Comedian Eddie Griffin ready to get raw

Eddie Griffin is calling his Las Vegas show "Comedy Without a Condom," so it seemed best to let him explain that one rather than attempting to interpret a metaphor.

"You haven't had a good raw show in Vegas since Redd Foxx on a regular basis," he says. "I just decided that Vegas needs me. And I need Vegas, so I think it's a good hookup."

Eight months ago, the comedian best known for the "Malcolm & Eddie" sitcom and the "Undercover Brother" movie moved here, hoping to get off the road.

He plans to be in the cozy King's Comedy Club at the Rio every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for at least six months.

Perhaps it was destiny that Griffin ends up in the late Foxx's adopted city; the former dancer launched his comedy career in his native Kansas City, Kan., at a club called Stanford & Sons, a play on Foxx's "Sanford and Son" TV hit.

"Who didn't Redd influence?" Griffin asks. "He could be gut funny on a sitcom," says a man who knows the challenge thereof.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at
mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.