Great with sound effects, he aims to hear laughs

"Comic Capers"
By RODNEY BENGSTON

Nov. 11, 1999

Don't pigeonhole Pablo Francisco as the Latino comic.

"My stuff is for everybody, not just for Latinos," he says. "It's universal. I hit all the high points."

Now in his late 20s, the Tucson native, who headlines through Sunday at the Cleveland Improv, got his start at 17 when he and a buddy formed a duo called the "Blowout Boys," snuck into a local steakhouse comedy competition and won.

From that humble beginning, Francisco now is seen as one of stand-up's rising stars. He was a 1998 nominee for "Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic" at the American Comedy Awards.

In January, he'll have a show on Comedy Central called "F in History," where he is plopped into various historical events and, he hopes, hilarity ensues.

Previous TV experience includes being a cast member of Fox's "Mad TV" and several cable shows.

Francisco says he usually scores with material on relationships.

Jealous women are just one target. "Who is she?" he offers in a sassy female voice. "You hugged her? I don't care if she is your mom."

But audiences also know him for his dead-on recreations of sound effects and the send up of action-movie previews with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a tortilla vendor targeted by organized crime. He also spoofs the melodramatic Spanish soap operas on the Telemundo Cable Network.

His skill at voices helped him out of trouble when he got a flat tire in a run-down section of town just outside of San Diego. He was surrounded by a group of neighborhood toughs looking for trouble. When he told them he was a comedian, someone demanded he say something funny. Francisco obliged with a bit that blends the styles of rapper Dr. Dre and veteran disc jockey Casey Kasem.

The guys started laughing and eventually helped him out. That, he adds, is when he knew he had made the right career choice.

Francisco has seen highs and lows while traveling the country. He just performed at the University of Florida's homecoming: "There were 80,000 people there, and they were all paying attention. That's what amazed me."

The other end of the spectrum occurred in Dayton. "The electricity went out during my set," he says. "I had to yell out the rest of my act, and they kept bringing out more candles. By the end it was like we were having a seance."

Francisco also enjoyed a recent trip to Hong Kong: "They found me on the Web (pablofrancisco.com). They laughed at anything. They didn't care."

Francisco has a Cleveland tale to tell. "The last time I was in there I did a bit on Aaron Neville and how his voice could sound like your changing a radio station," he says.

It turned out that Neville and his band were performing in the Flats at the same time. "I saw him out the street, and he asked me if I was the guy doing him in my act," Francisco says. "He came over and gave me this really mean look. Then he laughed and got in his tour bus."

Francisco doesn't know what the future holds, but he has a few goals: "I'd like to get on a TV show and do some writing for the movies"

But for this week, he's willing to settle for a few more send-ups of movie previews.

ON STAGE: Psyhic and hypnotist Raven headlines through Nov. 20 at Hilarities in Cuyahoga Falls.

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