Mr. Rude Says It’s His Job to Make Fun of Everything

It had been almost 24 hours since Billy Elmer’s second-round loss in the comedy competition of TV’s “Star Search,” but the comic was still smarting.

“Let’s not even talk about ‘Star Search,’ ” Elmer groused by phone from the airport in his hometown of Pittsburgh last week.

“I was eating with (comic) Kevin Rooney last night, and he told me not to worry about it. He was trying to console me, buying me food and filling me with wine.”

Actually, Elmer, who’s headlining this week at the Laff Stop in Newport Beach, said he had fun doing “Star Search.”

“They treat you really nice,” he said. “I have no complaints against the ‘Star Search’ people. . . . It’s just a couple of judges I’m going to try and kill. The lady from the Ford Modeling Agency chose the cute young girl.”

His “Star Search” loss aside, the 13-year veteran practitioner of what he calls “sick comedy you can dance to” has accumulated a string of TV credits, including “Comic Strip Live,” “A&E;’s An Evening at the Improv,” “Caroline’s Comedy Hour” and “The MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour.”

The 260-pound comic--he’s down from a peak of 375 pounds--is described in his bio as “loud, outsized, obnoxious and always in your face.” Although he complains that the description has “negative connotations,” Elmer, who has been dubbed Mr. Rude, concedes it’s on the mark.

“I’m not saying I’m not loud or obnoxious,” he said. “I’m loud and crazy and nuts, and I call people names and make fun of them--I make fun of everything. That’s my job.”

An adept ad-libber, Elmer said he likes to “take my show to the people. I play to them. I don’t play to be politically correct. I play ‘me,’ and I give 100% out there and I have fun at it. People come up to me and say, ‘You know, you look like you’re having so much fun out there that it’s infectious.’ I say, ‘The real scary thing is I am-- and they pay me to do it!’ ”

Elmer’s act ranges from a hilarious routine on women faking orgasms to a bit on female body builders.

He also makes fun of his ample size, although Mr. Rude maintains the upper hand:

“You women are just sitting there saying, ‘Wow. Male stripper!’ . . . What the hell you laughing at lady? So I let myself go since Christmas . . . ’82. You don’t believe me, do you? (He does a few pelvic bumps and grinds.) Gettin’ you hot, huh? All right, tuck a dollar in there. (Louder) Tuck a dollar in there! . . . All right, a quarter. But warm it up first. No money? All right, reach in and get a buck out for yourself.”

Here’s more Elmer on:

Dating: “I worship women from afar. . . . Well, it’s a court order.”

Women trouble: “I always pick the wrong women. My girlfriends always have CMS--Constant Menstrual Syndrome.”

Tattoos: “A lot of women get tattoos. That’s sick. Don’t. That butterfly looks great on your breast when you’re 20 or 30. You get to be 70, 80 . . . it stretches into a condor. Your grandchildren love it though: ‘Grandma! Show us Big Bird!’ ”

Who: Billy Elmer.

When: Thursday, Oct. 8, at 8:30 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 9, at 8 and 10 and 11:45 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 10, at 8, 10 and 11:45 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 11, at 8:30 p.m. With Martha Jane.

Where: The Laff Stop, 2122 S.E. Bristol St., Newport Beach.

Whereabouts: From the Corona del Mar (73) Freeway, take the Irvine Avenue/Campus Drive exit onto Bristol Street and go south one block.

Wherewithal: $7 to 10.

Where to call: (714) 852-8762.