‘Hottest Comic’ Had Funny Career Choice : Comedy: Rick Rockwell tried to decide between humor as a livelihood and hockey. Audience laughter tipped the scales; he’s at the Irvine Improv tonight.

It started with more than 200 comedians, but when the finalists gathered in the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, there were only eight comics left.

At the end of the two-hour finals, which were taped for a Family Channel special in October, Rick Rockwell was named “Hollywood’s Hottest New Comic.”

Not bad for a guy who has been doing stand-up comedy for 10 years.

The irony makes Rockwell laugh.

“I didn’t even think of that,” he said. “I guess it should be, ‘Hollywood’s New and Improved Comic.’ I should change my name to Tide.”

As the winner of “Hollywood’s Hottest New Comic” contest, Rockwell received $3,000 and a trophy of a fireman (hot--get it?).

“The best part of the special,” Rockwell said, “was that the presenter was Mickey Rooney. I told him it was nice he showed up--at first I thought he was there just to make the refreshments look bigger.”

Audiences at the Improv in Irvine this week can see just what makes the high-energy, off-beat comic so hot. He’s at the Improv tonight through Sunday.

Of being tagged “Hollywood’s Hottest New Comic” after a decade in the business, Rockwell concedes that it’s always nice to receive recognition. “It’s better than not being ‘Hollywood’s Hottest New Comic’ if you’re entered,” he said with a laugh.

In his act, Rockwell does a lot of sounds (everything from crickets to a Geiger counter) and he does voice characterizations such as Pee Wee Herman as a safecracker. He also keeps tabs on current events.

So what’s on Rockwell’s mind these days?

“I think the Middle East crisis is a scam to get the oil prices up,” he says. “Haven’t you seen those Iraqi soldiers wearing those Exxon T-shirts?”

The Pittsburgh native, who majored in health and physical education at Penn State, moved to Los Angeles in 1980 with two possible careers in mind: Either he would become a professional hockey player or a professional comedian. Rockwell, a self-described ham who was voted Class Clown in his senior year in high school, said his decision was made by other people: “The comedy was decided because people were laughing and hockey was decided because I just wasn’t good enough.”

Rockwell hasn’t abandoned hockey entirely. He is on a celebrity all-star team that plays for charities. His teammates are mostly actors and include Alan Thicke, Michael Keaton and Michael J. Fox.

At 34, Rockwell acknowledges that he made the right career choice. “All the guys I played hockey with are retiring,” he said. “My career is moving up and theirs is ending.”

Rockwell, who co-wrote and is co-starring in the upcoming “Killer Tomatoes Strike Back,” appears frequently on Fox’s “Comic Strip Live” and other stand-up comedy shows. Fans of “Star Search” will remember his six appearances on the talent contest show last year.

While Rockwell feels every TV appearance is good exposure for a comedian, “Star Search” was not a major career break.

“It was just another TV stepping stone, I call it,” he said. “It’s just another thing to validate ‘I’m a force to be reckoned with.’ At least I’m doing something. It’s like ‘Hollywood’s Hottest New Comic.’ It just gives you an extra notch of credibility.”

Actually, Rockwell doesn’t believe “Star Search” is a good showcase for comedians: They are only given 2 1/2 minutes to show their stuff. He also doesn’t care for the “judgmental” aspect of the show.

“Comedy is more of a subjective art,” he said. “All art is subjective but the beauty is really in the eyes of the beholder when it comes to comedy.”