Belzer Kicks Off Comedy Series At Bay Street

The buzz about Bay Street’s “Comedy Club” is not just limited to potential audience members—even the comedians are psyched about the series.

“This will be my first time at Bay Street and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Richard Belzer about his upcoming show on Saturday. “I’m bringing my band, my comedy rock-and-roll circus, and it should be a lot of fun. I’m filming the show for a documentary because I’d heard from other comics what a good venue Bay Street is.”

One of those other comics could well be Louie Anderson, who has played the Sag Harbor venue before and will return on July 18.

“I probably had one of my best shows at Bay Street,” he said. “That series gets a really good audience.”

Mr. Belzer’s show will kick off this year’s “Bay Street Comedy Club” lineup, which will feature a total of eight comedians between this weekend and August 29.

Some may know Mr. Belzer because he is a veteran stand-up act, but chances are that most are familiar because of his longtime recurring television role as Detective John Munch on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Indeed, that character is on target to break a television record for most consecutive seasons on a live-action primetime show.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mr. Belzer (who now lives part-time in France) aimed to be a journalist but was sidetracked by anti-Vietnam War protests that kept getting him kicked out of schools. After some time as a yoga instructor, he moved to New York City and tried stand-up comedy. He was the warm-up act for “Saturday Night Live” in its premiere season.

Mr. Belzer went on to snag small parts in such films as “Fame” and “Scarface.” But television became his most dependable paycheck. The Detective Munch character first appeared in 1993 on the series “Homicide: Life on the Street,” then he was transferred to “SVU” when that series began in 1999. In total, the Detective Munch character has appeared in eight different television series, including “The X-Files” and “30 Rock.”

“Munch has a lot of history, so I think when something comes out of his past, that is more interesting than at this point trying to invent something new,” Mr. Belzer said about the enduring popularity of his character during a telephone interview from his home in France last week. “He’s had four ex-wives, which offers a lot of material, and Jerry Lewis played his uncle and we want to get him back. There remains a lot of potential to further explore Munch’s character after all these years.”

And although he is so closely associated with his long-running serious character, Mr. Belzer will return to his comedic roots when he appears at Bay Street on Saturday.

Mr. Anderson, who just received the “Louis Prima Award” in Las Vegas, said during a telephone interview last week that he spends much of his time in “Sin City.”

“They definitely appreciate stand-up comics here,” he said while in Las Vegas. “Not just who’s hot now but the whole tradition they represent. The fans remember Henny Youngman, Joe E. Lewis, Shecky Greene, Jack Carter, Marty Allen, and others. Don Rickles is in his 80s now, but whenever he plays here, he sells out. And of course the comics all know the comics.”

Mr. Anderson, a native of Minneapolis, is the second youngest of 11 children. He credits his family with instilling in him a great sense of humor.

“I came from a funny family, it wasn’t just me. You ask any comedian, ‘Who was the funniest in your family,’ and they will usually point to someone else, a brother or an aunt. I had a brother who was much funnier than me, but I was able to actualize it and carve out a career in comedy,” he said. “Every comic has someone funnier than him in their family, but that person probably didn’t have the desire. You can’t just become a comedian, it takes desire.”

In addition to stand-up, Mr. Anderson has created television shows—“The Louie Show” and “Life with Louie”—and he was the host of “Family Feud” during the first three years of the revived version. Appearances on other series have included “Scrubs,” “Touched By An Angel,” and “Chicago Hope.”

Mr. Anderson said that he especially enjoys writing, even after many years of generating material. Experience, he said he believes, is a plus.

“You may or may not be a better writer as you get older, but I think you’re a better identifier,” he explained. “Experience has given you a sharper sense of what will work and what won’t. Rodney Dangerfield always advised get rid of all the crap in your routine. If it doesn’t work it’s never going to work. Nobody worked harder than Rodney. I remember when he appeared on ‘The Tonight Show’ he was working on his jokes right up until the show began. He’d actually go around backstage telling jokes and asking people what they thought.”

Sandwiched in between Mr. Belzer and Mr. Anderson will be comedian Patton Oswalt, who will perform on July 11. He has carved out a career as both a comedy writer—for “MADtv” and the “MTV Music Video Awards—and as a performer—most notably on “Seinfeld” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

Up after Mr. Anderson, will be Patrice O’Neal on July 25. He is known for his stand-up specials on HBO and Comedy Central and as the character Lonnie for three seasons of “The Office.”

Fred Armisen, who will perform on August 6, is known to anyone who watches “Saturday Night Live,” especially since Barack Obama became a presidential candidate. He has also impersonated Prince, Steve Jobs, and improbably, Joy Behar. Next up will be Elayne Boosler, who will grace the Bay Street stage on August 15. Ms. Boosler was the first female to earn her own comedy special, “Party of One,” on Showtime. Longtime fans might also remember her as a member of the cast of “Night Court.”

Perhaps pal Jerry Seinfeld will be in the audience for Tom Papa’s show on August 22. In addition to stand-up comedy and appearing on the big screen in “Analyze That,” “Bee Movie,” and “The Informant,” Mr. Papa is the host of “The Marriage Ref,” a Seinfeld-produced show that just began its second season on NBC.

The “Comedy Club” series finale features Andrea Martin performing her show “Final Days: Everything Must Go!” on August 29. Ms. Martin, who has appeared in “Young Frankenstein” on Broadway and the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” will perform a “musical extravaganza, where everything is up for grabs.” According to the advance word, Ms. Martin’s set will include her “life in song, story and a bit of Greek dancing.”

Tickets for all “Comedy Club” shows, which begin at 8 p.m., are $65, or $60 for Bay Street members. For reservations, call the box office at 725-9500 or visit baystreet.org.