Larry the Cable Guy will bring his comedy routine to Lake Charles for two shows at 7 and 10 p.m. Friday, May 24, at the L’Auberge Event Center. The American Press talked with him about his career.

How did you develop the character Larry the Cable Guy?

I started doing it in the late 1980s on stage and on the radio in the ’90s. It has evolved from there. It started out as a complete character. Then I had a wife and kids and I incorporate them and breathed a little more life into it. It has always been a magnification of an extension of myself really. I enjoy doing it. It makes people laugh and that’s what it’s all about.

Did you think your career would have ever gotten this big?

No, I never did. I don’t think anybody really does unless you’re a snob. I got into the business because I love to make people laugh. I love doing stand-up. I knew if I worked hard I could hopefully become successful at it. And successful at it back then meant making a couple hundred grand a year or a hundred grand a year, make your own schedule and have a job that you enjoy. I wanted to be able to be home a bit and have a family — that’s what I was thinking.

Nobody plans for what happened to me, Jeff (Foxworthy), Bill (Engvall) and Ron (White). That’s the kind of stuff that happens as you’re going along. I never thought I would have movies. I never thought I would be in Pixar movies. I never thought I would write a book and be on the New York Times Best Sellers List. I never thought I would win a Billboard Award or be nominated for a Grammy. Dude, that’s the stuff of dreams. I’m very humbled by it.

Do you think you are better received with the character in the South? Did you struggle to find your niché?

No, not at all. I do well everywhere. I do well in the South. I do well in the Midwest. I do well in the Northeast. Ya know, people like to go out and laugh and have fun. They enjoy what I do. Not everybody is uptight. Not everybody has to find a political reason of why it’s funny or not. Most people just like to go out and laugh, ya know.

I read that you turn your character on and off. Is this true?

Yeah, I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s a part of me. I’m from Nebraska, but I grew up in the South. I Iived in the South for 33 years. I went to college in Georgia. I’m a country kid. I’m a farm kid. So, I’m not going to move from the farm to the South to the city and gravitate to city kids. I’m going to gravitate to the farm kids like I grew up as. Of course, that was it. I enjoyed it, and I had fun. Those were some of the best times in my life. I loved the South. It’s my second home totally. I consider Nebraska my home because that’s where I was born and lived my first 15 years and had a great childhood. But I loved Florida. I love it. I think it’s great. And I love the South. I love everything about it.

What do you think sets you apart from other comedians?

I think I have an unique act. I have a lot of one-liners. I’m a one-liner comedian. Not a lot of comedians do one-liners anymore. There is different kinds of comedians for different kinds of things. You have to have something unique about you like Lewis Black. Lewis Black is a hilarious comedian. I like him because of his style on stage. He’s the only one that does that kind of style on stage that sets him apart from others.

There are a lot of funny comedians out there but they do absolutely nothing that sets them apart. I think what I do kind of sets me apart from other people. It’s not just because I do something different. First and foremost you have to be funny. Jeff Foxworthy always catches flak because everybody says he always says, “You might be a redneck.” But Jeff is way more than that one comedy routine. He’s sold more albums than any comedian in the world, ya know. Obviously there’s more to him than “You might be a redneck.”

It’s kind of like me, ya know. Some comics say that I say “Git-R-Done” after every joke. Not true. I say “Git-R-Done” maybe twice in my act. The rest of the time people want to sit there and be entertained with jokes. So obviously I come armed with a s— load of funny one-liners. And if people didn’t think it was funny I would not be working. So, they think it’s funny.

So, like I said I enjoy what I do. I enjoy writing jokes. I enjoy delivering them to the people and that’s not just a one-trick pony. It’s a lot of things.

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Doors open one hour before each show. Stadium tickets are $45 and $60 on the floor. Call Ticketmaster at 800-488-5252 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at the L’Auberge Business Center and Legends at L’Auberge. All major credit cards are accepted. Guests must be 21 years of age and present a valid photo ID.

www.llakecharles.com/entertainment

Larry the Cable Guy. (Special to the American Press)