Q&A: Built Ford tough

WARNING: The following story does not come with a rating from the bigwigs at the Motion Picture Academy or the TV Arts and Sciences folks, and it is suitable for all ages.

And that may not please Diane Ford.

A veteran stand-up comic who has appeared on 90 television shows and starred in three HBO comedy specials, Ford has been nominated 11 times for Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards. ("Never having won it, I am the Susan Lucci of the comedy world," she says.)

The Las Vegas resident is a fan and practitioner of blue humor -- the raunchier the jokes, the better. Such is the philosophy behind her latest endeavor, "Midnight Martini Madness," a late-night comedy show that has settled into the Desert Inn's Starlight Lounge through June, where the dirty humor flows as freely as the martinis (well, at least the first one is free, included in the ticket price).

Serving as hostess, Ford is joined onstage Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights by rotating pairs of her comic buddies -- stand-up staples Dom Irrera, Vinnie Favorito and Steve McGrew among them.

The 44-year-old funny lady, who is married to a Aladdin Gaming executive David Attaway, unexpectedly found herself in the national media spotlight recently when her name was among those listed in a statement by comedy legend Jerry Lewis as one of his favorite female comedians. (Lewis was apologizing for remarks he made in February, about his "trouble" with female comics, at a Colorado comedy festival.)

Ford, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have any troubles -- not with Lewis' comments, not with risque humor or with indulging in a couple of mid-show martinis.

Las Vegas Sun: How did the idea for "Midnight Martini Madness" come about?

Diane Ford: Well, I tour about 40 weeks a year regularly and I've been doing it for a long time, 20 years. And a friend of mine, who I actually have done some projects with, called me up and said, "Listen, I have this idea for a midnight comedy show. Why don't you think about getting off the road and co-producing this with me and making it your show?"

I like the idea of a midnight show because I think in this town, at least years and years ago, the hottest lounge shows were the ones that happened at midnight or 2 a.m. (starring such performers as) Redd Foxx and comedy (that) was dirty and it was edgy and it was all those things.

I really wanted (this show) to be like a party. (With) the other comedy shows, the formula is the same, and this one is very different in that I stay onstage the entire time, and the banter that goes back and forth between us is priceless and will never happen again.

Sun: What about political correctness? Do you even take that into account?

DF: Nah.

Sun: How do you feel about it?

DF: It's all stupid. I think funny is funny. I don't think racist humor is funny. And I don't think really sexist humor is funny. But you know what? Sometimes it is. It's how you do it, how you imply it. If you don't mean evil by it, then laugh. Once somebody laughs at something, the sting is gone, it doesn't have any meaning anymore, it's just a joke.

Sun: The whole concept of the show harkens back to the "old Vegas" days. What about that is so appealing to you?

DF: It's very Rat Packy. It's like taking that concept of the party and making it happen now. And all of the comics (in the show), I know almost everybody in the business, and these guys have been around forever. ("Home Improvement" star) Tim Allen is coming to do a weekend with me.

Everybody is calling me saying, "I want to do your little show over there." (Ford says) "Well, I'm not paying you." "Well, I don't care, I want to do it anyway." You know, I have a lot of contacts and a lot of good friends in the business and they all want this to work. They all like the idea.

Sun: How are the martinis?

DF: They're excellent. I have a couple during every show. Yeah, baby! It's Vegas, baby! Drink 'em up!

Sun: You mentioned Tim Allen. What about your relationship with him? You wrote an episode of "Home Improvement"?

DF: He'll kill me if he hears that one, but it's true. He had the one idea and he said, "Go ahead and write this up for me." (Ford said), "That would be me do all the work and you take half the money." Basically, that was the way it happened.

Sun: Which episode was that?

DF: It was the one about plastic surgery, you know, where he was playing on the computer and enlarging her breasts so they got really huge. It's played (in reruns) a lot. I can't complain, I get the residuals.

Sun: Why didn't you do your own sitcom?

DF: Nobody asked me.

Sun: Was that something you would have considered doing?

DF: Oh, absolutely. I sold a (television) pilot ... that didn't get made, but it was a very good show and I would have done that one. But it doesn't happen for everyone.

A lot of comedians started (in the business) with the intention of getting a sitcom. Mine was always just to be the best stand-up (comic) I could be. I thought if anything else happened that was great, but that wasn't my goal.

Sun: Jerry Lewis thinks you've done a terrific job.

DF: He thinks I'm brilliant! Who's gonna argue with him? It means I can play well in France, I think.

Sun: What did you think about his comments about female comics?

DF: I think it was a joke that fell flat. Sometimes you tell jokes and they just don't work and you dig your hole deeper. I think it was just blown out of proportion by the media.

Sun: You made someone's list as being one of their favorite comedians. Who would you put on your list?

DF: I like Robert Schimmel. I think he's very funny. I like Dom Irrera. He opened (the show the first weekend) for me as a favor to me. He's a phenomenal comedian and never ceases to make me laugh. Bobby Slayton I think is very funny and he's a good friend.

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