ffi f\I,Jhlot Seat s ffir'n r-*ffi By MICHAE!- GILTZ MERICAN audiences know Billy Connolly for a lot of reasons: his appearance in the raunchy documentary "The Aristocrats," his dramatic roles opposite Judi Dench ("Mrs.</p><p> Brown") and Tom Cruise ("The Last Samurai") and his sitcoms (including "Head of the Class").</p><p> We know him for every reason except the one that's made hin an international star: his standup act.</p><p> Connolly, whose recent tours of Australia and New Zealand sold out faster than Springsteen in New Jersey, is doing 20 shows at 37 Arts from May 9 through June 3, which offers plenty of oppor- tunity to find out why he's the best-selling comedian in the world. flrWhat's it like to switch Y.from playing huge venues in Australia to an intimate 485- seat venue here in New York? 6 .It's a different beastie l{oaltogether.</p><p> The bigger they get, the happier you become until eventually it's the small crowds that frighten you.</p><p> It's a bit like performing for your aunts and uncles.</p><p> It's eot a nakedness.</p><p> I'd much iather walk out to a footbali crowd. ' flol read your biography, and Voit's like you read "Angela's Ashes" and said, "Oh, I can give him a run for his money." You spoke about your mothel abandoning you, your father molesting you, being dirt-poor and beaten by your aunt. 1.Oh, he had it easy.</p><p> AoILaughs] It seems very harsh from the outside, but when it's happening to you it's oK. floOid the book change youl V.relationship with your audlence? A.I've spent my life up l{othere onstase.</p><p> I'd told them all my secrets.</p><p> There was no embarrassment in it for me.</p><p> The sexual abusestuff was kind of difficult - not to talk about but to go through again. ff oYou waited till they were Y'dead. ll .I think thar's the best fliway.</p><p> But to go back again and teli it to the best ofyour rememberings is weird and umecessary.</p><p> You shouldn't be doiirg that too often.</p><p> All I wanted in my book was to be a survivor.</p><p> You cm get bevond that s - - t whether it's poverty or sexual abuse or divorce or all ofthese.</p><p> You survive. f,loAnd flourish. 11.And flourishl You can f{cactually win! I live in a fancy house and all that, all those things people take as success.</p><p> I've got a castle here.</p><p> The kitchen is much bigger than the apartment I grew up in.</p><p> I imagine people take that as success, and in some ways I suppose it is. flrThere are a lot of stories Vtabout how you became a comic.</p><p> My favorite is that when you were a folk musician, you forgot the words to a song and tust started talking, and the light went off in your head.</p><p> A:*,Yiii":11,1":3lili: down a littla bit and I couldn't remember the words, so I described the song to them rnd thpu rwpra nieci-o thpmcph,pc Ir"oh;.o f,lcYou use a lot of four-letter Y.words.</p><p> A: :.*3"?",.."x1ff .l,:',\lii'o lecture people on it.</p><p> I Iike to say there's no such thing as bad language, there's only bad use ofgood language. firlsn't telling iokes a V.strange way to make a living? r -It is.</p><p> But it has this l{rncwchnlnoicel pdoc tn it that is lovely, I find.</p><p> And it's good to fight it because some days you don't feel like doing it.</p><p> It's a great exercise to get up there and do it.</p><p> It proved\J t [!i-)") l"ld6 to me many, f,|oHow hard is it to S.go onstage and entertain people when you're not in the mood? A:Y,ili'f"',r-"Ti," you've changed from the little ashram ofyour dressing room to the stage.</p><p> And ifyou can, get yourselfin a position where you can put on "Long Thll Sally" by Little Richard.</p><p> It's impossible to listen to "Long Tall Sally" and be in a bad mood. floYou were a paratrooper in Yothe military, Parachuting out of a plane iust seems wrong. ;1.Oh, you must try it! Did A.you ever try bungee- jumping? In New Zealand if you do it naked you get it free.</p><p> I just did it; it's wonderful. flrBut you'tl take off your Y.clothes at the drop of a hat 11 .The drop of a hat.</p><p> Ewan AoMcGresor is the same.</p><p> Ewan does it because he'sAge:63 Born: clasgow, Scotland Became famous: as a folk musician, teaming up with Gerry Rafferty of "Baker Street" fame Wife: Pamela Stephenson, famous for the UK series "Not the Nine O'Clock News" and starring on "Saturday Night Live"; now she's a clinical psychologist Home: owns a castle in Scotland Prized possession: a ukulele made from a tree in George Harrison's backyard Books: finds iane Austen a bit limp"wristed but loves "iane Eyre" Chart-topping release: his i975 parody of Tammy Wynette's "D.l.V.O.R.C.E." went to No. 1.</p><p> Biography: "Billy," written by his wife, has sold more than 1.2 million copies many years ago that your mood is a choice. beautiful.</p><p> I do it because I'm not.</p><p> There's nothing furury about a person who is in good shape when they take their clothes ofl As a matter ^fr^^+:1,- ^..ir^ ur rdL! r! 5 qurLc distressing.</p><p> People with abs and all that.</p><p> Q::Y:;';:il"i," upset and jealous.</p><p> Aif,i"?:!:g?:' better with a flabby ass like me.</p><p> It gives you hope.
