Driving through backed-up traffic in Los Angeles does not phase Kevin Nealon. He simply pops in his French language cassettes and transforms a frustrating situation into a bona fide French lesson. What he has learned, he said with a laugh, has been most useful for "yelling vulgar French at people out your window."
Known to many as Franz of Hanz and Franz and Mr. No-Depth Perception, Nealon can take pride in the knowledge that it was memorable characters such as these that contributed to Saturday Night Live's rise to popularity during the mid-eighties.
"[Saturday Night Live] did seem to reach the crater of its existence before we got on, and it really had nowhere to go but up, I think," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "We really had nothing to lose, and everyone went in with that attitude. I think it took a lot of pressure off us. People were willing to experiment, try different things."
It was that room for experimentation that initially drew Nealon to the show and kept him on the cast for nine years, longer than any other cast member, including Chevy Chase, who only appeared on the show for one season.
"I loved the job. I loved living in New York City, and I loved having the opportunity to create my own material. A lot of times on other shows or movies you don't get results until a year or so down the road, so I loved the aspect of working live."
When Dennis Miller left the show and his role as the Weekend Update anchorman, Nealon was chosen to replace him. Whereas some may have felt intimidated following standards set by successful comedians such as Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd, Nealon said he viewed the assignment as an opportunity to incorporate his own style and personality into the character.
"I enjoyed it-it was a great change," he said. "I had been on the show for about five years at that point. I knew the position and I welcomed it."
After earning a business degree at Sacred Heart University, Nealon had no idea what the direction his life would take. Performing, however, was not foreign to him. Playing in garage bands throughout school, Nealon's primary interest had always been music. This affinity for entertaining gradually developed into an interest in comedy.
"I liked comedians on T.V. and I enjoyed memorizing jokes and telling them to people," he said.
His career as a comedian was furthered when he began bartending in 1978 at the Improv, a comedy club in Hollywood. "I got to meet all the comedians, watch them," he said. "If somebody didn't show up the owner would put me on." This interest ultimately landed him a spot at Saturday Night Live.
After the Hanz and Franz skit soared in popularity, Nealon's antics became recognizable nationwide. Fame entered his life so gradually, Nealon said, that it had never really had a major impact. "I never really noticed it because we lived in such a vacuum when we were on Saturday Night Live. We spent so much time there that we didn't really get out much to notice that we were becoming noteworthy."
Although he said that people now notice him on the street, " it's not to the point that they harass me or I can't get to my car," adding that he has managed to keep his personal life separate from his professional one.
"I think I'm really enjoying life without becoming obsessed with my career. A lot of people become so obsessed with their careers that they don't really have time to enjoy life," he said. "I don't need to be a big star."
Although he has since left the show, Nealon said he still occasionally watches Saturday Night Live and hopes to return as a guest host. Since his departure, Nealon said the quality of the show has fluctuated, but has now stabilized.
"I think it's really come around," Nealon said. "I think the writing has gotten a lot better. It's like any weekly comedy show. It has its peaks and valleys. Some weeks are better than other weeks and some sketches are better than other sketches."
As do many comedians on Saturday Night Live, Nealon has taken his act elsewhere. Originally, Nealon-in conjunction with Dana Carvey, Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel-wrote a movie featuring Nealon and Carvey in their popular roles of Hanz and Franz. The idea of the film, however, which Arnold Schwarzenegger was planning to co-star in and produce, was canned after Schwarzenegger backed out due to the poor performance of his film "Last Action Hero."
Although he won't be joining the likes of Dana Carvey and Mike Myers, who have graced the silver screen with their comic relief, Nealon is currently directing his efforts towards developing a television show in which both Warner Brothers Network and ABC have indicated interest. Still, he acknowledged that there are several aspects of Saturday Night Live with which a new television show will not be able to compete.
"If you're working for a major network and if it's not your own show, they kind of call the shots and you don't really get the chance to create your own dialogue," he said. "You're working the same character each week, unlike Saturday Night Live where you're doing a plethora of characters."
In the interim, Nealon fills his time by performing stand-up comedy around the country and has appeared on shows such as David Letterman and The Tonight Show. He brings his act to Page Auditorium tonight at 8 p.m. The performance is sponsored by the University Union Special Events Committee, East Campus Council and Major Attractions.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.