been apologizing for me for years," he said. "When my daughter was little, she'd go out of her way to prevent me from being around her friends."
He's married to Teddie, a Bremerton girl he fell in love with almost 30 years ago.
"I met her at a club where I was performing, and the minute I saw her, I told my friend I was going to marry that dame," Slayton said. "And I did."
Slayton's daughter, 23-year-old Natasha, is a singer, songwriter and actor.
*Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com
