Top: Lord of the Props

Feb. 19, 2003

Carrot tops are usually cut off and discarded. Occasionally they may be used as a garnish or for creating stocks for soup. Then there is Carrot Top, the prop-carrying comedian, who critics have dismissed over the years as annoying and lacking any comedic substance.
Critics are more often wrong then right and in the case of Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson the critics are not only wrong, but they may be spending too much time at the keyboard to get what the comedian is all about. For his fans, no explanation is needed; Carrot Top is clever, funny, sick, twisted and offers 90 minutes of laughs that have helped him to sell out 200+ shows annually for the past several years. His visit to Northern Michigan for two nights, February 22 and 23 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom will be no exception, as endless laughs and sell-outs are a guarantee.
“I am looking forward to coming back up north, but they keep booking me up there in the middle of winter and I hear it is 10 below,” said Carrot Top. “The last time I came which I guess was two years ago I had great coffee from the Leelanau Roasting Company and a lot of great red wine from the area, so with those temperatures up there both are in order for my return.”
Carrot Top lives on coffee, but what about carrot flavored coffee?
“Are you nuts? They don’t make carrot coffee, do they? That would be terrible -- I am not coming and drinking that,” said Carrot Top. “Oh you were just joking; I see, trying to be a comedian, well stick to your day job.”
For Carrot Top his day job is being a corporate spokesperson for AT&T by doing outrageous commercials for 1-800 CALLATT. That has led to the AT&T-sponsored car in the NASCAR racing series to sport Carrot Top’s photo on the hood.
“I am big time now that I am at NASCAR,” said Carrot Top. “My face is on the hood of the AT&T car and it looks good until the time Mike Wallace crashed into the wall and my face ended up looking mangled. Come to think of it, a lot of people said it was an improvement and what was really impressive was that my hair remained the same after the hood was mangled. It must be the way I comb it.”
Carrot Top will again be at several NASCAR events in 2003 doing promotions as he continues his work with AT&T. The AT&T commercials, despite being labeled as annoying by critics, remain among the most watched and talked about commercials on television.
What about his live show?
“I travel on one of those rock and roll tour buses and the load-in guys from the venue are out back smiling because they think it is going to be easy,” said Carrot Top. “Then behind my tour bus pulls in a semi truck -- the big one with 18 wheels -- and it is loaded with 35 plus prop trunks and a bunch of other equipment. You can never have too many props.”
In his show he will easily run through 200 props that he has invented, based on his observations of life. Such props as adding a bar to a fire hydrant for handicapped dogs, or a rubber ear sewed on to a boxing glove in case Mike Tyson needs to chew on something during a fight. Then there is the Jack Kevorkian bathtub toy, which is a rubber duck with an electrical cord connected to it.
It has been said that Carrot Top is a combination of George Carlin, Steven Wright, Sam Kinison and Jonathan Winters rolled into one.
“Wow, really those guys are among my favorite all time comedians,” said Carrot Top. “I wonder what it would really be like to be all of those people rolled into one, and I wonder if they are ever compared to me?”
Carrot Top will celebrate his 36th birthday over the weekend any gift ideas for a guy that has 35 trunks full of junk?
“Hmm, let me see, no I have five of those, how about, well no I don’t need any more of those, could always use more money. Yeah, tell them to bring lots of money in birthday cards,” said Carrot Top. “Or lots of local coffee or red wine would be great. I will leave a couple of trunks off the truck to make room for all of these gifts.”
In reality it will be Carrot Top doing the giving. His high-energy, non-stop shows are full of laughs. He closes every show with a tribute to the music industry, which is so intense and animated with a light show and flash pots, that it is worth the price of admission by itself.
Any final advice or words of wisdom from the Lord of the Props?
“Yeah, get your tickets early or the only way you will see me is on the Kenny Schrader #49 on car Sunday during the race, and he hauls, so you might even see me then,” said Carrot Top. “Remember when you buy tickets to call 1-800-CALLATT.”
For additional information or to purchase tickets call the Traverse Bay Entertainment box office at (877) 271-7980.