Bobby Collins' story is simple: He loves laughs

May 24, 2001

Bobby Collins did not hit the stand-up stage until after a short foray into the business world. But the idea of becoming a comedian was planted early in life.

"I remember lying on the floor watching 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and turning around after hearing my parents laughing," he says. "My mom was a waitress and dad a clerk, and this made their miserable lives a little better."

Even his name has a comic connection. When he asked his mother why she named him Bobby, she told him "because we always liked Bob Hope."

Collins, a native New Yorker, climbed the corporate ranks at Calvin Klein to become a vice president in a year and a half. But one night he talked his way onto the stage at Catch a Rising Star. A new career began. But Collins says it took some time for audiences to appreciate his storyteller style.

"Everybody else was doing these funny one-liners," he says. "At first, it was rough."

It's easy, however, for Collins to recall his favorite show. "I opened for Frank Sinatra in St. Louis because someone else couldn't do it," he says. "There was such electricity in the air. It was one of the last times that he performed live."

The worst time was when he opened for Cher at a Connecticut amphitheater filled with 32,000 people who had been drinking their way through an all-day event. To make matters worse, the performers were two hours late because their buses broke down.

"They're expecting Cher, and they hear 'Ladies and gentlemen . . . Bobby Collins,' " he says. "I never heard such boos. The first 10 minutes were rough, but I finally won them over. I told them, 'You can love me or you can hate me, but I'm going to be here for 30 minutes.'"

A strong believer in family, Collins says his dedication was put to the test with the birth of his second daughter, Madison, a special needs child. "When God gives you an angel with a clipped wing, what an honor," he says. "He doesn't give you anything you can't handle." Proceeds from the merchandise Collins sells have benefited special needs children.

Besides his work on the stand-up stage, Collins is planning a children's book called "Dirty Dan and Nasty Nat." The title comes from nicknames an uncle gave Bobby and his brother. The story, he adds, will center on two best friends' trek to New York City.

"They'll be from the Midwest — hey, they could even be from Cleveland," quips Collins, ever the marketer.

And why did Collins decide to write a children's book?

"I read books to my daughters all the time, and none of them are funny. They're all just trying to teach something."

The former host of VH-1's "Stand-up Spotlight" also has two CDs to his credit — "Bobby Collins: On the Inside" and "Bobby Collins: Out of Bounds." He is working on a third.

Collins remembers his first trip to Cleveland. "I've known Drew Carey for a long time, and he always told me that I should go to Cleveland. The shows were at the old Hilarities, and everything was sold out two days before I got there."

Collins says he appreciates the audiences of northeast Ohio.

"Cleveland has such a small-town flavor, but they call it a city. Places like Cleveland, Chicago and Boston, you can feel right at home there."

Collins will appear at 8 p.m. June 1 at the Lorain Palace Civic Center, 617 Broadway, Lorain. Tickets, priced at $18, are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at the theater box office or by calling (800) 889-4842 or (440) 245-2323.

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ON STAGE: Rik Roberts headlines today at Hilarities. Hope Flood of BET fame tops the bills Friday through Sunday at the club.

Heath Hyche, who appeared in the movie "Man on the Moon," headlines through Sunday at the Cleveland Improv.

Rodney Bengston, an editor in Sun Newspapers' Metro office, covers northeastern Ohio's comedy scene.