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Ralphie May's first DVD, "Just Correct," was released in February and recently went platinum.
Comic May returns
to isles
Ralphie May has made his reputation as the whitest black guy you've ever met.
He's also one of the largest. With the comedian's return to the islands with his comic-girlfriend earlier this week, the Tennessee-born May quips that he's "the biggest non-Samoan in Hawaii."
May's back
Comedian Ralphie May with opening comic Lahna Turner (pictured)Where: Pikake Room, Neal Blaisdell Center
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Tickets: $25, 18 and over
Info: 591-2211 or ticketmaster.com
Tipping the scales, by his estimation, at 430 pounds (and this after gastric bypass surgery), May makes it a point in his act not to do self-deprecating fat jokes. Instead, because of his affinity with black folk from growing up in the South, he liberally sprinkles his material with what is referred to in politically correct terms as "ebonics" -- in other words, black folk dialect -- in a hip-hop vein.
Combine that with his numerous late-night TV appearances and bust-out showing on last season's "Last Comic Standing" competition on NBC, and Ralphie May is one of the current favorites on tour. And he'll be making a return appearance on a Honolulu stage tonight.
Speaking from his Houston hotel room late last week, May effusively said: "The first time me and my girlfriend was there (Hawaii), it was phenomenal! ... In fact, we were planning to come back for a vacation around this time, when the offer came to do a gig there.
"I love 'em, the Hawaii people are a great audience, what with the mix of different races. I'm in heaven when I'm there."
It was in Houston that May met his soon-to-be girlfriend Lahna Turner at the Last Stop comedy club.
"Coming from the South, people misconstrue that the whites and the blacks stay apart. I'm not saying there isn't racism still present, but there's a lot of mixture of the races. And coming from a financially broke household in Clarksville, Ark., it's pretty much the same as being black.
"I even think of myself as being blacker than most black guys -- although my credit's good, I got my car back from my momma, and even though my girl's only 120 pounds, all of it is in that butt of hers!" (Turner, who sings and plays guitar as part of her routine, will open for her boyfriend here.)
MAY'S ACT is free-flowing and unexpurgated. "It's all topical humor. I cover a lot of stuff. I call it 'Just Correct,' as opposed to being politically correct. It's controversial sometimes, enough that I've been banned from some radio stations in the past."
His first DVD of the same name was released in February this year and has just gone platinum in sales, selling over 50,000 units to date.
May's popularity has been such that he's even swam in Saddam Hussein's pool.
OK, let's explain that unusual scenario. "I got a call out of the blue from a presidential aide -- and I can't tell you how strange it was to see the White House listed on my caller ID -- and he told me that the president had seen me on TV and liked me, and would I perform for the USO. So I was part of the first USO-sponsored entertainment for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Me and my girlfriend were there for only eight days. ... I wanted to do more shows.
"Anyway, we visited Camp Victory in Baghdad, and saw one of Hussein's houses where military operations now had its offices in. Even though the place was made of marble, the furniture in it was this tacky, particle-board stuff.
"But using his pool was great. It was 120 degrees, and we're covered in dirt, so I was doing cannonballs for Jesus!"
AND LIKE every other celebrity who lives and works in Los Angeles, May has, and is, working on movie and TV projects.
"I'm writing right now a low-budget film project for MGM that's partly autobiographical about a white student at the predominantly black Southern University who runs for class president and wins.
"I'm also the host and co-writer for a new game show called 'Baggin',' where two comics trash each other for cash and prizes. We've already shot a pilot episode and, because of the language, we're pitching them to the cable pay channels like Showtime and HBO."
May and several other comics also have bit parts in an upcoming Damon Wayans-directed indie drama called "Behind the Smile." "Even though there are some funny aspects to it, the movie overall is very dark, with some of it done in a documentary style. His brother Marlon plays this comic who's become a hack and a drug addict, really an evil person who corrupts a young comic."
Even though his profession does have dark moments, May said standup comedy is alive and well. "It'll be 15 years in September, and I'd say it's less competitive in the field right now, because even though there are more comics, so many niches have opened up as well," he said. "It's in a good place right now, and the audience is energized and appreciating standup.
"It's the only thing I've done. It may sound kind of boastful, but it was my only ticket out of Arkansas. My mom held down three jobs to support her four kids, so my mom's a hell of a woman. They're all kind of funny, especially my grandfather, and I like to think I'm a bit all of them. They're all very proud of what I've become."
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