Lisa Ferguson's Laugh Lines column appears Fridays. Her Sun Lite Column appears Mondays. Reach her at [email protected].
You can take the guy out of the Windy City, but you can't take the Windy City out of the guy. Case in point: John Caponera.
Although the comic has resided in the Los Angeles area for 17 years, his website address-- chicagojohn.com -- is a clear indication he left his heart in his hometown.
"It's a very hip city," Caponera explains. Performing for comedy club audiences there, "When you get onstage, they want you to do well, they give you the benefit of the doubt. But they're still gonna be a tough crowd if you don't crack 'em ... They know what's funny."
It doesn't take a Chicagoan, however, to recognize the humor of Caponera's sports shtick, especially his impressions of such legendary announcers as Chicago's own Harry Caray, along with Howard Cosell and Vin Scully. Count on Caponera to include them in his gig Tuesday through May 31 at Palace Station's Laugh Trax.
"Those are always crowd pleasers," he says. And, for the most part, they're expected whenever Caponera performs at private and corporate gigs, particularly those centered on golf outings and other sporting events.
"The sports stuff I do is timeless material," he says, explaining his bits about professional sports records "that are so phenomenal, you really have to question the credibility, like Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game ... Cy Young winning 511 games pitching, and Cumberland University lost to Georgia Tech one time 222 to nothing."
It's fitting that Caponera's website is also the home of Strawberry Field, billed as "the country's premier Wiffle-ball stadium," in Encino, Calif.
Before Wiffle worshipers plan a pilgrimage to the place, wait: The stadium is private, at the home of Caponera's "rich-bachelor" talent manager, Rick Messina.
"It's actually his driveway; it's not even in his back yard," Caponera explains. "And then he buys the house next door and tears down the dividing fence ... so he could make more room for the Wiffle-ball stadium."
On weekends Strawberry Field serves as "a big guys' hangout" for several comics -- Vegas comedy club frequenters Marty Rackham, Jon Manfrellotti and Scott Henry, among them -- musicians and writers looking to blow off a little steam.
"We're all in our 30s and 40s and nobody wants to run bases, and in Wiffle ball you don't have to run," the 46-year-old Caponera jokes. "It's like a country club without the dues. We'll barbecue, smoke cigars ... Guys walk around the place going, 'Man, he really thought this out,' and women walk around going, 'What the hell was this guy thinking?' "
Caponera first stepped up to the show-business plate during his years as a speech and drama major at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. He appeared in several plays there and was bitten by the acting bug. After graduating, however, he lacked the funds he needed to move to New York or L.A. and pursue an acting career.
He slid into comedy in 1979, when he performed his impressions as part of a "Gong Show"-style competition at a Chicago bar and won $500. Some of his earliest gigs were at Zanies Comedy Club, a few doors down from the famed Second City theater company.
In 1986 an established Caponera finally made the move to L.A. and, while continuing his comedy career, began scoring roles on a slew of TV series, including "ER," "L.A. Law," "The Drew Carey Show" and, more recently, "Popular," "Yes, Dear" and "That '80s Show." In the '90s he hosted a pair of sports shows: "Jocks" on Comedy Central, and "Talk II" on ESPN.
Caponera's biggest break came in 1993 when he began production on his own NBC sitcom. On "The Good Life," he played John Bowman, patriarch of a Chicago family. A then-up-and-coming Carey played the buddy of Caponera's character.
"The Good Life" was a short one, however, lasting only 13 weeks before striking out on the network's 1994 schedule. Still, Caponera calls the experience "the highlight of my career. I've done some great stand-up gigs ... but having my own sitcom was really great.
"I just loved the whole creative process of starting out on Monday and doing a different story each week. It was like putting on a play every Friday for the audience," he recalls.
Caponera says he'd like to land another sitcom, mostly because the work would keep him closer to his home in the L.A. suburbs, his wife (a former comedy-club waitress) and their three children than is afforded by his work on the road as a comic. "I still love to perform, I just can't handle the traveling," he says.
Meanwhile he spends his free time penning screenplays. In fact, he's writing a tale based on Strawberry Field. With a few twists of the truth, he hopes the story will strike a chord with folks back home. Instead of the main character being a show-business manager, "I changed it to a general contractor who makes it big," Caponera explains, "so your everyday Joe in Chicago or Cleveland can understand it."
Out for laughs
Look for Caponera's Wiffle-ball buddies to also take the Laugh Trax stage in coming months: Marty Rackham is scheduled to perform July 29 to Aug. 2 and again Aug. 5 to Aug. 9; Scott Henry headlines Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.
Catch a Rising Star at Excalibur recently announced the lineup for its "A Summer of Stars" series, which kicked off earlier this month with shows starring "Whose Line is it Anyway" co-star Greg Proops. Next up: HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man" co-star Bobby Slayton June 20 and June 21; frequent "Late Show With David Letterman" guest Jake Johannsen June 27 and June 28; and "Saturday Night Live" player Dean Edwards July 11 and July 12.
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