Comedian Vic Dunlop has died at the age of 62. An irreverent and wacky stand-up comic, Dunlop began his career as a prop comic and saw a surge in popularity when he joined the cast of the television show “Make Me Laugh.” Dunlop died of complications from diabetes at Glendale Activist Medical Center.
Dunlop started out as a comic in the 1970s in Los Angeles with an improv group called Natural Gas. The group appeared frequently on “Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert.” Dunlop later acquired individual fame for his role on “Make Me Laugh,” where comedians attempted to make contestants laugh. Dunlop was said to have held the show’s record for making a contestant laugh, at two seconds.
Dunlop achieved the feat by climbing on the ledge near the contestants and acting like a pigeon. His other antics on the show included dressing up like a baked potato. The portly Dunlop, weighing about 280 pounds at the time, was wrapped from head to toe in tin foil with a dollop of sour cream sitting atop his head.
Though Dunlop started out as a prop comic, fate quickly intervened and forced him down a different comic path. One night while Dunlop did a show at a comedy club, his bag of props was stolen from the backstage area. Forced to do a show without his props, he adapted and found a new routine.
Dunlop did keep one prop from his early days, however: a pair of bulging, fake bloodshot eyes that he would put on during shows. “Show up at LensCrafters and say, ‘What the hell happened to my eyes?’” he suggested. Dunlop was an eager entrepreneur; after telling the joke about the fake eyes, he’d say “I know what you’re saying, ‘Where can I get these eyeballs?’ You can I’ll be in the back selling them for $5 a pair.”
“Vic Dunlop’s Crazy Comic Eyes,” as they were called, were not only a staple of his routine but they sometimes outsold it, earning Dunlop more money in sales than he earned for performing his show.
According to fellow comedian Bill Kirchenbauer, Dunlop was “outrageous, he was loud, he’d scream, he’d make fun of people and make fun of himself. It was a real kind of base humor, basically. But the thing is, Vic was really funnier than his material. He got to [audiences] through his charisma and his natural funniness. He could go on stage and do just about anything, and people would laugh.”
Dunlop said of his comedy routines in a 1991 interview with The Times, “I like to have a party, and I include my audience.” He infused his material with his natural charisma, making him a hit with audiences. Fellow “Make Me Laugh” alum Murray Langston said that “The one funny thing about him was everything was funny about him — the way he delivered lines, the way he looked and the way he gestured. He was a little bit over the top but all just funny.”
Dunlop also regularly appeared on 80s sitcom “Harper Valley P.T.A.” and Richard Pryor’s 1977 comedy-variety show. He had small movie roles in “Meatballs Part II,” “The Devil and Max Devlin,” “Skatetown U.S.A.,” “Night Patrol” and “Martians Go Home,” amongst others.
A longtime diabetic, Dunlop lost a leg to the disease in 2000 yet continued headlining in clubs around the nation. “Vic never wanted pity,” said his wife, Laura. “When people would say it, ‘I’m sorry that you lost your leg,’ he’d smile and say “It’s OK. I got 10 minutes of new material from it.'”