1989 THE YEAR AHEAD : Something Really Funny’s Going on This Year : County’s Clubs Will Offer Up Old-Timers and Whippersnappers

In the first few months of 1989, the local comedy scene will offer something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

--SOMETHING OLD:

George Carlin, who has been a trooper in the comedy wars for more than 25 years, will appear tonight at the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim.

The veteran comedy team of Mack and Jamie is performing at the Irvine Improvisation through Sunday.

Prop comic Bruce Baum--who is far from a whipper-snapper, though he sometimes wears a diaper in his “Baby Man” guise--returns to the Laff Stop in Newport Beach for a two-night engagement Saturday and Sunday.

--SOMETHING NEW:

Judy Tenuta--who wields an accordion while preaching the tenets of Judy-ism--makes her first appearance at the Irvine Improvisation Feb. 21 to 26, the week after her new HBO special premieres.

Tough-talking New Yawk comic Bobby Collins starts his debut engagement at the Laff Stop Feb. 15.

John Menodoza, a line comic and considered one of the better writers in stand-up, plays the Irvine Improv for the first time Jan. 31 to Feb. 5.

--SOMETHING BORROWED:

Orange County is “borrowing” Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller from “Saturday Night Live” for a one-night engagement Feb. 2 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

In a sense, UC Irvine is borrowing Jerry Seinfeld from the club circuit to present him Jan. 15 at the school’s Bren Events Center. But that loan is fleeting, at least locally, because he returns to the club circuit--specifically the Irvine Improv--the week of March 28-April 2.

--SOMETHING BLUE:

Headlining at the Laff Stop Jan. 18 to 22 is Robert Schimmel, a fairly filthy but sometimes very funny monologuist. Schimmel landed the coveted closing spot on Rodney Dangerfield’s recent HBO special on younger comics and will reportedly tape his own HBO special by spring.

And another Laff Stop regular who is not overly concerned with clean material--John Fox--rolls in about 2 months later for an engagement March 15 to 19.

--ET CETERA:

Other notable funny folks returning to Orange County stages in the next few months include Fred Greenlee (Laff Stop, Feb. 8 to 12), Allan Havey (Improv, Feb. 14 to 19), Emo Phillips (Improv, April 11 to 16), and Monica Piper (Laff Stop, March 29 to April 2).

Meanwhile, Coconuts in Anaheim continues its weekend offerings of road-tested comedians, with the occasional comic-magician or funny hypnotist thrown in for good measure. The club also presents some performers particularly well-known to local audiences: Willie Randolph, who developed his craft in Orange County, will headline Jan. 13-14, while Jim Hope, who began at UCI Comedy Club, appears at the Anaheim venue Feb. 3 and 4.