'Naughty Show' 10 Brings On Taylor Vixen Tonight

HOLLYWOOD—Comic Sam Tripoli presents the 10th installment of his 2 1/2-year-old Naughty Show tonight at the Hollywood Improv (8162 Melrose Ave. 90046), featuring Penthouse Pet of the Year Taylor Vixen as the guest of honor and getting underway at 10pm. 

Begun as a pilot for Comedy Central, the Naughty Show has hosted some of the biggest names from the worlds of adult (Belladonna, Jenna Haze, Ann Marie Rios, Kayden Kross, Nikki Benz) and comedy (Doug Benson, Jim Norton, Bobby Lee). Tripoli founded the show, he says, as a bid to revive the raw-and-raunchy-style club comedy that saw its heyday in the mid-'80s age of Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay.

"I've been blessed to play some amazing gigs, from the Wiltern in L.A. to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto," Tripoli told AVN. "As great as these gigs are, my favorite gigs are crazy bar shows. I just love the crowds that show up at bar gigs, they're always young, fun and wanting to party. So I wanted to find a way to get those crazy, fun crowds to the comedy clubs. I wanted to make stand-up comedy an event again. I think comedy has become too safe and structured. So I started to think, how can I create an amazing variety show that would bring a crazy party crowd? And thus Naughty was born."

Tripoli credits Benny Hill as one of his biggest influences, and said he got started doing comedy about 12 years ago "because I couldn't hold down a real job. I was fired about 10 times from 'normal' jobs. So after high school, I moved to Las Vegas to start doing comedy."

Since then, he's built up an impressive résumé of appearances on nationally broadcast programs including Showtime's Live Nude Comedy, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and CBS' The Late Late Show. And now he hopes to bring the Naughty Show to that scope of audience.

"I want to get Naughty on TV and in Vegas," Tripoli said. "I would love to do a late night show on Fox like a dirty Saturday Night Live. I would also love to see Naughty in a major hotel in Vegas. I think the show fits what people visiting Vegas are looking for. I honestly believe I will achieve both of these goals in the very near future. Naughty's going national and beyond."

Two of the Naughty Show's staples that definitely hold the potential to become hits with a large-scale audience are the Fan Mail segment and rabbit-suited sidekick Bunny Fever. "I thought it was hilarious if I got some of my favorite comics to write fan mail to our guest adult stars," Tripoli said of the former. "It's a crowd favorite because it's so unexpected. Matt Iseman's legendary letter to Kayden Kross from a fan who happens to be a vampire is honestly one of the funniest comedic pieces I have ever seen."

As to the man in the bunny costume, Tripoli explained, "I was in a strip mall in Bakersfield, when for some reason I decided to go into the shady-looking pet store. This pet store sold snakes, big snakes. I went to the back to look at the snakes when I noticed across the hall there was a bunch of cages with furry animals in them, [and] I realized that all these animals were the snakes' dinner ... basically an animal death row. In one of the cages was none other than Bunny Fever. He told me he was framed for a crime he didn't commit and was scheduled to be served for chow that day unless he broke out. So I decided to help him make his break. I got him out and we hightailed it to Hollywood. We've been on the run ever since telling jokes and staying two steps ahead of Johnny Law."

Fair enough. In addition to the headlining appearance by Taylor Vixen, Naughty 10 will feature pole dancing by 2006 Spearmint Rhino Entertainer of the Year Annemarie Davies and comedy by Geoff Keith, Leslie Jones, Dana Goodman, Robert Kelly, Julia Lillis ... and, of course, Sam Tripoli and Bunny Fever.

To RSVP email [email protected], and to keep apprised of future Naughty Shows, visit www.samtripoli.com.