Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, October 3, 1997
Carrot Top will bring a trunk full of wacky inventions and a mass of fiery red hair to the Lied Center this weekend. "Kansan" reporter Corrie Moore caught up with him to talk about personal hygiene, groupies and his uncanny resemblance to Chelsea Clinton.
Getting under the Carrot Top
Corrie: Who gave you the name Carrot Top, and when did it originate?
Carrot Top: An Indian tribe gave it to me. No, not really. It kind of came about. It was one of those things people called me a lot.
Corrie: Obviously, because of the hair.
Carrot Top: Yeah, the hair and as a kid people used to pick on me. So, I used it for that reason. It was kind of given to me by the public. That's how mean they are.
Corrie: So, it was when you were a kid.
Carrot Top: Yeah,
when I was just a little
baby carrot.
Corrie: Is that your natural hair?
Carrot Top: Oh, yeah!
Yeah!
Corrie: No one does it for you?
Carrot Top: No, I don't even comb it, color it, curl it, nothing. It's just natural.
Corrie: What about washing it?
Carrot Top: I wash it occasionally, yes.
Comedian Carrot Top will perform Saturday at the Lied Center as part of the Parents Weekend activities. The event will be sponsored by Student Union Activities. Contributed photo
Carrot Top: I usually just go rifling through people's garages when they're not at home. No, I get most of my clothes sometimes at second-hand stores. In Los Angeles, they have really good ones where you can find great stuff.
Corrie: Where do you buy your clothes?
Corrie: Were you funny as a child?
Carrot Top: Definitely.
As a kid, I was always crazy. You know how you always have a second family? Well, our second family was like two houses down, and what I would do is I would entertain my family until they got tired of me and said, "Go away," and I'd go down to their house and entertain their family until they'd say, "Go back to your own house." So, I would just go from house to house entertaining people.
Corrie: What do people say when they recognize you?
Carrot Top: They say, "Aren't you Chelsea Clinton? Shouldn't you be in college at Stanford?" I get all of these different people say I look like Chelsea Clinton, and I look like that Alexei Lalas soccer player.
You know what they always say, actually? They say, "God, you're so much better looking in person." I always find that to be very offensive because I think, "Am I a pig on V.?"
I had this old woman come up to me and say, "My girlfriends and I are betting on you." I thought, "OK, they're betting if I'm a comedian." Like they've seen Regis and Kathy Lee or something. And she says, "We're just wondering, are you a boy or girl?"
Corrie: Do you have any groupies?
Carrot Top: I don't know if comics use groupies like rock 'n roll bands... I've had some people that have written to my Web page, or some girls who write me letters and they think I'm this or that. I don't know if necessarily have groupies that hang all over me
after shows. I don't have that rock 'n' roll kind of thing. Which is probably good anyway, because then I'd end up in court with Mary Albert.
Corrie: If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
Carrot Top: I guess my one wish would be that I could do this forever. Actually, that's a true wish. I just wished it three days ago. I said, "I just want to do this forever."
Corrie: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Carrot Top: I've had so much advice that it's hard to pick one. I had advice from comics. I just worked with Don Rickles, believe it or not, in Dennis the Manace 2. He gave me some advice as a performer about being yourself and doing what's right. There's so much competition and so much negative stuff that goes along with show business. And, it can eat
at you sometimes, especially if you're sensitive to that, which I am.
Corrie: What's the worst piece of advice?
Carrot Top: I had people tell me about comedy. They told me what I was doing would never work and to get rid of the props and get rid of this and do this and this and wear a suit on stage. So, I've been given some advice like that, that I never took, thank God.
Corrie: If you were the only person left on the earth and you could have one person with you, who would you want? Be honest.
Carrot Top: I always thought Einstein was pretty cool.
Corrie: OK, last question. Do you ever use any of the gadgets that you invent?
Carrot Top: Not really, no. I haven't found one yet, but there are some that I thought I could use.
This man is about to sink his teeth into a juicy burger from Molly McGees...
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