Comedian’s life becomes inspiration

Christopher Titus is not your average humorist. While some
comedians joke about politics, religion or a crummy waiter they
encountered the night before, Titus chooses to poke fun at custody
battles, mentally insane family members and child molesters, all
from his own family.

Titus, who will be taping his one-man show “Norman
Rockwell is Bleeding” at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse this
Saturday night, has license to use such provocative jokes,
considering he gets all of the inspiration straight from his own
life.

“My mom was in and out of a mental institution by her 20s,
and my dad was married six times,” said Titus. “And
when I say my mom was crazy, I mean in the “˜we, the jury find
this woman insane’ crazy.”

Titus also sees the humor in himself and decided at 17, after
freakishly falling into a bonfire, to sober up and show people that
it’s better to laugh at life than to complain about it.

“I really just want to make people laugh and show how
stupid and absurd we are as human beings,” said Titus.
“If you talk to someone seriously, it’s not going to
have the same impact as if they’re laughing because then
they’re open and free about it. Within the laughter
there’s a window where you can get something in, but you have
to make them laugh; you can’t be sappy for sappy’s
sake.”

In an attempt to make sense of life, Titus tried therapy,
enlisting the same therapist as the Menendez brothers. But the
stand-up comic eventually found that the man he hired to help him
had three mistresses and had told each of them that if they talked
about their affairs, he would send the Menendez brothers to kill
them. It was then that Titus realized he would be better off
working out his problems on his own.

“I’m paying this guy, and my problems were nothing
compared to his,” said Titus. “I realized that I was
becoming one of those people who just bitches about their lives, so
I decided that I just needed to put the past behind me.”

In “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding,” Titus parodies his
usual comedy routine, portraying the “normal”
dysfunctional family. And while Titus’ humor has received
some criticism, it has actually helped bring some families closer
together.

“A big biker guy came up to me once and said he
hadn’t seen his family in a while,” said Titus.
“But after watching my show and seeing the humor in it, he
said he was going to go home for Thanksgiving for the first time in
22 years.”

Titus’ life has revolved around comedy before he was even
legal. In his first gigs, he would sometimes wait outside comedy
clubs, suddenly run in to do his set and run back out after it was
over so he wouldn’t get in trouble. He later starred in his
own sitcom “Titus,” which ran on Fox for three years
until getting the ax partially due to its risqué material.

Said Titus, “I think this show went a little too far, even
for Fox.”

When it comes down to it, the whole point for Titus’
comedy is to get over the problems in life and try to find the
humor in them so you can move on and have fun.

“Don’t try to fit in,” Titus said. “Be
deranged and the crowd will make you their leader.”

Tapings of “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding” are
scheduled at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20. Visit
www.tickets.ucla.edu for more information.