The Signal's Stephen K. Peeples -- CityWalk Goes Bonkers with New Comedy Club

Parrott, a heavy-set self-described "sex symbol" who's appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" more than 20 times, rolled around the stage like a beached whale and cracked up the crowd with jokes about run-ins with his Asian landlord.

Ernst, fresh from the sets of "CSI: New York" and "Hard Rock Live," earned repeated applause playing up his "Italian dude from Joizy" persona, talking about nutcases he grew up with back home, and complaining about being mistaken for a Persian when he visits the West Coast.

Bonkerz' new CityWalk location features two 90-minute comedy shows every Friday and Saturday night, starting at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 plus a $9.99 minimum food purchase per person; the club sports a complete dinner menu and a full bar.

The club's proximity to Universal and other major Hollywood film and television studios gives comedy fans the opportunity to catch appearances by the field's top stand-up, series and feature film performers - as well as fast-rising talent — in an intimate club setting.

Over the years, a Who's-Who of A-list comedians has appeared on Bonkerz' stages, including Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, Rosie O'Donnell, Drew Carey and many others. Stars such as "Saturday Night Live" cast member Darrell Hammond and comic actor Carrot Top first earned fame as regulars on the Bonkerz circuit.

At the new Universal CityWalk location, guests can also expect "drop-ins" by superstar talents working on new movie, TV and club material as well as Hollywood's funniest new talent.

The CityWalk venue is the newest Bonkerz, joining the chain's flagship club at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Fla., and those in Daytona Beach, Fla.; the Holiday Inn at Alatamonte Springs, Fla.; the Argosy Casino in Sioux City, Iowa; the Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss.; and the Powatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisc. The venues have served as locations for comedy shows and segments airing on Showtime, Comedy Central, FOX, MTV and "America's Funniest People."

"L.A.'s a tough nut to crack, because the city's been dominated forever by well-established clubs like The Comedy Store, The Improv and The Laugh Factory," said Joe Sanfelippo, founder of the first Bonkerz in Orlando in 1987 and owner of the chain, explaining why he's just now opening his first nightclub here.

While most L.A. comedy venues are more like "showcase" clubs featuring short sets by many comics, Sanfelippo said, "Bonkerz is what we call a 'road club' or a 'headliner club.' We present a three-act show with a headliner up there for 45 minutes to an hour. The result should be the same — hopefully you'll come in here and laugh!"

Sanfelippo explained how Universal execs approached him about opening a Bonkerz at CityWalk. "They saw what we were doing in Orlando and approached me and asked me to go into partnership with them out here. They had a venue that had been dark for four years. Our deal is that Universal handles the operational end of things — staffing, food and beverages, the door. My job is on the creative side — providing the license to use the name 'Bonkerz,' and using my connections to bring in top comics to work the room. We also handle all the marketing."

Sanfelippo characterized opening night as "awesome, a great beginning. We're starting out with two nights a week and hope to expand it to four or five as soon as possible, going for diversity with various themes so every night's different."

Booking comedy talent for 20 years, Sanfelippo says he knows most of the well-known comics who've come up during that time.

"The hottest in the country right now is Larry the Cable Guy, from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour," Sanfelippo said. "He's eclipsed all the guys he started with - not that they aren't also very funny people. Larry's a very good friend and from Orlando as well, Sanford, a suburb. He was home about a month ago and just popped into my club there.

"You could never afford to pay somebody like that in a 200-seat room," Sanfelippo continued, "but you're hoping that someday guys like [Jay] Leno or Drew Carey decide to stop by and maybe break in some new material. Those are the kinds of people we're always looking to pull in at Bonkerz."

For more info on Bonkerz at Universal CityWalk, call (818) 763-2665 or visit citywalkhollywood.com. Find out more about the Bonkerz chain by calling the Orlando club at (407) 629-2665 or visiting bonkerscomedyclub.com.

Coming to the Bonkerz CityWalk stage:
April 8-9: Steve Seagren (NBC, HBO, A&E, MTV and Showtime comedy programs).
April 15-16: Tim O'Rourke ("The Drew Carey Show"; MTV and Comedy Central shows).
April 22-23: Big Tony Esposito ("Hard Rock Live" and Comedy Central shows).
April 29-30: Monty Hoffman (NBC, ABC, FOX and MTV shows).

Headlining Bonkerz' opening night festivities was comedian and actor Billy Gardell, whose credits include television appearances on "Dennis Miller," "Yes Dear," "King of Queens" and "The Practice" and in the feature film "Bad Santa."

Gardell, originally from Pittsburgh and an imposing figure who bears a striking resemblance to Buzz Lightyear out of uniform, had the full house of 210-plus comedy fans belly-laughing nearly non-stop throughout his 45-minute set.

Pacing the stage, Gardell riffed on being a Republican who thinks President Bush acts like Yosemite Sam; growing up in a dysfunctional family with a series of "%##&^%$ stepfathers"; the pros and cons of drinking booze versus smoking pot; and how lame it was that when he quoted the title of "Conjunction Junction" from "Schoolhouse Rock," everyone in the audience shouted out the next line — "what's your function?" — but then couldn't name either of California's U.S. Senators (Boxer and Feinstein, for the record).

Some of these bits can be heard on Gardell's latest CD, "Throwback."

Introduced by Bonkerz CityWalk emcee and warm-up comic Dean Napolitano, Gardell was preceded onstage by show openers Matt Parrott and Brett Ernst.