Q&A: Ron White

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 15:53

Ron “Tater Salad” White is the cigar smoking, scotch drinking, Texas-born comedian from the Blue Collar Comedy phenomenon.

Ron has two Grammy nominations, a Gold Record, three of the top-rated one-hour television specials in Comedy Central’s history, a book that appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list, (Ron "Tater Salad" White: I Had the Right to Remain Silent…But I Didn’t Have the Ability) and CD and DVD sales of more than 10 million units. He is one of the top three grossing comedians on tour in the past five years and has been in movies like the soon-to-be-released Jayne Mansfield’s Car. 

The Moral Compass Tour comes to Gainesville at the University of Florida’s Curtis M. Phillips Center for Performing Arts on Jan. 29th at 7pm. 

By Cathleen Rockwell
Photos: Dan Warner

Happy New Year, Ron!
Happy New Year to you, too!

What comedians did you listen to growing up? 
Well, when I was a kid I listened to everybody—that was kind of my thing. It started with Andy Griffith, Bob Newhart, Flip Wilson, Bill Cosby, Cheech and Chong, Steve Martin and Richard Pryor. I mean, really everybody that was putting out records.

Do you remember when you did your first stand up performance?
You know I remember when it was and where it was and I remember what the guy said when he brought me on stage—which was, “Please enjoy the comedic stylings of Ron White.” And I was like, “What? I don’t have any comedic stylings.” I went on stage, and actually, the first one went pretty well. The second one went awful. 

You are a fantastic storyteller and you have so many stories. How do you choose what material to use for your shows? 
I don’t get my comedy from the television at all. Because Letterman has 20 writers staring at the television and so does Leno and so does Ferguson. All the jokes you are going to hear that night are about what is on the television that day, so if that is all you can come with as a comedian, people will just stay home and watch television. 

I just draw from my life’s experiences. My set is continually evolving. I try new stuff, and once I take something out of a set it never goes back in. I just try to forget it. As a comic you just move on the next block of material. Your fans might kick and scream a little bit about not hearing their old favorite stuff, but as long as the new stuff is good they don’t mind. I work on the show all the time. So they’ll come to this show, and I’ll say something they never heard yet and I’ll gut ‘em—just gut ‘em and leave ‘em lying on the pier like a catfish.

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Are there any subjects that you feel are off limits?
No.

You’ll use anything?
Not necessarily, but I don’t think anything is off limits. I believe there is a funny approach to everything. There are certainly inappropriate ways to handle sensitive subject matter. But a good comedy writer can turn that into a comedic chestnut.

The Comedy Salute to the Troops is a really cool thing you did for them. Was that influenced by your visit to the Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland?
Oh yeah. We were doing that benefit before CMT picked it up. (The benefit show had already been called Ron White and Friends Comedy Benefit, which aided in Helping America's Injured War Heroes through The Armed Forces Foundation.) That was their idea. It was something I did fairly quietly. I would sell out two shows at the Warner Theatre [in Washington, D.C.], invite some friends and give the money to the Armed Forces Foundation. But this made more sense. We can raise much more money and give some exposure for the cause. All the organizations that support wounded soldiers—their work is just beginning. It is easy to lose interest in something that is so critical, if it doesn’t stay in front of the news.

You and your wife (singer Margo Rey) are both so busy in the entertainment business—how often do you get to spend time together? Does she go out on the road with you? 
I get to go out on the road with her. It’s probably how it will end up. Her career is just going bonkers, so it will be busier and busier and busier. She’s the best live singer I’ve ever heard by a lot. To watch Margo Rey is a wonderful thing.

We’ve listened to her online; she is fantastic.
Well, she was classically trained for 13 years and her goal was to sing opera, but she was singing rock ‘n’ roll at night to work her way through school. She got into some really bad record deals when she was young. She just got frustrated with it and moved to New York and started doing Broadway. She had a very successful career with that and ended up touring with a Broadway show called Saturday Night Fever for two and a half years. She was then offered the only voice in the Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They offered it to her, and she turned it down. She didn’t want to live in the desert, they didn’t pay that much, it was a lot of shows and she was tired of making people rich because of her voice.

She can sing right through me. She can make me cry at any given time, at a particular note. I’ve known her for 24 years; we’ve only been married for four. First time I ever walked into a comedy club, I went up to the bar and ordered a Budweiser and shot of tequila and her brother handed me that Budweiser and shot of tequila 20—I guess 25 years ago. He said, “Hey, my little sister is in an all-girl band, want to go see it?” 

I said, “No, I don’t really want to see your little sister’s all-girl band.” We went anyway. And there’s Margo, she must have been seventeen or so. She was beautiful and she looks just like it today and she’s 45.

Are there any projects you are working on other than your mega tour?
I’ve got a movie coming out that’s really good. I don’t know when it’s coming out though. It’s with Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon and Katherine LaNasa. It’s a dark little comedy—it’s actually really dark—nobody in the film has a single redeeming quality.

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Do you have any advice for anyone trying to break into comedy now and hoping to make a career of it?
It’s impossible. If you want to get into this business for any reason other than you think it might be fun to try, don’t do it. If you think this is a way to make money, or if you think what happened to me might happen to you, you’re wrong. It will not. It will never happen; it’s that hard to do. So many things have to fall into place. 

I’m brutal on comedy people. This one kid who was on stage had a guitar—which is pretty taboo to me right there—a keyboard and a can of silly string. He’d play the keyboard, and he was really good looking and the crowd loved it (which made me hate the crowds), and afterward he said “I’m a really big fan of yours, Mr. White. I wondered what you thought of the show?” I said, “I think you need knee symbols.” He’s like, “What?” I said, “Knee symbols. Then you can bang your knees together while you’re playing that guitar and shooting that silly string.”

You’re going to perform in Gainesville on Jan. 29, is this your first time playing here? 
I’ve been there many times before, and I’m very much looking forward to one more.

Check out Ron White's official website here.