Comedian Colin Quinn likes to go after hypocrisy -- and whether it's on the political left or the right doesn't much matter.
"Look at rappers," said Quinn in a phone interview yersterday. "They're rapping about guns, shooting, drugs, driving around in Jeeps wearing bullet-proof vests. Then they complain about racial profiling. C'mon!"
Quinn, a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1999, now has a show called Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central, airing Monday through Thursday nights at 11:30 p.m.
Quinn will be headlining a comedy show at the Providence Performing Arts Center tonight to benefit The Station Family Fund, a nonprofit organization to assist victims' families and survivors of the West Warwick nightclub fire.
Quinn, a Brooklyn native, said he doesn't know anyone involved in the fire. Someone called his assistant, he said, and asked if he'd be willing to play a benefit. "I don't like to turn down benefits," Quinn said.
The someone who made the call was Melissa Plante, a board member of the Family Fund, and a fan of Quinn's show. "I had the idea of a show to cheer people up," Plante said. "Everyone should be able to laugh."
So Plante called Comedy Central and reached Quinn's assistant, and next thing she knew, he was on board. (Only later did Plante discover the showbiz bureaucracy of managers, agents, publicists and the like.)
Also appearing at tonight's show will be Frank Santorelli, who has a small role in The Sopranos as George, the hapless bartender at the Bada Bing, plus Dane Cook, Stephanie Peters, Jon Perrotta, Shane Kinney, Rich Aronovich, Mike Thomas, Eddie Galvin and Colleen Galvin.
Quinn said his Comedy Central show is a bit like Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect, only the panel consists of comedians, not the oddball mix of celebrities that Maher used.
Quinn said his guests are encouraged to say whatever they want ("ugly, real opinions") about whatever they want.
"The only thing we don't want is that phony audience applause for that heartfelt, personal, sincere BS stuff," Quinn said.
Oddly, Quinn is not that excited about the California recall election circus, which would seem to be the comedic equivalent of winning the lottery.
"It doesn't mean as much to me as some other stuff," Quinn said. "I'm more focused on Iraq, North Korea, what we're doing around the world."
Quinn, who anchored Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" newscast after Norm McDonald got fired, said he's always kept up with current events.
"I like to read the papers, I like to know what's happening in politics, pop culture, a lot of different fields," he said.
"What I'm very suspicious of are people who think they know all the answers . . . if you can't include yourself in the hypocrisy, then I don't want to hear about it."
Quinn, 44, grew up in Brooklyn. He took various office jobs to make a living before trying his hand at comedy in 1984.
He was originally hired as a writer at Saturday Night Live, then started getting on the air, and finally replaced McDonald on "Weekend Update" after McDonald was sacked at the insistence of NBC president Don Ohlmeyer.
Quinn said that was awkward for all concerned -- not only was McDonald a friend, but they lived in the same building.
"Norm was great. He was such a gentleman about it to me. Between the two of us, there was never a problem."
The Station Family Fund Comedy Show begins at 7 p.m. tonight at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $22.50, $32.50, and $42.50. For tickets and information, call 421-2787.
