Bobby Lee, best known from his years as a cast member on MADtv, has been touring the country year round with his unpredictable stand-up routine. He’ll be at The Improv in the Irvine Spectrum Center this weekend.
A native of San Diego, Lee was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps in running the family clothing store but tried a rock band and comedy instead.
In 1995, Pauly Shore saw Lee on stage and asked the young comedian to open for him in Las Vegas, according to a bio on Comedy Central’s website.
It was at that point that Lee met Shore’s mother, the celebrated owner of the Comedy Store, Mitzi Shore. Lee became a regular at the club, and also went on the road with the comic Carlos Mencia. Lee went on to gain success from there.
On the sketch show MADtv, which ran 14 seasons on Fox, Lee became an audience favorite with his pain-inducing physical humor and the memorable original characters he created. Those included confused film critic Johnny Gan, the world’s worst interpreter Bae Sung and the hapless warrior Blind Kung Fu master.
He is also known for killer impressions of real-world figures such as journalist Connie Chung and North Korean President Kim Jong Il.