CLASS CLOWN TO PLAY CAL STATE FULLERTON

It’s back to school for Tom Parks as the comedian headlines the Comedy Night tonight at Checkers (formerly the Pub) at Cal State Fullerton. A veteran comic, Parks has built his career around playing colleges and universities, reportedly appearing at more than 700 campuses.

Some headliner-level comedians include college shows on their performance schedule because the money is good and the audiences are sharper and hipper than many of the club crowds they work on the road.

Unlike Parks, however, most comics don’t specialize in campus appearances. Conventional comedy wisdom suggests that if a comedian isn’t on the club circuit, it’s much tougher to get booked on late-night talk shows or land TV and film roles.

Nonetheless, Parks--who incorporates anecdotes about his own college days into his act--has done pretty well for himself. In 1983, he was named Campus Entertainer of the Year by the National Assn. for Campus Activities. And a script based on letters he wrote from the road is being made into a film called “Funny Man,” starring Griffin Dunne.

Sharing the bill with Parks at this evening’s Cal State Comedy Night will be Dave Friedman, a regular at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles, and John Borchers. Shows at Checkers are scheduled for 8 and 10:30 p.m. Cal State Fullerton is at 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. For more information, call (714) 773-3501.