Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Bill Bellamy brings the laughs to Green Valley Ranch Resort

Bill Bellamy

Bill Bellamy performs for the first time at Green Valley Ranch Resort on May 27.

He is one of the essential stand-up comics that made HBO’s legendary Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam burn so bright. He’s appeared in dozens of movies and TV series such as How To Be a Player, Love Jones and Any Given Sunday, and more recently in The Bounce Back, White Collar and Castle. And he may have originated the term “booty call.”

Now Bill Bellamy is bring his own brand of suave comedy to Las Vegas — or more specifically, Henderson — at the Green Valley Ranch Resort for Memorial Day Weekend. We spoke with Bellamy about the state of comedy, staying away from politics and his Vegas party plans this week.

You’re a Jersey guy who’s lived in Los Angeles for a long time, but you don’t get to Las Vegas often. Why not? I’ve been to visit but I’ve just been working. Last time I was there we shot the Shaquille O’Neal All-Star Comedy Jam, so that was like a year and half ago. I love Vegas, it’s a shame I don’t come enough, but it’s always fun and there’s always a great turnout. People love their entertainment there. It’s a great place for music and for comedy, too, so it’s sort of the Super Bowl of entertainment.

From your perspective, is Las Vegas still a comedy capital? Oh, no doubt. If you’re not playing Vegas, you’re just not doing it, you know? That’s the spot. That validates your whole situation!

The comedy landscape has changed a lot since you broke through in the Def Comedy Jam days. What was it about that era that was so special? There were just so many of us that were so talented and everyone had a strong point of view about life, what’s going on in the world and how we were dealing with it. I think of comedians as the voice of the people. We are the guys and girls that give the pulse of the nation through social commentary. And it’s a very important role because we have a strong platform. Coming out in the ’90s, we really upheld that in a righteous way, and we were on cable so we could really speak our minds. We weren’t being held back because HBO was really about pushing the envelope then, and it blew up because we were raw and honest. Hopefully we can get back to that because right now everything is so politically correct. You can’t say that, you can’t call him that, oh my God. Comedians need an unfiltered voice to be the authentic artists we want to be.

Has the PC stuff affected your act? You haven’t traditionally focused on political stuff. I don’t let it affect me or make me nervous. I still want to be me and say the things I want to say. Everyone is so sensitive, but it is what is, it comes and goes in waves.

The thing about politics, it’s very funny, is that when you do political humor, it splits the room. Some people are laughing and some are not. People have a very passionate view of politics and religion, so in most cases I tend to stay out of there because I want people to come to my show and relax and have a great time.

You’ve been busy not just with stand-up and with TV projects, but a different stage performance lately. Yeah, we just did the Married But Single play and I finished up in St. Louis. It was really fun. Doing that play was a really wonderful opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people in different cities, I think eight markets, and people were just bugging out laughing. I really enjoyed the character I embodied, Jackson Kelly. It was sort of like doing stand-up as a character, but there was some real acting in there, too. Since I’ve been working on TV, I only had a short window to do the play, I didn’t have more freedom to be on the road with it. Now I’m focused on some [TV] projects that I’m producing and that I wrote. And I want everybody to come see me this weekend! It’s my first time at Green Valley Ranch and I can’t wait to kill it.

Are you going to hang out in Vegas for the weekend and party a little? Oh hell yeah! We gotta do something. I haven’t been in Vegas for a long time, I’ve got to catch up!

Bill Bellamy performs at the Green Valley Ranch Grand Events Center on May 27 at 8 p.m. For more info call 800-745-3000 or visit stationcasinosevents.com.

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