ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALESSANDRA SOLER STAFF WRITER
FOR political satirist Mark Russell, humor is in the air.
"I take it from the oxygen we breathe," he said recently. "I'm like a sponge. I just listen, absorb and see how people react to the crazy things they see on television and read in the papers."
It's his facetious one-liners that executives at Blue Ridge Public Television are counting on to help bring their stations needed donations.
Russell, whose 1992 show at Roanoke College sold out, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center as part of a fund-raising campaign to benefit public broadcasting stations in Roanoke, Norton and Marion, which combined have coverage in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.
"One of the things that we're particularly concerned with is our ability to continue to produce local programs that are especially vital to the Roanoke community," said Margaret Crouse, public information manager for Blue Ridge Public Television. "Programming costs continue to escalate and we're just trying to keep up and sustain what we have."
Crouse said fund-raising events - like Russell's visit - are organized in order to avoid interrupting regularly scheduled programs.
"It's basically in lieu of us going on the air in December and asking for money," she said. "He's just a wonder to watch. When he's on stage he can really get the audience going. It's going to be very profitable for our station and it will help us with our overall public expenses."
Russell, who lets on that he's under 70, said in a telephone interview this month that there's a market and future for public television. "Lots of Republicans love public television," he said. "I mean it's the bankers and their wives who are their main supporters."
Russell, who continues to call himself an independent, said he targets liberals and conservatives equally. "I have to balance my act," explained the man who's been called the "political pundit of the Potomac." "It's kind of like survival on stage."
"It's public television and we're funded by the government, "Russell said, "so I've got to appeal to both parties and to the people outside of politics who help us out. I don't think either side is free from being ridiculed."
Leaving any remnants of political correctness aside, Russell, like always, mocked current events during the comedy special that aired on May 16. He talked about the government, joked about the politicians who run it, added a few jingles while hitting a few keys on the piano and then sang about the idiosyncrasies of both.
His take on this year's presidential campaign: "Clinton is at his best when he's at a funeral; Dole is at his best when the funeral isn't his."
On vegetarians: "Mad cow disease is to vegetarians what brown tap water is to the Evian people."
On raising money for PBS: "Jackie O's auction brought in millions of dollars ... That's it - an auction - we could do it right here on PBS."
Ever wonder who makes Russell laugh? While his sarcastic wit may not appeal to the masses, Russell admits different things work for different comedians.
"I think I'm a good audience," he said. "The late night guys - Leno and Letterman - they have to water down their stuff a bit and it's mainly because they're trying to appeal to a very broad audience. It's a little too general and not focused enough for me ... I love [comedian George] Carlin. He's part of history with his seven dirty words. I mean that's Supreme Court law, people are studying them in law school."
Although he has lived in Washington since 1951, Russell grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. After graduating from all-male Canisius High School there, he and his parents moved to Miami to open a grocery store and meat market. The business soon failed and his family moved to Washington.
In 1958, he started working at the Carroll Arms Hotel on Capitol Hill, where his humor inevitably took on more of a political flavor. "When I was first starting out, I was really a severely talent-impaired piano player," Russell said. "But once I started working at that bar on Capitol Hill, it just took off." He gained popularity in the 1970s, after officials from WNED, a television station in Buffalo, caught his act in the hotel lounge.
"I had [piano] teachers as a kid who still deny to this day that they were my teachers," he recalled. "You know, they'd move away and wouldn't leave a number or a forwarding address. I still am a terrible piano player. I only know three chords and if I learn a fourth I'll probably kill myself."
TV Guide once called Russell "the funniest man on television."
"I'm not modest, but I wouldn't go that far," Russell said. "I guess the guy caught me on a good day. ... If they catch a good show then I'm lucky. If they found something in the act that they liked, then I've done my job."
Mark Russell performs Friday at 8 p.m. at Hotel Roanoke. The $100 admission benefits Blue Ridge Public Television. For information or to purchase tickets, call 344-0991 or (800) 221-0991.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:by CNB