by Damian Garde
Daily Lobo
Lewis Black is not an angry man. He only plays one on television.
"I just had a doctor's appointment, and my blood pressure is perfect," he said.
Health issues aside, Black's comedic style is considerably more incendiary than the average comedian, pairing his caustic wit with his tendency to become tremulous with fury. It is this attribute that leads many to question whether or not Black actually is the livid personality seen in his act.
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"I was for a long time, but you can't be that angry for long, or you'll be dead," he said. "But if I'm in Los Angeles for more than an hour, all bets are off."
Black began his career in theater after earning a master's degree in fine arts from Yale. Despite spending years as the resident playwright in a New York City theater, the allure of comedy drew him away from his initial profession.
"I was doing it for fun, but it evolved into a living," he said, citing his role as MC, which gave him his first stand up experience.
Despite appearing in 14 films and numerous television shows, Black may be best known for his contributions to "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," where he performs the regular segment "Back in Black." After Stephen Colbert's departure in 2005, Black is now the longest-running member of the show's cast, predating even Stewart. The show has drawn criticism from other media outlets for not taking advantage of its viewership and reporting more serious news stories, a point famously made by Tucker Carlson on his former show, "Crossfire."
"A lot of that criticism is called sour grapes. People take us (the Daily Show), at times, more seriously than they should," Black said. "Our agenda is to joke, and that's it."
The show's detractors often point to the fact that, for some, the "Daily Show" is their only news source, an argument Black finds irrelevant.
"There was never a requirement for every college generation to watch the news," he said. "Nobody in my generation was like, 'Geez, I got to get back. Walter Cronkite's on.'"
A self-described socialist, Black's segment and stage act are often critical of the Bush administration. However, he is quick to point out that American politics often follow a pendular motion.
"It goes back and forth," he said. "All the things you talk about now, you're going to talk about in 20 years. It's exhausting."
He recalled debating abortion when he was in college.
Black will come to Albuquerque on Sunday to perform at the Kiva Auditorium, with proceeds going to Youth Development, Inc.
"The nice thing that has happened in my career is that I can help people raise money," he said. "And it's always good to help out underprivileged kids, which the federal government apparently has no interest in doing."
