Comedian returns to Lafayette

By Jamie Teibel
Senior Writer

Tonight Joel Lugar hopes to be equally, if not more entertaining, than the preachers on Memorial Mall. He said they are the best performers, never thrown off their game by unappreciative hecklers.

Lugar, a May 2000 graduate from the School of Liberal Arts, knows all about the hecklers. He's been pursuing a career in comedy for more than a year.

As part of his journey toward fame, Lugar is returning to Lafayette. At 10 p.m., Lugar will perform as a featured comic at the Knickerbocker Saloon's Comedy Caravan.

Lugar began his comedic career at the Purdue PSUB comedy-bowl. He was convinced to go in front of the microphone after watching many 'die' on stage. "It was really painful to watch," he said, but he got up there and won the bowl.

Fueled by that night's success, Lugar created the comic strip "Loft Boys" his junior year. "It was funny and I was proud of it, but not many people knew what it was," he said of the strip, which he often drew during his Mgmt. 200, "Introductory Accounting" class.

So, the funnyman quit the strip. But his senior year, Lugar decided to bring the comic back to life, this time attacking the largest group on campus.

"I went right after the Greek system the first few weeks," he said.

For two weeks Lugar ripped on the system and in turn was ridiculed via letters to the editor or by drunks at the bars. The irony, said Lugar, is that he was a member of Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. Lugar recalled one night when a woman yelled at him for being rude and close-minded, tossing obscene insults at him for more than 10 minutes.

He didn't stick to humiliating Greek life; however, he moved on to ridiculing the GDIs, also known as Independents. "People started to read the comic because of the controversy, then I started on the GDIs and people began thinking it was funny and read it every day."

A week after graduation, he moved to North Hollywood with his best friend. According to the comic, his new home "is not as exciting as it sounds because there's nothing Hollywood in North Hollywood." If Lugar ever becomes famous he wants to move back to Indiana.

"There's a lot of humor in my life," he said.

Lugar never laughs at himself and he said he actually hates comedians. "They're always trying to make you laugh. Sometimes you just want to chill. I'm a big fan of chilling."

Lugar said his humor lies in his hypocrisy, saying one thing but doing another. He said his act reflects a mixture of Adam Sandler and Tenacious D., only smarter.

Rob McDill, a senior in the School of Technology, said, "He's really, really funny. His comedy is really witty." McDill saw his former fraternity brother last year at the Knickerbocker and said, "He had the crowd laughing their butts off."

Lugar said, "People always ask me who my favorite comic is, and I tell them that I am. Then they get this disgusted look on their face like I'm some kind of cocky jerk. It's worth it just for that."

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