Drinkin’, smokin’, drinkin’, Tater Salad, more drinkin’

Blue Collar Texan comic Ron White
arrives in Montreal, liver ready

LOOKING FORWARD TO
DRUNKEN FIASCO: White

by ERIK LEIJON

You might be a redneck if you’re an ardent fan of Ron White, the heavy drinking Texas comic from the wildly successful Blue Collar comedy troupe. But it turns out White received his first major accolades performing at the Just for Laughs festivals in 2001 and 2002, without his famous southern brothers Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.

“That’s why I’m coming back,” says the 52-year-old thick-accented Texan. “People [from Montreal] were the first to say I was really funny and it gave me a lot of validation. I love Montreal anyway, it’s always a big drunken fiasco, and I think my liver can handle four or five days of it.”

Drinking is a topic that comes up often with White. He always performs with a glass of scotch in one hand and a smoke in the other, and his oft-used nickname “Tater Salad” refers to two separate drunken escapades. Although he’s retired the routine, the story is he was asked by a cop in his hometown of Fritch, Texas if he had any aliases, to which the drunken 19-year-old replied “Tater Salad.” Years later, after a similar episode in New York City, he realized to his amazement the alias had been placed on his permanent record.

“My plan was to someday be a comic people liked, and that story went a long way to giving me notoriety,” he says. “My friends still call me Tate.”

Heralded by critics as the Blue Collar comedian who’s acceptable to like, White is cognizant of the ire directed at his comedic partners—especially the flannel-wearing, catchphrase-loving Larry the Cable Guy. The troupe has been referred to as rabidly right-wing and homophobic by the likes of David Cross, but White has managed to steer clear of controversy. He’s a card-carrying Democrat who’s in favour of the death penalty and marijuana legalization, and he’s also a staunch defender of his crew.

“I’m sure it’s sour grapes,” he says. “Larry’s a brilliant rhythm and timing comic. The problem is he’s making a lot of money; if we weren’t making money, nobody would waste their time hating us. You’d think this is some sort of contest [to his detractors], but it’s not. It’s just about making people laugh.”

White is also quick to stick up for the cancelled HBO program 12 Miles of Bad Road, which he had a small role in. The show about Texas business magnates (compared to Arrested Development in early reviews) was canned before airing. “They cancelled one of the best shows they ever had their hands on,” says White. “HBO is run by a moron [chairman Bill Nelson] as far as I’m concerned. It wasn’t his show, so if it was a success, it wouldn’t have been his. He’s a ball-less, soulless sucker of Satan’s cock.

“If [previous HBO chairman] Chris Albrecht hadn’t slapped his girlfriend then they wouldn’t have hired this gay guy from Harvard, and that’s what went wrong. Chris and the girl are still together, so I guess he didn’t hit her that hard.”

The fate of that show, along with the work schedule, explains why White isn’t keen about jumping to television. He was the only member to not star on the Blue Collar TV series. “Not as long as people are buying tickets to see me perform. The thought of working 15 hours a day and having two bosses really sucks.”

At the All-Star Gala, Théâtre
St-Denis (1594 St-Denis), Sunday,
July 20, 7 p.m., $48–$183