Myers’ acceptance speech spirals into mini-performance

Mike Myers accepted the 23rd Jack Benny Award on Wednesday at
Royce Hall for his outstanding comedic achievements, including a
successful run on “Saturday Night Live” and the hit
films in the “Austin Powers” series.

After a video montage of some of the most memorable Myers
characters such as Philip the “hyper-hypo,” Myers was
greeted by a standing ovation as he took the stage. After a short
but gracious thank you, Myers attempted to slyly slip the large
glass award into his breast pocket. Then a string of hilarious
incidents began, eventually leading to a question-and-answer
session with “Austin Powers” director Jay Roach. Myers
played to the enthusiastic crowd in a series of improvised jokes
about his nerves.

“It’s in no way uncomfortable to sit like
this,” Myers said. “This is the way Jay and I always
have our meetings “¦ in front of a live audience.”

When women in the crowd went wild over Myers taking off his
coat, he responded to the obligatory “Take it off!”
with “I’m not drunk enough!”

There were a few serious and revealing moments in between
students asking Mike if they could be his best friend or his
valentine. He spoke of the effects his father’s death in 1991
had on him and the birth of Austin Powers in his mind at that
time.

When asked if he would put Jay Roach out of business by taking
the director’s chair in the future, Myers responded,
“If there’s one thing I do, it will be to put Jay Roach
out of business ““ I’ve never liked the man, the
man’s an ass. I’m sorry Jay, I meant to tell you
before.”

Most of the audience questions dealt with the creation of the
Austin Powers characters, such as the inspiration for Doctor
Evil.

“I wanted to explore what it would be like to be an evil
single parent,” Myers said. “How do you run a family
and take over the world at the same time?”

In all, the “Austin Powers” films have grossed over
“¦ one billion dollars. When asked how he always seems to
outdo himself, Myers humbly responded, “I really love comedy.
I’m not bored with comedy. A lot of people feel they need to
outgrow it, which I think is “¦ wrong.”