Kevin Burke: Fitz of Laughter

The spirits say he's hilarious

By Renée LiButti

Going to see Kevin Burke, the star of "Kevin Burke: Fitz of Laughter" at downtown's The D Las Vegas, is like watching three different comedians for the price of one. There's Kevin Burke, the klutz. There's Kevin Burke, the stand-up guy. And there's Kevin Burke, the psycho-kook. Whether he's doing physical comedy, delivering one-liners or demonstrating his powers of clairvoyance, this maker of mirth is sure to crack you up.

When you buy a ticket, just be mindful of the show's start time. "Fitz of Laughter" begins at 9:13 p.m. Burke proudly proclaims that he's got "the No. 1-rated 9:13 p.m. show in the world." Attributing this odd time to his "rebellious nature," he also confesses that it's the earliest he can reach downtown after wrapping up "Defending the Caveman," the one-man production he stars in nightly at the Excalibur, which is on the south end of the Strip. Headlining two different shows seven days a week should easily qualify him for the title of "Hardest-Working Comedian in Vegas."

But Burke could also be in the running for "Most Dim-Witted Comedian in Vegas." The daring stunt he uses to open "Fitz of Laughter" attests to this. Burke asks an audience member if she believes in luck. He flips a coin, which she calls correctly, so he gives it to her. He persuades her to test fate again and pulls out a table with two paper bags on it. They are folded over on top and labeled "H" and "T." He tells the woman to flip the coin and yell out what it lands on. She screams, "Tails!" Without a second's hesitation, he smashes his open palm into the "T" bag. The audience hears a bird squawk over the loudspeaker -- a sound effect, as no animal is hurt in this demonstration. Then, Burke opens the "H" bag and pulls out a six-inch spike.

"They don't always get the right one," he says after the show, while pointing to a sizable gash on his right hand. "It happened in Germantown, Wis., at Giggles Comedy Pub. I was using a hunting blade that night instead of a spike."

This gives you some idea about the unique style of entertainment Burke delights in. Of course, there are less dangerous segments in the show, like when he performs stand-up material. Male prostitution, Elvis impersonators and being middle-aged are just some of the topics that provide fodder for laughs.

"I still have a washboard stomach," feigns Burke, who is clearly built with more generous proportions. "I'm just carrying a load of laundry on it."

Without a doubt, the best part of the show is when he's channeling "the spirits." After pointing vaguely to the audience, he says that there is a man here with a concern. "The spirits say it's only a cold sore," intuits Burke, complete with mystical music and dramatic hand gestures. After this goes on for a while, he finds a female whom the spirits have told him "knows how to read." Burke hands her a copy of "Dog on It," a 305-page book that he bought at one of the local 99¢ Only Stores. He has her look for a word at least 12 to 14 letters long. Turning his back to her, Burke summons another very attractive woman to the stage. He explains that they must stare into each others' eyes -- proof positive he's not watching what part of the book the secret word is being selected from. After flirting shamelessly, he returns his attention to the first volunteer, asking her to concentrate on the word. Burke grabs a pen and writes it on a small dry erase board. In the end, she shouts out the word, just as he turns the board around -- and everyone in the audience sees and hears "handkerchief."

Burke has wanted to be a comedian since he was 6 years old, when his parents first brought him to Las Vegas. They bought tickets to see Redd Foxx, a blue humor comedian who was popular in the '70s for his role as a cranky junkyard owner on the TV sitcom "Sanford and Son." Appearing at the long-gone Hacienda, there was only a small crowd the night the family had gone. Burke recalls that Foxx walked onstage, took a look at everyone, declared he wasn't doing a show "for 12 mother-f***ing white people" and stormed off. It was a life-shaping moment.

Other comics have inspired him over the years as well. Burke credits tuxedoed Lord Buckley, who performed in the '50s, for his love of manipulation. He's always admired George Carlin's razor-sharp wit and social commentary. And the mind-bending he attributes to his great-grandmother, who taught him how to be "a fraudulent spiritualist medium."

Burke has been doing "Fitz of Laughter" since October of 2008. Originally he was asked to fill in and perform a one-time comedy set. However, his impromptu style connected so well with the audience that resort executives gave him a permanent show.

"They take good care of me here and let me do whatever I want," says Burke. This includes displaying a sideshow-type oddity to patrons as they exit the showroom. "I love to have them look at it and tell me what they think it is. I got it from a crazy guy who found it at Lake Mead and used the same preserving process on it that's used in 'Bodies…The Exhibition.'"

The spirits say it's the strangest thing you will ever see!