TRYING to get a serious answer out of Pablo Francisco is a bit like pulling teeth, only less painful. The up-and-coming American comedian is like a school class-clown - and he says the constant clowning has something to do with his childhood.
'One day I got lost at [department store] Sears and some girl found me and she fed me soup, that's where I'm at,' he said from Los Angeles last week. A serious answer cannot really be expected from someone who does a different impersonation every few minutes and who claims to have once been a dancer at the American all-night diner Denny's.
'My name was Hash Brown. I dressed up like a cook. I danced to the Three's Company soundtrack,' he said, before launching into a rendition of the tune from the hit 1980s sitcom. 'The only time I don't want to be funny is when I get pulled over by a police officer, that's when I'm really serious.' It is his entertaining inanity, combined with a stunning ability for impersonations, which has won him a considerable amount of recognition. Last year the American Comedy Awards nominated him the funniest male stand-up comic. 'It just really filled my heart with a love for comedy,' he said.
In addition to appearances on HBO's Local Slam and Comedy Central's Make Me Laugh, Francisco also spent some time as cast member of American network Fox's Mad TV. An ensemble of comedy sketches, Mad TV is Fox's answer to the successful Saturday Night Live show.
'Mad TV was a learning experience, it was like school for me,' he said. It also highlighted his talents to Fox executives, who have since signed a development deal with Francisco for a sitcom. The Pablo Of Venice will star Francisco in the lead as a sign maker.
'My goals and ambitions are to make the sign business something big, just like Ted Turner did. It's a young ensemble group. A universal sitcom, Baywatch meets Seinfeld,' he said, then, 'Maybe Baywatch was a bad example.' Casting for the sitcom is still going on, and a script for the pilot is in the works. Meanwhile, Francisco is back on the stand-up tour circuit, with three performances this week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre's Pacific Rim restaurant as part of a new comedy night, Comedy Zone.
'A lot of directors have a lot of ideas about what they want me to do, I want to make sure that it's more about myself, so I'm holding back a little bit more, I've got plenty of time. Right now I'm just trying to find my voice.' What voice that will be, remains to be seen. It could be home-grown hero Jackie Chan - ' 'Uncle uncle, I need you', that's what Jackie says all the time' - a one-toothed hick or a young Latina woman infatuated with Latin singing sensation Ricky Martin. A Francisco sketch that has done particularly well with audiences is the Tortilla Boy.
Based on the baritone voice that introduces B-movies and action flicks, Francisco's 'tortilla boy' is Arnold Schwarzenegger with a Mexican accent as a tortilla vendor who has been targeted by the mob. Also well-received are his send-ups of Spanish-language soap operas.
Francisco often draws from his Latino roots for his material. Of Chilean ancestry, he has already been dubbed a headliner among a small group of successful Latino comics. He, however, does not want to pigeonhole himself as a 'Latino comic'.
During his early days in the industry he would often bemoan the types of stereotypical roles, like the cheesy border patrolman, he was being offered. However, with recognition has come respect. 'Sometimes it does go back into those avenues. One time I went to audition for a sitcom and they said I wasn't brown enough. I'm thinking just give me an acting coach and a tanning bed. But right now I'm getting a little more creative control. My comedy is not just for Latinos; it's universal. I'm not just a Latino comic, that would be selfish.' Although Francisco dubs his comedy as 'universal', it is really very American. From popular icons to his fascination with the 70s (he claims to adore Ricky Martin's former Latin boy-band Menudo, as well as 70s pop icons Leif Garrett and Sean Cassidy), Francisco's humour is grounded in North American pop culture. And for the organisers, that is not a problem.
Put together by Richard Robinson and Michael Toedman, Comedy Zone intends to fill the dearth of live North American comedy in Hong Kong. The three-night show this week, which also features Jeff Burghart, another regular on the LA stand-up circuit, is Comedy Zone's first, with plans to host them every six weeks.
'The event at the Viceroy is great,' said Robinson of the popular Punchline Comedy Club, 'but it's mostly British comedians. We're definitely not competing with that, I think we complement it. It's a different audience.' Robinson, a media planner who used to do stand-up, also has personal motives. 'I was looking for an opportunity to get back up on stage and completely bomb like I used to in the old days.' Whereas Robinson may have opted for a different career path, Francisco has always wanted to be a comic, 'it's the only thing I could do, I'm 30 years old now and I read at a third grade level.' At the age of 10, he was already videotaping comics and mimicking their skits in his native Arizona. At 17 he and a friend took part in a comedy contest at a local steakhouse. Later, while trying to survive as a pizza delivery boy, he was working the stand-up circuit at night.
About four years ago Roger Hartmann, part-owner of comedy club chain The Improv, noticed Francisco's talent and persuaded him to move to LA. Once there, he did the rounds on the comedy circuit, got into commercials, released a CD Knee To The Groin, and eventually landed his role on Mad TV.
For all that experience, he still cannot figure out how to deal with hecklers. 'I hit them with a bat, I carry this big stick . . . No, I become their friend or something? I don't know. Call Jackie Chan?' Pablo Francisco And Jeff Burghart. Thursday to Saturday, 9pm. Pacific Rim, Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets $220 from 2805-2804
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